urbanMSP

I've always assumed that were somebody so inclined, a skyway could be threaded between the Xcel building and the parking ramp in a fairly artful manner. The only trick is who would pay for it -- obviously Xcel isn't too excited about it (and having no prospect for skyway level retail, wouldn't get ...

Since there was a lot of discussion on the need for tall buildings in the Nicollet Residences thread that was beginning to go off topic, I thought I'd start a thread to further discuss here. I'll start off by saying that tall buildings are pretty in our skyline, but to me, it's more important to hav...

It's really not tall buildings that make cities special and urban. Look at Paris and several neighborhoods of NYC as an example. It's density and streetscape that make a difference. We should not complain that buildings aren't tall enough. We should complain that our streets are too wide and fast, w...

I also would prefer that the reconnected block be a transit mall rather than open to all cars - that would certainly make for a better retail environment. But I don't think that will happen either. I love this idea. My favorite thing about Nicollet Ave. north of K-Mart right now is how pedestrian f...

I'm pretty sure the reasons that Meg Tuthill and the Z&P Committee don't support this development are opposite from the reasons most of us don't support it...

Skylines symbolize cities. Neighborhoods define them.

It's also right by the leading Surly site as well. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad though...

It doesn't matter how much development comes to the area if the city/county don't do anything about the pedestrian experience and neighborhood connectivity here. I'm talking serious investment and changes in the infrastructure that would be transformational of the whole Hennepin/Lyndale/Franklin com...

Downtown restaurant updates undeserveing of their own thread can go here.

That new place, Maruso, in the Skyway Theater building opened a couple weeks ago. They unfortunately don't have pho like I had really hoped... But I guess that doesn't really matter, cuz Lotus ftw!

I've said this before. Reduce the lanes on West Lake, allow on street parking, add cycle tracks, plant trees that create a canopy, build a pedestrian trail on the north side of the road. These alone will do more than any reuse of the red triangle in urbanizing the area and giving it more of a sense ...

Oh, I forgot. I asked the following people what they thought of the Northstar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxgbH023dEk

The solution to transportation problems of the exurbs should not and cannot be solved by building commuter rail to the vast expanses of cul de sacs and big box stores. It doesn't matter if ridership is high, it's still an ineffecient way to be spending transportation dollars. Sure it's better than r...

I've never been a fan of Northstar, and am not at all surprised by its weak ridership numbers. The money should really go to strengthening transit in the core or, *gasp*, reducing fares for regular service. Just because something is labeled as transit, doesn't mean it promotes good urbanism. If anyt...

The entire W Lake area is in need of a major overhaul. It has seen lots of urbanization in the past few years, but is still very pedestrian and bike unfriendly. A combination of some of the following--adding bike lanes, boulevards, on street parking, and reducing traffic lanes--would do the area won...

You simply cannot be pro-urban and anti-cycling at the same time. More people on bikes can only be good for the city. If we're going to continue the bike discussion, whe should start a new topic in the transportation forum.

I heard somewhere that it will connect with and have significant presence on the Greenway. Is this still the case? Judging by the rendering it looks like it's not...

Cool, but I feel that the station density as opposed to spread are the key to really making this great addition to our transportation system successful. North of Lake St, in the densest neighborhoods in Minneapolis, nobody should have to walk more than 2-3 blocks for a station for this to work excep...

Smart lane? Is 94 getting bus/carpool/MnPass lanes?

Also, I heard Yogurt Lab will be opening in the Crystal Court. I hope they will be open after office hours because it would definitely save my me and my fiancé the trip all the way to the Excelsior Blvd. location. (Yogurt Lab is def our favorite of the new wave of these shops...)

Kinda silly, but I emailed the contact person on the IDS' website to ask what the deal is because it's been buggin me for a while. Yes, they were off for the birds, but in the meantime, they also are in the process of upgrading to more efficient LED lights. They should be back on in mid July. It'd b...