urbanMSP

P.S. I went to the meeting in Armatage, and was surprised at some of the lack of sympathy. “Was she crossing in the crosswalk or was she getting in her parked car?” Really? You deserve to die if you are getting in your parked car? Complaints about narrowing of the street last year, not enough lighti...

That’s a good point about police & reporters. I’m starting to question everything that’s reported. As you say, the article will say “state patrol says the pedestrian was possibly using phone”—says who? Witnesses? Did you interview them? Was there more than one? Why do they *always* say something...

Also, a lot of that article talks about getting people that aren't near existing transit spines. That is essentially a short distance automated taxi service provided with public dollars. That sounds like a tremendous waste to me. Yeah, it’s proposed as a last-mile solution, and then in the next bre...

That’s a good result.

On the other hand, in SLP/Edina/Mpls, they’re blaming the pedestrian for using his phone, and are reporting my posts for even *suggesting* that maybe the driver was distracted, too.

There is some hubbub on NextDoor about car crashes and pedestrian safety on Lake St. near Bde Maka Ska.

Apparently, due to the recent pedestrian death at 54th and Penn, there is a meeting tonight at Armatage Park.

We aren't adding much affordable housing at all, and I can't think of any new affordable housing in Uptown at all (don't follow that closely so I might not be up to speed). … Two (or more) new affordable developments will make Uptown not "walkable, with shopping, work, food, drink, arts, libra...

Affordable housing is important & necessary. You might even say it’s a crisis. But if every chunk of land becomes affordable housing, why would anyone want to live there? Uptown is a popular destination and place to live precisely because it is *interesting*. Sure, less so that it used to be, in...

Why aren’t we replacing all requests for more lanes with light rail?

We have the right-of-way.

In the landmarks paragraphs, she says that landmarks “emphasize… the diversity of cities” and “we badly need more, not fewer, city landmarks—great landmarks and small.” “The absence of any visual climax or dignifying objects says Unimportance.” “…an effective landmark in such a place usually needs t...

In defense of my—apparently crazy—plan for pedestrianizing Lagoon and putting a monumental building and statue/plaza at each end: this is straight out of Jane Jacobs’ playbook. In Chapter 19 (“Visual Order: Its Limitations and Possibilities”) of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, she has...

Perhaps it’s as much realism as cynicism.

Thatchio, if it’s not too much work, that’d be very interesting to see.

Streets.MN gathering?

Well I suppose if the problem is too much (car) traffic on Lake & Lagoon already… then we can just add a lane each to Lake & Lagoon and that would solve the problem.

And then we just keep adding lanes as they fill up.

If we hope to make any kind of difference in the horrible infrastructure we have today, we have to #dreambig. This mess we’re in (highway scars through cities, stroads, shredded streetcar system, etc.) wasn’t created through little dreams. Can the city come up with a land swap somewhere with Cub? Ma...

Yes, France needs to be much slower. And it should be narrower, too. But to move all the people they’re planning for the Southdale Area, there needs to be lots of pedestrianization and some form of mass transit. So, even if the setbacks aren’t for the reason they’re thinking, those wide setbacks sti...

Then, looking east on Lagoon, you’d have a large, prominent building at the eastern edge of the Arby’s/Cub lot, with maybe a public square and/or greenery in front. Obviously not quite as monumental as this street shot of Paris, but you get the idea: https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180212/dfc1a08...

So keep the Greenway as is, but add connectors at either end to Lagoon. Then stitch together the Arby’s/Cub lot. At the other end of Lagoon, cut it off from Lake and stick some sort of monument at the end as an exclamation point. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180212/5b83ab3c00336ff31c3d933b7b40...

What if Lagoon was closed to *motorized* traffic, and became attached at either end to the Greenway? Just like in many outstate areas, the Greenway would act as the nearby highway (for bikes & peds—people just passing by), and Lagoon would act as the local business street (but for bikes & pe...

Just tell yourself they're leaving room to run a LRT line

Well the mayor is the chair of the Met Council TAB, so there could be thoughts along that line.