urbanMSP

Interesting article about some Canadians fixing an intersection with chalk and leaves.

https://jalopnik.com/some-brilliant-tor ... 1820931621

Some guy in the neighborhood is trying to a private park in his front lawn.

Interesting article about some Canadians fixing an intersection with chalk and leaves.

https://jalopnik.com/some-brilliant-tor ... 1820931621

Some guy in the neighborhood is trying to a private park in his front lawn.

Except almost no suburbanite would want a public park anywhere near their front lawn, without fences.

I thought it was a great solution.

Not sure if posted yet anywhere:

Hwy. 110 in Mendota Heights will be renamed to Hwy. 62 next summer

http://www.startribune.com/hwy-110-in-m ... 452538123/

MNDOT has a website up: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projec ... ngtohwy62/

Some houses/businesses in Mendota heights still have "Highway 110" addresses and will need to change. Noted in the Strib article, Mendota Heights staff and/or council was initially opposed to the change, but wisely decided not to fight it. Address changes are handled at the municipal level, so Mendota Heights is responsible for dealing with resident complaints, etc. For the affected parties, it's every bit as disruptive as moving, as you'd have to change your ID, file a change of address form with USPS, and change your address with your bank and possibly dozens of various online accounts, depending how online you are. The only real "cost" aside from one's time is the ~$20 to change your ID. It's even more disruptive to businesses, who will have to change all letterhead, business cards, and so on.

Solar panels in roads have been tested. The results are really underwhelming.

https://theconversation.com/solar-panel ... lts-103568

I've noticed the HOV lanes on 35W have had their diamonds removed and EXPRS painted in them instead. Is this simply a matter of semantics or is there a highly technical reason to use the letters instead of the symbol?

I've been wondering the same thing. I'm also disappointed the Active Traffic Management dynamic signage was removed (and long before it was removed, disappointed they were no longer used for variable speed signage).

On another note, I'd be eager to see a 10-year review of all the Urban Partnership Agreement projects. What has worked well? What hasn't worked? What has been removed? Etc.
- Marq 2 transitway
- Priced dynamic shoulder lane northbound from 38th St.
- Switchable in-pavement lighting at the start of the PDSL (anyone remember these lights?) https://goo.gl/maps/LqmSaRfznSxgCrXE6
- LED signage above every lane https://goo.gl/maps/JgPWY7uJmAg4YfYV9
- Park & ride dynamic signage on the freeway https://goo.gl/maps/RXUM4bL52pm3oxkH7
- Park & ride dynamic signage on connecting roads https://goo.gl/maps/szBeY9mDcCJy8X4GA
- The ever-popular suburban park & ride https://goo.gl/maps/pEw1sXJXMam9bXUs8
- The ever-popular lane addition on 35W northbound at 90th St, among other places

What other technologies were tested but never really took off? Another that comes to mind (long before the UPA) is the variable "Alternate Route" signage along American Boulevard and 76th/77th St (which I call Canadian Boulevard). https://goo.gl/maps/4YywbgL52tZSUvzo7
I never saw these arrows actually used. And if they were used, it wouldn't be clear what they were an alternate to!

What has worked well? What hasn't worked?
- Marq 2 transitway!

A fail. With no fucks given.

How so? Marq 2 may not be the nicest streetscape but from a transit perspective it's truly amazing what double contraflow transit lanes can do.

I work north of Washington. Getting the buses to cross Washington is regularly so terrible that bus routes are abandoning service at Marquette and 2nd. The 477 for instance cancelled service north of Washington because getting buses across Washington is so bad.

Box blocking by car drivers is normally bad downtown, but on Washington it is so frequent at Marquette that tonight I counted 8 straight light cycles where car drivers filled the intersection preventing buses from crossing. After all that waiting, the buses were stacked up all the way past 1st, around the corner and around again to 2nd Ave and 2nd St.

I admit south of Washington Marq 2 can be good. I think that’s part of my exasperation, it’s fine on most of it that it feels like letting the north of Washington service continue to fester because it’s seen as balancing out.

I work north of Washington. Getting the buses to cross Washington is regularly so terrible that bus routes are abandoning service at Marquette and 2nd. The 477 for instance cancelled service north of Washington because getting buses across Washington is so bad.

Box blocking by car drivers is normally bad downtown, but on Washington it is so frequent at Marquette that tonight I counted 8 straight light cycles where car drivers filled the intersection preventing buses from crossing. After all that waiting, the buses were stacked up all the way past 1st, around the corner and around again to 2nd Ave and 2nd St.

I admit south of Washington Marq 2 can be good. I think that’s part of my exasperation, it’s fine on most of it that it feels like letting the north of Washington service continue to fester because it’s seen as balancing out.

It sounds almost like we should have enforcement of traffic laws.

I work north of Washington. Getting the buses to cross Washington is regularly so terrible that bus routes are abandoning service at Marquette and 2nd. The 477 for instance cancelled service north of Washington because getting buses across Washington is so bad.

Box blocking by car drivers is normally bad downtown, but on Washington it is so frequent at Marquette that tonight I counted 8 straight light cycles where car drivers filled the intersection preventing buses from crossing. After all that waiting, the buses were stacked up all the way past 1st, around the corner and around again to 2nd Ave and 2nd St.

I admit south of Washington Marq 2 can be good. I think that’s part of my exasperation, it’s fine on most of it that it feels like letting the north of Washington service continue to fester because it’s seen as balancing out.

Today was a result of the Twins game ending at 4pm. I noticed all over downtown there was extra traffic.

I love Marq2. It seems to work pretty well. If there was some way to better connect to 35w I think it could be good. Maybe when the E line goes in it will somehow play a part.

Who do we need to lobby to get a (permanent?) traffic enforcement campaign at this specific intersection? It would only take like 1-2 cops to go car to car writing tickets for blocking the box.

Idk if Metro Transit can afford all the tickets they'd get.

Idk if Metro Transit can afford all the tickets they'd get.

I always find it interesting how many buses I see running red lights and blocking the box, especially on 6th as they cross Marquette.

And yes, traffic was extra bad yesterday but it was directly related to the Twins game and the time it ended. Most of the side streets in the North Loop were massively backed up with traffic. It's the downside to having a great team this year, nice weather, and out of towners that drive into the city.

Idk if Metro Transit can afford all the tickets they'd get.

I always find it interesting how many buses I see running red lights and blocking the box, especially on 6th as they cross Marquette.

And yes, traffic was extra bad yesterday but it was directly related to the Twins game and the time it ended. Most of the side streets in the North Loop were massively backed up with traffic. It's the downside to having a great team this year, nice weather, and out of towners that drive into the city.

Haha, yeah buses are sometimes bad at blocking the box, or more often stopping early on far side stops and blocking the crosswalk so that you either have to wait a whole light cycle or brave walking around the back of the bus in traffic.

Southwest Transit CEO is upset about Marquette.

http://www.startribune.com/after-downto ... 511578932/

Since it was recently a topic.

An interesting statistic from the article:

“More than 40% of downtown workers arrive on public transportation…”

I’d bet most people don’t realize it’s that high.

In my experience, people who drive in are usually shocked to find that not everyone does.

This StarTribune article on new laws coming into effect on July first mentions cities will now be allowed to lower local street speed limits.

http://www.startribune.com/freedom-to-b ... 512002232/

Does anyone know of a city in the state that is starting the process to lower speed limits for local roads?

Minneapolis, apparently: https://twitter.com/lisabendermpls/stat ... 9593116678