urbanMSP

Red Wing is a great city, seriously. Except for the sprawl-on-approach that spreads for probably 10 miles up US 61 towards the metro, the downtown and periphery neighborhoods are gold. The riverfront is grand.

Here's my number one metric of how walkable/livable an urban area is. Downtown Red Wing has three grocery stores downtown -- five up until recently. Econofoods and Koplins (mainstream) and Simple Abundance (a cool specialty/natural foods store). In the recent past they also had a full-service co-op and a Hispanic grocery store.

Granted, it's still a ways from the Stillwater-esque tourist trap that I remember from my childhood, when the restored north side of the 300 block of Main Street was a mall full of retail (now it's Red Wing Shoe offices https://goo.gl/maps/tTYni with zero sidewalk activation). But still, it's quite a livable town, and a great getaway from the Metro (as is most of the MN/WI river frontage).

Some updates:

- This past weekend, the Staghead restaurant reopened. http://www.republican-eagle.com/content ... set-reopen

- Main Street (5 lane US 61 Stroad) is slated for reconstruction over the next two summers. If there's ever a place that needed medians and bumpouts, this was it. It severs the riverfront and St. James complex from the core of downtown. http://www.red-wing.org/th61home.html

- Old West Main (the "second downtown" bypassed by 4 lane Hwy 61 in 1953) has an entire study for the area from "new" 61 north to the riverfront, done by Stantec. http://www.imagineredwing.com
So far, comments are mostly that there's not enough (free) parking.

Glad you started this topic. We've often thought about taking the EB down to Red Wing but always get stuck wondering what we'd do when we get there. Usually we go to the nearby (fabulous!) state parks but that's not really possible without a car. The few times I've been in downtown Red Wing, everything was closed.

So, what are the best car-free experiences in Red Wing?

It seems like the new Mississippi bridge's interface with downtown should be an improvement over the current conditon.

Here'a PDF showing this.

interesting, I wonder if the old bridge will remain open until the new one is ready.

So, what are the best car-free experiences in Red Wing?

Buy some boots. Barn Bluff is an easy hike from downtown and has a pretty view. Walking along the riverfront is nice. The Red Wing Art Festival is a nice little get together.

I like the new interface. Main and Plum is over capacity and there's no room to add more, so this seems like a good idea.

The plan is to keep the old bridge operational until the new one is built.

Beats me why the Winona and Stillwater bridges are historic treasures that must be kept, but the Red Wing and Hastings bridges are OK to toss in the dumpster.

I do like having the highway oriented development available for stopping for gasoline or fast food.

It's regrettable the Red Wing bypass was never built. US 61 is a lot shorter than US 52 / I-90 for heading to southwest Wisconsin or Chicago and Main Street wouldn't have to handle all the traffic it does.

While it looks like they play to build the new bridge next to the existing bridge, it appears that the new Red Wing interchange is physically in the same place as much of the existing interchange, so there will be some significant disruption while that is built out.

The Villa Maria complex, some prime real estate in historic Old Frontenac just south of Red Wing, will be up for sale this summer:
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... w.facebook

My sister has lived in Old Frontenac for the past 30 years. Along with much of her husbands family nearby. She used to live in New Frontenac. Gotta love it, new and old and you could practically blink and drive past both.

New fire station for Red Wing.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/ ... 1c447.html

The Red Wing City Council was asked Monday for its approval for several changes to the design of a new fire station on the west side of the city. The proposed station would shorten response times to areas such as Treasure Island Casino and the nearby nuclear power plant.

With its towering bluffs, majestic river and proximity to the Twin Cities, Rochester and prospective employers, the small, picturesque city of Red Wing is seemingly an ideal setting for a four-year college.

It is a classic college town, some city leaders say, without a classic four-year college.

http://www.startribune.com/calling-all- ... 381333371/

Of course, Red Wing did have (two?) colleges at one time. Hamline started in Red Wing. Red Wing also had a Lutheran seminary until the mid-20th Century.

I've actually thought about this quite a bit over the past few years, as I love Red Wing since it feels like a college town but without a college. I think there are two natural spots for a college campus to arise, either immediately east or west of downtown.

East could definitely use the lift more than west, especially with how US 63 will now be routed east of the river bridge instead of west into downtown before looping around. This presents a huge opportunity for the Bluff and Potter Street corridors to be reconnected between the Runnings big box area and the ADM site on the river, especially if ADM ever moves and Urban Red Wing can claim this riverfront.

The second area is north of Main Stroad between Old West Main and Broad Street. This is the six blocks of run-down post-war sprawlblight between Downtown and the "mini-downtown" of Old West Main, making it a crucial corridor for placemaking and connectivity. This is generally the area above the railroad and surrounding the Caribou Coffee / ex-Hardee's / ex-Chicago Great Western Depot building which seems to be memorable for out-of-towners. There are also some classic brick warehouse/industrial buildings which could be repurposed into something grand.

The push to attract a four-year school was launched when local business leaders complained they were having trouble filling technology positions, particularly those in cyber security, digital forensics and gamification, leaders said.

Seems like they should be leaning on MnSCU to ratchet up programming rather than the long shot of trying to lure a four-year campus to decide to locate there (that will inevitably be looking for a handout).

Southeast Tech has a lot of potential (okay, maybe I'm a bit biased - both my dad and brother spent at least some time there) and even a few unique programs that are hard to find elsewhere. Red Wing's problem is that they perceive a tech school as lesser-than.

Does Minnesota, as a state, need more four year colleges?

Yes? More supply = reduced cost. I've always thought we are rather under-supplied when it comes to colleges.

Maybe the problem with college is too many people going to college

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If we can build them a football stadium I'm all for it.

Maybe the problem with college is too many people going to college

Maybe the problem with college is too many people going to college

That, good sir, is a beautiful graph.

Such a cool opportunity for the city of Red Wing! Vote if you can

http://smallbusinessrevolution.org/main ... d-wing-mn/