Media coverage of cities, urban issues, etc.

[twincitizen]

I skipped posting about the 3rd part of "Growing Minneapolis", since I was busy and it was about closing the achievement gap, which isn't really relevant to the interests of this forum. Part 4 (next Monday) is transportation, so everyone should watch out for that and submit your best questions before it kicks off at noon on the 30th.
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Anyhoo, Star Tribune polled 800 folks about their support for increased density and streetcars (probably polling the same 800 people who they asked about the mayoral race, so take with a huge grain of salt) and the results are definitely mixed.

POLL: Do you support or oppose plans to increase thedensity of residential housing in Minneapolis?

If you click the link (above the pie chart) to see detailed results, you'll probably be as surprised as I was. Despite the small sample size, there is almost no variation in support or opposition to increased density between men vs. women or young vs. old. There are some very interesting splits in race (blacks more opposed) and income/education. As education and income increase, support for density increases, presumably from the capacity to fully understand the issue and likelihood of currently paying very high property taxes. It's not a huge surprise that people who are poorer and live in smaller apartments are opposed to increasing density (outside of our pro-development, pro-urbanism echo chamber).
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POLL: Do you support or oppose building a $200 millionstreetcar line along Nicollet and Central Avenues?

I'm not trying to poop too hard on the streetcar plan, but I think that the general public generally has no idea what transit costs and what funding sources are available. This is not surprising, since even in Minneapolis, just 11% or so use the bus to get to work. I think if people were presented a clear comparison of the costs between streetcars and enhanced buses, you would see support for the streetcar option erode pretty abruptly. No matter how you slice it, running a 3-mile streetcar line is a "want" when we can't even find funding for "needs". In this poll, younger and white folks support a streetcar more than others. The same correlation between income/education and support exists here as in the density poll (but unlike that poll, I found it a little surprising here that it was so direct).

[David Greene]

In this poll, younger and white folks support a streetcar more than others. The same correlation between income/education and support exists here as in the density poll (but unlike that poll, I found it a little surprising here that it was so direct).

I don't find that surprising at all. High-income earners are choice transit riders. They have a bigger rail bias. If you're already using the bus, why would you care about a streetcar?

[twincitizen]

Dear lord, this is the most slanted article I've ever encountered by the local media: http://kstp.com/news/stories/s3203828.shtml

KSTP is basically the Fox News Channel of MSP (obviously not literally, as they are an ABC affiliate). Not surprising, considering they are owned by Hubbard, but come on...this entire article is ridiculous clickbait for City-haters.

I mean, they're not wrong about the massive public investment the City has made in the Vikings stadium, Target Center upgrades, and potentially streetcars, but there is not one shred of positivity in this piece. No mention of the recent population growth or second consecutive year of >$1 Billion in construction, largely privately funded. All that pissing and moaning gets followed up by "Minneapolis is asking for even more money from the state for Nicollet Mall upgrades". Good grief KSTP. Shame on you.

[MNdible]

So, I've noticed a lot of hand-wringing over a few media stories (the MPR LRT story and the Steve Brandt Bluff Street story specifically), and I think you all need to chill out. OK, they don't cast things in the most favorable light, but they were timely and relevant stories that were well researched and asked reasonable questions. That's what journalists do.

Do we really think the fact that the trains were running so far behind schedule, even if it's still in process, isn't newsworthy? Everybody on the board noticed that there were problems -- was MPR supposed to ignore the mess they were seeing in downtown St. Paul? They got good responses from the people they needed to, including the quote from Fuhrmann about not worrying too much about the end-to-end time (and while I understand what he was getting at, it wasn't well phrased).

Do we really think the fact that $3 million is being spend on the Bluff Street connection (one which many on this board contend isn't necessary) isn't newsworthy? I actually have defended the trail's utility, but the cost does give pause. As I noted, Brandt is a bike guy, so take the fact that he's asking tough questions not as a personal assault, but because he's doing his job.

Thicken up your skins a bit.

Now if we're talking KSTP, that's another matter.

[Nick]

Also, I wish that the Strib would add a standard terminology for the Blue and Green Lines to their style guide, but that may be a personal issue.

[mplsjaromir]

I think its funny how Cam Winton has become the one stop shop for anti-bike infrastructure quips. I cannot foresee a situation where a Startribune columnist would quote a failed, left of center political candidate on expensive automobile infrastructure, and then actually run with a non sequitur. There is clearly a double standard.

[mattaudio]

I cannot foresee a situation where a Startribune columnist would quote a failed, left of center political candidate on expensive automobile infrastructure

They have my number if they're looking for a juicy quote about automobile infrastructure.

[mplsjaromir]

I cannot foresee a situation where a Startribune columnist would quote a failed, left of center political candidate on expensive automobile infrastructure

They have my number if they're looking for a juicy quote about automobile infrastructure.

lol

[twincitizen]

I just got the joke.

[lordmoke]

This KIND OF fits here. Didn't know where else to put it, and it's incredibly amusing:
http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom ... apolis.php

[mattaudio]

Wow, author sounds bitter. Bro and yuppie hate is so last year, Drew. Gets it right with #4,3,2 though because they are actually bad places, not because the author thinks the places are bad because there are yuppies present.

[ECtransplant]

Thanks for reminding me why I removed City Pages from my rss feed

[mullen]

the comments on that article are hilarious.

[twincitizen]

I can't be the only one wishing Southwest/Downtown Journal allowed comments on their website...

On one hand, comments are terrible and rarely add to the conversation (see CityPages). On the other hand, when comments are moderated and limited to a specific audience (as the Journals would be), they can be quite good. MinnPost's comments are typically quite good, despite the presence of a few token wingnuts. A Minneapolis-only conversation taking place on the Journal's pages would help expand the conversation on development, city politics, etc. in a way that can't happen on Star Trib or MinnPost because you have non-residents muddying things up. It's unlikely that many non-residents are reading Journal articles online.

[Minneapolisite]

This KIND OF fits here. Didn't know where else to put it, and it's incredibly amusing:
http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom ... apolis.php

There is some overboard homerism in the comments. All those awful examples of urbanism aren't ever full with those same people
saying it's not so bad, because they are actually that bad and need to be reversed.

[twincitizen]

Anyone else getting the impression that The Journal / Southwest Journal have really scaled back their output in recent months? Did they lay off any reporters or anyone heard about financial problems there? You'd think with all of the indie neighborhood papers (The Wedge, Uptown Neighborhood News, etc.) now all dead, that Journal/SW have less competition for ad revenue, but I suppose they face the same issues as the newspaper industry as a whole.

Then again, I suppose it could just be my own reading habits changing or the lack or relevant development news (particularly for SW's coverage area). I still read SWJ in hard copy every two weeks (they deliver a half-dozen copies or so to my building), but I almost never find myself on their website lately.

[seanrichardryan]

Their website is perpetually having layout issues. I'd you can't put out the content in a decent manner, you lose the clicks.

[David Greene]

Anyone else getting the impression that The Journal / Southwest Journal have really scaled back their output in recent months?

Yeah, I've definitely noted that too. There's still a lot of development activity going on so I don't think it's a matter of not having material. They seem to have upped their arts coverage quite a bit. Seems to be a lot of reader-submitted content in that area.

[xandrex]

They run a small staff of maybe three full-time reporters (plus an editor) split between two papers, so coverage will wax and wane. Also, their assistant editor, Dylan Thomas, seems to be out on paternity leave (putting 2+2 together here since he hasn't posted in a while and recently had a shot of his newborn kid).

[twincitizen]

This topic doesn't really fit into any established thread, and even putting it here is a stretch, but I thought you all would enjoy the read:
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf says "Government policies hurt urban areas" http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/ ... -says.html