Share the Road, really!

With bike commuters on the rise I am not sure why drivers are still griping at folks like me. Just the other day I had one of those wonderful conversations with a motorists at an intersection. Clearly, we were just going to have to agree to disagree. During the rest of my commute I realized that motorist should be extremely thankful for my daily bike commuting. I realized I have achieved the following for this driver:

• One less car on the road
• One more parking spot freed up
• One less car on our congested freeways
• One less garage built
• One less car at line in the gas station
• One less car polluting the city
• One less car to get into an accident with
• One less car for wear and tear on the streets
• A shorter commute for all

Yes, I realized that motorists should be on our side. As transit mode shifts and the numbers of bike commuter rises that is a huge win win for everybody. The more I thought about it, it is even a bigger win for motorists. If we can achieve high numbers of ridership, just think of how many cars will be taken off the road. This USA Today article had this to say:

Bare is one growing number of people turning to bicycles for transportation. According to the most recent U.S. Census figures, the number of adults who bicycled to work in 2008 was 786,098, up 26% from 2006. That number continues to grow, says Wiley Norvell, spokesman for the New York City-based Transportation Alternatives advocacy group.

I think one less car should really be for the cagers, since they all have more to gain then I do.

The Birth of Cool: Richard Florida on Cities

Why I moved to "fly over land"

Mr. Renn's post over at the Urbanphile about authentic cities made me realize once again why I moved to fly over land. For those of you not in the know, this usually consists of the entire Midwestern region of the United States (From at least Ohio to Nebraska). A little less than 2 years ago I packed my bags and moved from NYC (the center of the world) to the Twin Cities. At that time most people didn't know where it was, nonetheless, ever heard of or had a geographic inkling about where the upper Midwest was. If they knew where Chicago was I was lucky.

What I love about living in Minneapolis, and working in St. Paul, is that I, and most residents, could care less about NYC, Chicago, and SF (all places I have lived). It really is ironic that in the Twin Cities region the next "big city" is Chicago (350 miles away), which Amtrak only goes to once a day from St. Paul. Here in the upper Midwest we live in the shadow of nobody. No NYC to Philadelphia, no Chicago to Milwaukee, we just seem to exist up here all by ourselves with no clear reflection from somebody else's shadow.

This brings me to Renn's post about looking at your history, past, heritage, and what you have as a way to identify yourself. From the post:

To renew our cities, we have to build on what they are, not what they aren’t. The lesson of Portland is not the physical things Portland did. The lesson of Portland is that they went their own way and did what was right for them. Other cities need to find their own paths. That doesn’t mean you can’t do something or aspire to be something you’ve never been. That’s how we grow as people and as cities. But suddenly deciding to just chuck your whole heritage, history, character, etc. and go in a radically different direction is probably not going to work. One reason, for example, the 1970’s era amateur sports strategy for Indianapolis worked is that sports was something that was already compatible with the local culture. It was a reworking of something that was already there, positioned for the future – and it fit the city.

People think we are crazy up here with our 6 months of freezing weather, long summer days, pick up trucks, lakes and rivers, thriving economy and culture, and overall pretty good quality of life. I think for the Midwestern cities to hit there stride again we might want to take Renn's advice and stop listening to the Richard Florida's of the world, who make a living pointing out what we are not, instead of what we are and can thrive to be.

I like it up here, and guess what, I am staying.

Sprawlanta

Braking for the Law

This is a great op-ed in the NY Times. Chris Raschka talks about what has changed in the past 10 years on NYC streets in regards to cycling. It has changed so much so, that the new environment gives Chris the idea it might just be better to stop at the red lights and wait.

Ten years ago, riding a bicycle through the streets of New York was still considered outlandish behavior at best, and possibly insane. At the time, I viewed this with chagrin, but also complacency. I biked everywhere.

Like a goat in a cattle drive, I was jostled by a delivery van on Ninth Avenue, went over my handlebars because of an out-of-town driver on Seventh, and was casually bumped into by a limousine driver on Sixth who stopped and got out to see if I had damaged his side-view mirror, while I lay unattended on the sidewalk.

But in the last few years, bicycling has become an accepted and much safer way to get around the city. Bike lanes abound, putting cars, trucks and vans at least a couple of feet farther from me. On the many paths along the rivers I can find breezy quiet and truly fresh air.

Perhaps looking for a new challenge, I’ve been attempting something unexpected in New York City bike-riding behavior: I stop for red lights.

Is the tide changing enough for cyclist to start following the rules? Or is Chris just showing his excitement for the new changes through his new found behavior?

Being Green in the Twin Cities

The Green Store, which supplies green products for the Twin Cities, is moving it's store a few miles south to a new location. Why you ask, Parking.

May is the last month to shop Twin Cities Green at 2405 Hennepin Ave. S. before the store changes names and moves from the area.

Ryan North, who started the business a couple years ago with wife Tina, said the store would be moving a couple miles southwest, closer to the lakes, but he couldn’t provide the exact address yet because the deal was still being finalized.

The main reason for the move, he said, was problematic parking at the current location.

Oh, the Irony. I also see the move into a wealthier part of the Twin Cities as the real driving force.

Capping I-94

Decking over expressways is not anything new, but since Boston's BIG DIG it seems cities are now looking at this as a real viable option to reconnect spaces that have been cut off from each other because of the creation of the freeway running through the cities.

In the Twin Cities I-94 immediately jumps out as a great project that could be capped from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul. If we caped it the following could be accomplished:

Re-establishing the Rondo Neighborhood in St. Paul

Connecting Stevens Square with downtown Minneapolis

Creating a public trail, greenway, and even transit way

Parks, parks, and parks

Create a new corridor with mixed-use development

From the USA Today article:

Cities are removing the concrete barriers that freeways form through their downtowns — not by tearing them down but by shrouding them in greenery and turning them into parks and pedestrian-friendly developments.

This gray-to-green metamorphosis is underway or under consideration in major cities seeking ways to revive sections of their downtowns from Los Angeles and Dallas to St. Louis and Cincinnati.

Transportation departments are not opposed as long as the plans don't reduce highway capacity. In most cases, traffic is rerouted.

"It's the coming together of people wanting green space and realizing that highways are a negative to the city," says Peter Harnik, director of the Trust for Public Land's Center for City Park Excellence. "Covering them with green space gives you a wonderful place to live and work."

Have we found a possible solution to our urban freeways? Costs would be high, but would the benefits justify these monster projects of decking our expressways?