The Peeve O' Matic Archive
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Peeve O' The Day: August 27, 2010
Fri, 08/27/2010 - 9:42am | by blindeke
Q: What's the best way to get to the state fair?
A: On a bike. And it's not even a close competition.
Driving to the fair is like taking a cheese grater to your sanity. And the buses are packed and logistically challenged and, most of the time, have to drive slowly in the clogged traffic lanes. No, the best way to get to the fair is on a bicycle. It's fast, fun, and even begins to offset some of the fried food you just ate.
So that's why its aggravating that there really aren't any good bike routes into the Fair. The fair routes bikes around the fair, and temporarily 'removes' the bike lane that goes straight to the entrance.
Given the inevitable mile-long bumper-to-bumper jams in every direction, you'd think they would be doing everything they could to encourage people to ride bicycles, not making it more difficult.
Plus O' The Day: August 19, 2010
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 10:49am | by blindeke
Nothing says "slow down and watch for pedestrians" like three or four firefighters waving a large rubber boot in your windsheild.
Plus O' The Day: July 29, 2010
Thu, 07/29/2010 - 5:41pm | by amrosell
As was noted previously, North Minneapolis is part of the only planning sector in Minneapolis which did not originally receive any stations for the publicly-funded Nice Ride bike share program (which received $1.75 million from the federal government's Non-motorized Transportation Pilot program and $250,000 from City of Minneapolis, as well as a private donation of $1 million from Blue Cross Blue Shield).
Congratulations and thank you to State Representative Bobby Joe Champion for his leadership, and to the Board and Staff of Nice Ride Minnesota for their work to redress this oversight and ensure that members of all Minneapolis communities can access and benefit from this publicly-funded initiative.
Nice Ride Minnesota is the nation's largest bike sharing program, with 65 bike stations and almost 1,000 bikes. More information >
Plus O' The Day: June 3, 2010
Thu, 06/03/2010 - 4:14pm | by blindeke
Especially in desne areas, and especially for things like traffic enforcement, it makes so much more sense to have police on bicycles. It was nice to see a bicycle policeman at work today in Downtown Saint Paul. This seems much less obtrusive, less intimidating, and less polluting than a cop in a cruiser.
Peeve O' The Day: May 17, 2010
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 1:31pm | by blindeke
Leaf blowers are really loud. There's a man with a leaf blowers "blowing the sidewalk" outside the cafe where I'm working today. On the scale of public space intrusion: leafblowers are a few steps down from jackhammers, but more annoying than a garbage truck... I'd put it about equal to a car alarm that doesn't turn off for a long time?
Plus O' The Day: May 15, 2010
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 9:30am | by amrosellJust happened today .. more details as we receive them. Thank you to all the people and organizations who have dedicated time, energy and effort to make this a reality!
Peeve O' The Day: May 12, 2010
Wed, 05/12/2010 - 1:53pm | by mlang
A couple of my friends sent in this photo showing MnDOT signage attempting to make life easier for motorists while making life difficult for people on foot and those with disabilities. This sidewalk sign placement is only one of the many locations witnessed over the weekend that featured sidewalk signage.
Plus O' The Day: May 11, 2010
Tue, 05/11/2010 - 2:41pm | by blindeke
After putting Riverside Avenue on a road diet back in November, I was disappointed this spring to see that the brand new bike lane paint had been completely obliterated by the winter's wear and tear. The street had completely reverted to its dangerous 4 lane past.
Well, the city has finally repainted the bike lanes, and West Bank cyclists can feel slightly safer once more. Hopefully they used more durable paint this time!
Plus O' The Day: February 19, 2010
Fri, 02/19/2010 - 6:14pm | by blindeke
The recent dustup about the 'winter parking rules' in Minneapolis point to an added benefit (or curse) of winter: the way that snowbanks make slow traffic on city side streets.
You've all been there, stuck in a game of chicken with another driver down a snowy winter street. Cars have to pull off to the side to allow oncoming traffic.
The effect reminds me of the Dutch 'woonerf' streets, which are 'calmed by uncertainty.' Because drivers aren't sure what's going to happen next, they proceed with extreme caution. While it may lengthen your commute time from your house to Point B, it helps to calm traffic on these residential streets, and makes it safer for everyone around.
What do you think? Is there a silver lining to the snowy Minnesota winter?
Plus O' The Day: January 26, 2010
Tue, 01/26/2010 - 1:52pm | by dquinceI was commuting to work today and found the short connector trail from the Ft Snelling chapel road to the Mendota Bridge connector to be a complete ice rink which caused me to crash. I called the state park and the historical society since I was not sure who manages that little section and was told by both they are getting calls weekly about trails in the park that are used by commuters which has encouraged them to begin to rethink how they handle winter trail maintanence.
Hats off to them.
Devin
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