Twin Cities Streets for People

Our own Antonio Rosell appeared on the KFAI program, Conversations With Al McFarlane, discussing the next phase of NiceRide bicycle sharing in North Minneapolis.

Give it a listen on the radio archive!

Here is an example of how industrial design can impact the public right-of-way.  A specially-designed lunch sack—created by Alexandra Pulver—can attach to most any fence and be transformed into a seat.  As a result, the pedestrian becomes a stationary street user, potentially increasing the vitality of the space by introducing not only a new use but a new time scale.  From Pulver:

“I am exploring how nontraditional public spaces—like sidewalks—might be easily transformed into lively places to lunch.  I hope that my efforts might inspire even a handful of my fellow urbanites to reconsider the potential for lunch—to be a joyful daily event—and for the sidewalks...to serve as more than just pathways."

  Read more >

Some text has been added to the Hennepin Avenue green stripe.  It reads, "TURN RIGHT BIKE BUS" from top to bottom, or "BUS BIKE RIGHT TURN" from bottom to top.  

I think this means that the stripe is for buses and bikes, and cars should only enter the stripe if they want to turn right.  I believe there are still plans to add a bicycle symbol to the green stripe to indicate that this portion of the shared lane is primarily for cyclists.  

Is this becoming more legible to you as a street user?  As one cyclist told me, "maybe [the green stripe] has something to do with [A New Musical] Wicked," which is currently playing at a venue on Hennepin.  

A new parking and pricing pilot project in San Francisco to

"Find parking faster. Pay more easily. Avoid tickets. SFMTA’s SFpark project is a two-year federally funded pilot of new parking management technologies and approaches. Less circling and fewer double-parked cars give us cleaner air and safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians. With less traffic, public transit and emergency vehicles move more easily."

Via the Strong Towns Blog

Half of the length of a new green bike stripe has been installed on Hennepin Avenue through downtown.  On what has been designed as a shared use bus/bike lane, does this make it easier and safer for buses and bikes—as well as cars that are making right turns—to coexist, or does it reinforce bad habits of cyclists who hug the curb instead of taking the lane in shared use situations?  

  Read more >

Article by USA Today on the HAWK (High Intensity Activated Crosswalk) signal, now adopted into the latest edition of the MUTCD as the "Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon." This signal is used to improve pedestrian crossings at locations that do not meet traffic signal warrants, or at locations that do meet traffic signal warrants but where a decision is made to not install a traffic control signal. Read more >

Over the objections of the Warehouse District business owners, The City of Minneapolis is set to make two huge improvements over the badly implemented bike lanes on Hennepin and 1st Avenues.

On Hennepin, they will be painting the Shared bus / bike lane green, and on 1st Avenue they are adding a 'buffer' between the bike lane and the parked car traffic. Also, they will be removing rush hour parking restrictions for North-bound traffic. Read more >

Beautiful attention to detail and unique symbology highlights cycling as an integral part of Denmark's urban design.

The 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will be celebrated Monday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Nicollet Island Pavilion, 40 Power St., Minneapolis, MN. Read more >

Designed by Carmela Bogman and Rogier Martens, POP-UP is a multi-use street furniture system that hides within the sidewalk and can be hydraulically pumped out by means of retractable bollards.  The flexible qualities of the installation provide a limitless number of possible arrangements and combination of uses. A streetscape with flexible—and creative—furnishings fosters spontaneity and invites street users to socialize in new ways.