Joe Urban | Sam Newberg, Urbanist


Accidental Traffic Calming in the Neighborhood

Dateline: 4:18 pm July 26, 2013 Filed under:

Here’s a riddle. How do you calm traffic legally but without having to go through city hall? You have two options: have a road reconstruction project; or a major storm that knocks trees down and blocks streets. Standish-Ericsson got both this summer at the same time, causing undue stress and disruption. But alas, there is a silver lining and maybe some instructive ideas about better urbanism. While it is true that the summer-long closure of 28th Avenue near my home has caused me and my neighbors some inconvenience, and certainly the storm ravaged yards and homes, I suspect I will…

How to Improve the Urbanism of the New Vikings Stadium

Dateline: 5:04 pm July 17, 2013 Filed under:

The Stadium Implementation Committee meets July 18 and several more times in to September to advise on key design decisions related to the new Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis. This post is primarily concerned about the relationship of the stadium to its surrounding urban environment. In late May Oslund & Associates presented the landscape plan for the stadium, and the following are my questions, concerns and recommendations about this plan. I hope the Stadium Implementation Committee considers the following. Pedestrian access. A common complaint about the Metrodome is for 30 years it has been a pedestrian barrier in downtown East. The design for…

A Few Questions for Hennepin County About Minnehaha Avenue

Dateline: 1:10 pm July 16, 2013 Filed under:

After attending last week’s meeting hosted by Hennepin County regarding the reconstruction of Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, I have a few questions. First question. Designs shown at the meeting generally indicate an increase in vehicular traffic of around 1% per year, or about 20% by 2030. Why? What is the County basing this on? Isn’t that a self-fulfilling prophecy? Build it and they will come. Making it easier to drive results in more traffic, something called induced demand. Do we really want more traffic on Minnehaha? The question was raised during the meeting and the answer from the County representative was that household…

Victory in the Battle for the OK Bike Corral

Dateline: 7:50 pm July 15, 2013 Filed under:

This past Friday, after considerable haggling, some crossed wires and some interesting negotiations with the City of Minneapolis, the Northbound received their encroachment permit and installed their on-street bike corral. I hope this second on-street bike corral in Minneapolis helps set the tone for a better city approvals process so the next corral and the one after that are easier to put in use. As my post from March indicates, I’ve spent a little time on this. One year, to be exact. My efforts with Public Works to secure the encroachment permit on behalf of the Northbound led to a formal request to Minneapolis…

The Zoning Battle Over Al’s Breakfast – A Form Based Code With a Side of Bacon

Dateline: 2:40 pm June 6, 2013 Filed under:

“Why would anybody ever eat anything besides breakfast food?” – Leslie Knope “People are idiots, Leslie.” – Ron Swanson When I heard Al’s might get redeveloped, I thought the end of the bearkfast world was approaching. My first reaction was “you can take away Al’s Breakfast but you’ll have to pry that bacon from my cold dead hands.” So what does any self-respecting lover of breakfast food do? I took my son Ellis to Al’s for breakfast. And I asked questions and I did a little research. I was relieved to find out from Al’s staff that they are not…

CNU 21 Dispatch 2 – Tactical (New) Urbanism

Dateline: 7:58 pm June 1, 2013 Filed under:

Two years ago at CNU 19 in Madison, a couple of guys named Mike Lydon and Andrew Howard presented something called “tactical urbanism.” It sounded good – without necessarily asking for permission, you install temporary trees, crosswalks, bike lanes, sidewalk seating and inspire neighbors to take back their street. Two years later here at CNU 21 in Salt Lake City, Mike Lydon and Andrew Howard were back to present again, this time joined by Aaron Naparstek. Much has changed, but tactical urbanism holds as much potential as ever for neighborhoods to embrace their public realm and demonstrate the potential for long-term…

CNU 21 Dispatch 1 – Return to Daybreak

Dateline: 8:42 pm May 31, 2013 Filed under:

It has been seven years since this urbanist last visited Daybreak. In 2006 I wrote an article for ULI (you may have heard of it). At that time Daybreak was a few hundred homes, a school and the idea of new urbanism was indeed new to Salt Lake City. Now, one housing bust and a light rail line later, I returned to see if Daybreak has grown up. It has, but in human terms, it is no longer a young child and now a responsible teenager with a job and a bright future. The Trax red line now serves Daybreak, a…

We Need Transit and the Urbanism that Surrounds It

Dateline: 2:47 pm May 8, 2013 Filed under:

Kate Wolford’s Star Tribune commentary calling for more transit was spot on. Our peer cities (Denver, Portland, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, hell, even St. Louis!) are ahead of us in terms of built rail miles, lines and stations. We must do more than catch up to remain an attractive metro area for all. Rail miles, lines and stations are important, but equally if not more so is the fabric of the city once people step off the platform. That is where we must set ourselves apart, and that requires something much more robust than station area planning. All hands must be…

Bikes and Businesses Must Unite

Dateline: 2:21 pm April 24, 2013 Filed under:

Like the Streets.mn Voter Guide, the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition has posted answers to bicycling related questions posed to city council and mayoral candidates. Question six asks “when would you vote against or overrule a BAC recommendation?” I read those responses carefully, and as expected, most candidates didn’t really take that one on or provide a concrete example. I have one. If I were running for office, my answer would be “when it removes on-street parking, particularly in commercial zones, and especially when that loss of on-street parking hurts small businesses.” Increased cycling has many benefits to the city and local businesses, and as…

You Might Be in a Walkable Neighborhood

Dateline: 2:25 pm April 23, 2013 Filed under:

More apologies to Jeff Foxworthy… …If the restaurants post their menus in the window, you might be in a walkable neighborhood If streets are used for more than cars, you might be in a walkable neighborhood If you can walk for blocks without seeing a parking lot, you might be in a walkable neighborhood If you feel comfortable letting your kid walk down the street, you might be in a walkable neighborhood If there are more than 10 doors per 100 meters (300 or so feet), you might be in a walkable neighborhood (thank you Jan Gehl) If you can get…