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…

“Before you cross the street, take my hand.’ John Lennon, Beautiful Boy. As much as I like the music of the Beatles, unfortunately the advice given by this John Lennon solo lyric is only somewhat helpful, my son. Now that you are riding your own bike with me, Ellis, you need to know that you won’t likely win your first encounter with a car, and it could well be your last. So taking my hand may not be enough. You need to look every which way before you even step off the curb. This is good life advice, no matter…

It is time to stop letting the highway standards dictate pedestrian safety improvements along Hiawatha Avenue. Anyone who has crossed Hiawatha Avenue on foot or by bicycle knows it’s a pretty rough go. Even with an actual walk signal illuminated the experience feels like taking your life in your hands, and I constantly rubberneck to be sure I’m not about to be run down. While the popular operation of light rail along Hiawatha for eight years running is surely a victory, the pedestrian realm has not kept up. The good news is as a result of the Minnehaha-Hiawatha planning initiative,…