Every Map Is the Same Map: ShotSpotter Edition
Streets.MN
by Pine Salica
2h ago
I think often of a post that I saw one time: “firing shots into the air to keep the rent down.” Shotspotters are microphones that are wired up to tell the police when they hear something that sounds like a gun firing in the area. The linked Wired article below describes how these microphones are deployed throughout the United States, mostly by one company called SoundThinking, and how they obtained the mapping data (an informant who requires anonymity). It also discusses that the map demonstrates a bias for microphone placement: “Nearly three-quarters of these neighborhoods are majority nonwhi ..read more
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Streets.mn Is Looking for Two Volunteer Editors
Streets.MN
by Erik Ruthruff
2d ago
Do you want to make a positive volunteer contribution to our fun urbanist website that has been publishing for over 10 years? Or do you know someone who does? Please help us pass the word. We need volunteer editors to join our editorial team and help proof and copy edit articles before they get posted on Streets.mn. It’s the perfect volunteer job because you only need a computer with an internet connection; no need for travel. We’re looking for two people. No previous editorial experience is necessary, but you do need decent grammatical and research skills. If you excelled at journalism, writi ..read more
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Walk the Talk: Street Reconstructions Abound
Streets.MN
by Hawken Habig
6d ago
Editor’s note: Walk the Talk is Streets.mn’s carefully curated, highly partisan collection of both serious and fun-loving events, community meetings and opportunities for engagement that we think will interest our readers. Email your ideas to Hawken Habig, one of our daily editors, at hawkenhabig@gmail.com. Olson Memorial Highway Design Alternatives — meeting, Tuesday, March 26; survey, through April 9 Design Alternative 4 for Olson Memorial Highway. Courtesy of MnDOT. We have covered the Olson Memorial Highway project quite a lot in this series, presenting the innumer ..read more
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What the FRA Long-Distance Study Could Mean for Minnesota
Streets.MN
by Max Singer
1w ago
Amtrak is having a moment, though it may be hard yet to see the results. An unprecedented amount of money, effort and political will is currently being marshaled by federal, state and even local governments for improving our nation’s intercity rail system. Much of that attention has rightfully gone toward high-speed rail, as well as frequent, higher speed service between city pairs. However, in the text of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), there was also a congressional mandate for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to study long-distance routes, whether resuming discon ..read more
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How City Policy Gets Made With Kathy Lantry & Amy Brendmoen
Streets.MN
by Sherry Johnson
1w ago
Kathy Lantry and Amy Brendmoen collectively spent three decades on Saint Paul City Council, each serving as Council President for part of that time. We get their insider perspective about the process of how policy gets made and budgets set, how things changed as more women joined the council, and what they wish they had more time to accomplish. Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck’s Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode ..read more
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Blue Line Extension Part 2: Land Use Problems
Streets.MN
by Richie Song
1w ago
Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series covering the METRO Blue Line extension project. This part will focus on land use issues currently faced in the corridor. Part one covered the history, background, criticisms, hopes and future of the Blue Line. Lastly, part three will cover conceptual proposals for Bus Rapid Transit and local bus routes in the northwest suburbs. Ridership across transit systems in North America, including right here in the Twin Cities, are still hampered by changing commute patterns, lasting effects from the pandemic, safety, travel time and more. Though ..read more
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How Walkable Is Your Neighborhood? Mac-Groveland Took Steps to Find Out
Streets.MN
by Alyssa Mitchell
2w ago
On April 1, 2023, over half a foot of snow fell in the Twin Cities, blanketing the ground with a new layer of snow and bringing the seasonal snowfall to a whopping 90.2 inches; it was the third snowiest year on record according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesotans across the Twin Cities and beyond grabbed their snow shovels and plows for the umpteenth time and began chiseling away at the layers of powder and ice on their sidewalks, driveways and other footpaths.  Lynn Ihlenfeldt, a longtime resident of the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood in St. Paul and a board ..read more
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Cutting Vehicle Miles Would Yield Health, Economic Benefits
Streets.MN
by Christopher Ingraham
2w ago
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Minnesota Reformer and is reprinted with permission. If Minnesotans reduced their driving by 20%, it could save the average household $1,700 a year, reduce the annual number of crash fatalities by 100, and save hundreds of additional lives through better air quality and healthier lifestyles, according to an estimate published in February by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit that supports de-carbonization efforts. “State Departments of Transportation are positioned to significantly reduce transportation pollution, not just with ..read more
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We Need to Talk About Bus Rapid Transit Creep
Streets.MN
by Ian Gaida
2w ago
While the fight over Hennepin Avenue South is still fresh in our minds, other Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects have had features cut almost entirely unnoticed, like the dedicated lanes on Robert Street in St. Paul for the G and Purple Lines. Perhaps most prominently, the presumptive peripheral portion of the Purple Line was plainly put out to pasture. From Uptown to Downtown, St. Paul to the suburbs we’re seeing large chunks of infrastructure cut from future rapid transit projects, and this isn’t a new or unique trend. So why, in an era where transit expansion should theoretically be at its pe ..read more
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National Links: Even More Distracted Drivers
Streets.MN
by Jeff Wood
2w ago
Every day, The Overhead Wire collects news about cities and sends the links to their email list. At the end of the week they take some of the most popular stories and post them to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to Streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the D.C. region. They are national and international links, sometimes entertaining or absurd but often useful. Drivers even more distracted by phones: Insurance company mobile phone apps have offered up a trove of data about how often people are using their phones while driving. Screen interaction and phone u ..read more
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