Donjek :: The Cents of Place Blog

@Strib: Reconnecting Minneapolis' Seven Corners and West Bank

Like many urban and rural places, Minneapolis and St. Paul each have plenty of underutilized land area. 

One of Minneapolis' most striking examples is the Washington Avenue "trench," a 1960s-era highway that today splits the Seven Corners area, the University of Minnesota's West Bank, and the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Current plans call for construction of light rail transit service through the middle of the trench, a station beneath the 19th Avenue bridge, and a pedestrian/transit mall on Washington Avenue just across the river. In tandem, these plans translate to an opportunity for fundamental rethinking of how the trench inhibits the health of the places around it. 

I have posted a piece about these issues at the Star Tribune (link to that post), and I have included here at the Cents of Place, additional images created by University of Minnesota graduate students of architecture working with adjunct professor Mic Johnson, also of Ellerbe Becket. My thanks to Mic for his permission to include these images.

@Strib: Twin Cities Gearing Up for Greenways

In mid-July last summer, gas prices peaked, remaining in the range above $3.50 per gallon until late September, 2008. One consequence of the spike was a boom in interest in commuter bicycling. July traffic on the Midtown Greenway, the principal bike commuter infrastructure in the Twin Cities, was 30% higher in 2008 than the previous year. An average of over 4,100 cyclists per day used the Greenway at Hennepin Avenue.

Greenway traffic diminished slightly this summer, thanks largely to a 40% drop in the price of gasoline. But interest in establishing a network of greenways has continued to rise. Two new efforts – the Twin Cities Greenways Initiative and the St. Paul Greenway Committee – suggest that the many interests who stand to benefit from an effective bike commuter system are joining together to move it forward.

The Twin Cities Greenways Initiative, inspired by the combination of ridership and development in Midtown, is working with neighbors to explore conversion of residential streets to greenways, linked together eventually in a network to link neighborhoods, schools, open space and commercial areas. “As we talk to neighbors,” said advocate Matthew Hendricks, “we find that 90% of them respond very positively to the idea of converting their streets to greenways.” Auto access would remain to homes via the alleys, as illustrated above.

The St. Paul Greenway Committee is stimulating interest east of the river in a facility akin to the Midtown Greenway – to which many in St. Paul have long sought a connection. Led by transit advocates St. Paul Smart Trips, the committee intends to begin planning with neighborhoods, to determine which connections will link high-priority destinations most effectively.

Greenways play a key role in a transportation system where implemented. They also enhance property values – a case proven by numerous studies of comparable cities. Gas prices will rise from current levels in the future, and providing affordable choices for getting around is key to our region’s competitiveness and quality of life.

Note: This post is also available at the Star Tribune, with fewer images. 

All images courtesy of Michael Nelson and Twin Cities Greenways Initiative.

Transportation Stimulus Projects Should Reflect Modern Economy

A New York Times analysis of over 5,000 transportation-related stimulus projects released today indicates that less than half of the funds are slated for investment in metropolitan areas. The analysis suggests that these transportation investments have been selected based on formula as opposed to what the American economy of today looks like.

As I’ve recounted at the Cents of Place in the past, the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas:

• Use 12% of the U.S. land area;

• House and employ 65% of our population;

• Generate 78% of patent filings; and

• Create 75% of total U.S. economic activity.

The report shows that the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, while producing 1.36% of the country’s economic activity, is the location of 0.72% of the transportation-related stimulus projects authorized. Readers will note that the seven-county metro area contains just 12% of the state’s total lane miles. So doesn’t it make sense that stimulus funds reflect lane miles?

In its most succinct form, the answer may well be no. Here’s why: The federal stimulus legislation will provide capital grants to build, renovate, and replace transportation infrastructure – but it does not fundamentally address how state and local governments will pay for maintenance and operations. Over 87% of Minnesota’s total lane miles are county, township and city streets, paid for from limited state and local sources. Overbuilding may create long-term costs that will stifle prosperity in greater Minnesota, not the reverse.

Just ask my colleague Chuck Marohn, President of the Community Growth Institute, who provides planning and zoning expertise to small towns across Minnesota. In recent weeks, Chuck has blogged extensively about how and why our current approach to locating infrastructure investments is financially unsustainable. Moreover, it undermines the quality of life in communities like Brainerd, Minnesota, where Chuck grew up.

In metropolitan areas, the higher concentration of economic activity will allow for the funding of ongoing maintenance of road, rail and other systems, which will in turn bolster the metro economy as well as the statewide economy. Future stimulus funding, and the coming debate about a new federal transportation bill, ought to be designed in this light.

Photo courtesy of Resedabear/Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/resedabear/ / CC BY 2.0

@Strib Forum: Minnesota State Budget Stress Impacts Redevelopment

I continue to post regularly at the Star Tribune as a member of the Your Voices forum. My most recent post relates to the current state budget problems in Minnesota, where the Legislature and Governor continue to disagree about an appropriate fiscal response to recession and to the structural imbalance in the budget existing before the economic downturn.

Multi-billion dollar deficits don't come with easy fixes; plans relying exclusively on service cuts or tax increases are similarly painful to implement. This biennium, the Governor is using an executive power known as unallotment at an unprecedented level, to reduce spending unilaterally. From property taxes to transportation infrastructure, this approach is sure to impact those of us involved in redevelopment and placemaking.

Already, forecasts have been presented suggesting that this deficit is not a product of recession alone, but another iteration of a chronic budget imbalance. Jay Keidrowski, former finance commissioner, and nonpartisan Minnesota Senate Research analysis indicates the budget deficit for the next biennium (2011-12) to be in the $4.5 - $4.9 billion range.

@Strib Forum: Deciphering the News in the Economic News

After a hiatus that included time eating grits in Dixie, I am back at the Cents of Place, sorting through multiple notes for articles. Primary among them are GIS-related services for placemakers available soon from Donjek, and new content on business improvement districts. The first is posted at the Star Tribune this morning, and is available here.

@Strib Forum: New Recommendations for Fort Snelling Reuse

As I mentioned previously, I have participated as one of seventeen writers in a new project created by the Star Tribune. The forum, Your Voices, features commentary by artists, advocates, entrepreneurs. Today, I posted a story describing prospects for reuse of historic structures at Minnesota's 160-acre Fort Snelling complex. A Joint Agency Task Force has been meeting since last year to develop concrete recommendations for how to complement and connect activities at the Historic Fort and the substantial recreational assets widely used there, including athletic fields and the State Park. A long story made short: State policy must be changed to allow private parties with reuse ideas and capital to engage in the reuse of dozens of underutilized buildings on the site. Failure to establish such a process will likely lead to the structural demise of buildings located at a strategic hub of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

Stay tuned for discussion of task force recommendations.

@Strib Forum: Now Contributing to Newspaper's Online Space

Starting last month, I have participated as one of seventeen writers in a new project created by the Star Tribune. The forum, Your Voices, features commentary by artists, advocates, entrepreneurs. When the subject of material I post to Your Voices is topical to readers of the Cents of Place, I will publish a brief post here with a link to the story. The pieces I have published to date are available most directly here.

As with this space, please let me know what you think about Your Voices!