Author Archive
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
Wow, The Show REALLY ISN’T over til the Fat Lady Sings….
“It ain’t over ’til it’s over” ~Yogi Berra
I guess I was right. I attended the January 15th meeting of the Community Services Commission meeting where the “Final” 75th and 76th Streetscape Schematic Design” was presented by the H.R. Green Consultants to the commission members for action. The only thing was that Jonathan Vlaming, the Planning [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Monday, January 14th, 2008
The Show ain’t over til the Fat Lady Sings….
January 10th at Richfield city hall, was the presentation of preferred alternative. That is, bike lanes on BOTH 76th and 75th and sidewalks on both sides on 76th following the complete span from 35W to Cedar Avenue. So needless to say I was doing the happy dance. At the January 2nd Transportation Commission Meeting, they voted [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Friday, January 4th, 2008
Lyndale Bridge over I-494
It’s coming, I look forward to it with both hope and dread. The current bridge is not only pedestrian and bike unfriendly to say the least (I think the 1 foot sidewalks were only designed as a place for trash in the summer and plowed snow in the winter and never were intended for [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in I-494 by admin
Friday, December 21st, 2007
Community Services and Planning Commissions Meeting December 18th
The meeting December 18th, where H.R. Green Consulting presented their recommendation to the Community Services and Planning Commissions was disappointing. There was quite a bit of discussion directed toward bike paths and sidewalks. Unfortunately, much of that discussion was instigated by me. The Community Services and Planning Commissions’ interests appeared to be mostly directed at [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
Green Housing
So back to writing about the developments on 76th/Pleasant and 76th/Lyndale. It will be interesting what the developers will have to offer as far as “Green Housing” practices, that is what are the materials the development is made of, what kind of energy conservation and usage does it have, etc… Some can add on to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Lyndale Ave and 76th St, Pleasant Ave and 76th St by admin
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
Next meeting on 75th-76th Streetscape Concept Development December 18th
December 18th at the Richfield Community Center. This is a combined meeting with H.R. Green Consulting presenting to BOTH the Community Services Commission and the Planning Commission. If this is like the last meeting with the Transportation Commission expect this to be lightly attended. If only they could make community meetings more interesting than [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
MnDot’s Manuals on Bikeways
A couple of interesting PDFs on the Technical Guidance for Bikeways put out by Mn/DOT
Mn/DOT Bikeways Facility Design Manual
MnDOT Bicycle Modal Plan
From MnDOT Bicycle Modal Plan
3-2.0
Shared use paths, greenways, and state trails must be designed for users other than bicyclists. The design should take into account others on shared use [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Friday, December 7th, 2007
Selective Editing
I was also shocked to hear H. R. Green Consulting tell the Transportation Commission that people who lived on 75th Street were concerned about not having parking and that they intend to make space for parking with bump-ins along 75th Street. I was at that November 28th meeting and only one woman voiced her concern. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
Transportation Meeting 12-5-07
This was an interesting meeting. Well, actually it was as fun as watching paint dry. But it was informative. H.R. Green Consulting made a presentation to the Transportation Commission. It pretty much confirmed my fears. No on street bike path, but not only that, it appears that the sidewalk is the “trail” a “multi-use” trail [...]
No Comments » - Posted in 76th Street Streetscape by admin
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
Sidewalks À la carte
At the November 28th meeting, in addition to showing bike path placement they also showed sidewalk placement. In a city of empty nesters that strongly oppose sidewalks, some because they do not have kids and don’t care if someone else’s kids have to use the street to get around, or others, because they hold on [...]