My Schieferdecker List for Saint Paul

[From here.]

I was inspired by precocious soccer and urbanism fan, Alex Schieferdecker, who was in turn inspired by Our Streets Minneapolis, to create a list of ten "transportation action" priorities for Saint Paul. It's a bit bittersweet, given that the city is making decisions that are the opposite of things on here, but I did want to share it.

First, check out Alex's list, for some inspiration.

Note also that these actions lie in the vaguely realistic realm, of things which the City or County could actually accomplish, albeit with some bureaucratic help. Big ticket game changers like a new rail transit or the Rondo Land Bridge would be on another list of moonshots (though this line is certainly debatable).

In no particular order...


1) Make Ayd Mill Road into a greenway / park / anything else

I've already written about this way too much not enough of course, and it's not worth kicking a dead horse when it's a down zombie from the 1960s.

But this would be a step Saint Paul could take unilaterally, and one that would be a significant action to align our transportation priorities with our stated values right away. In fact, Saint Paul could accomplish this simply by *not acting*, and letting entropy take its course.

(But anywhooo.....)

[At the low low cost of some concrete barriers + a visioning process + a fundraising campaign.]

2) Safe connections from downtown to the east

Railroad Island and Lafayette "Park" are two areas that are directly next to downtown Saint Paul and could, with a few changes, be connected well to Lowertown and the State Capitol area. Doing so could provide lots of new land and benefits for the constrained and growing downtown core. Currently, walking or biking in these areas is terrible and dangerous.

What if the underused industrial buildings in these areas were artist studios, for example? What if you would walk there easily?

3) One-lane the 94 frontage roads

The I-94 "frontage roads" of Concordia/Rondo and St. Anthony are currently high-speed two-lane one-way roads that are often used as freeway congestion relief. Anything is better than that... These should be calmed streets that make the neighborhood safer, not more dangerous. Put anything there: bike lanes, curling rinks, decorative bollards... Ask the community what they want to see.

This could be a first step toward a Rondo land bridge.

4) Extend Greenway over river

This one is directly from Alex's list. As he wrote:

Building a greenway river crossing would not only benefit St. Paul. Entirely within Mpls, the city could create a direct bike highway connection between the U and Uptown, all in rarely used ROW.

5) Road diets on arterials and low-hanging fruit

[From here.]

Let's end four-lane Death Roads in Saint Paul, beginning with streets like East 7th, White Bear, Maryland, South Robert, Hamline, Cretin, and the rest of the list...

These deadly streets are morally indefensible, unless you value traffic flow over the lives and safety of people in the city. That's an extreme position that flies in the face of equity and justice, and it's long past time we rid ourselves of these street designs.

[Deadly McKnight.]

6) Shrink Shepard / Warner Roads downtown & simplify connection

Shepard Road has been completely closed for a month and everything was pretty much fine. What if these barriers between downtown and the Mississippi were two lanes in the downtown core? We could used some of the extra space for other public purposes, and Saint Paul might finally be connected to the riverfront.

7) Complete the downtown bike network

At least there's a plan to connect the city's key bike trails through the dead zone that is Downtown Saint Paul. The first part of the network on Jackson Street is great, but does not have a great deal of utility without an additional east-west connection.  If Saint Paul can build a east-west link through downtown, and up to Summit Avenue, a bike network will really be in place and will be well-used.

After that, the Kellogg and the final north-south legs will be the icing on the bicycle cake.

7b) Get the through-cars off 4th Street

Turn one-lane 4th Street into a "test woonerf". It would be easy do this with some signs, closing the street off between Robert and Sibley. It could happen this summer, and would be a low-cost bike/ped connection through the heart of downtown.

[Start with weekends, if you must.]

8) Bridge the railway gap in Midway

A bridge somewhere in this area would be a tremendous asset for bicycling in Saint Paul.

9) Bike/ped trail along CP rail corridor

The CP Rail Spur would also be a tremendous asset for bicycling in Saint Paul, while also being a key walking connection for people living along the West 7th corridor.  This one seems easier and Ramsey County should get a move on with this project!

10) Protected bike lanes where possible (by removing on-street parking or a travel lane)

I love the Pelham Boulevard bike connection, and the relatively obscure St. Anthony protected bike lane is another piece of affordable quality bike infra.  More of this please. Protected bike lanes could and should be standard when possible.

That's it. There are a lot of things that could be added here, but as Alex said, these are just some ideas. We could use a lot more!