Reading the Highland Villager #151

[Basically the problem is that the best source of Saint Paul streets & sidewalks news is the Highland Villager, a very fine and historical newspaper. This wouldn't be a problem, except that its not available online. You basically have to live in or frequent Saint Paul to read it. Until this newspaper goes online, sidewalk information must be set free. See also: Three Reasons Why I Re-Blog the Highland Villager.] 



Headline: Council agrees to stadium plan; City commits to spending $18.4M on infrastructure
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: The City Council agreed to spend $18.4 million on new infrastructure in the Midway area on the block where the soccer stadium is being built. The infrastructure list [buried at the very end of the article for some reason] includes storm sewers, public green space, new streets, sidewalks and bike lanes. [What a boondoggle. J/K.  The important thing for me is, what are you spending the money on? Is it for parking ramps and bulldozing historic buildings or for sidewalks, sewers, and bike lanes? Will it serve a larger public? Will it lead to urban agglomeration that catalyzes investment in the surrounding neighborhood? There's a big difference.] CMs Bostrom and Prince voted against the spending, preferring to delay by a week to get an independent analysis. CM Prince wants to see a parking and transportation study, which will not be done for a few weeks. Other CMs want to act sooner in order to get permission from the legislature for the building. Article includes shiny stadium rendering. [No offense, but it's one of the more ridiculous renderings I've seen. And I've seen a lot of them. It looks like round version of the spaceship from Flight of the Navigator sitting in a giant field with zombie people walking towards it because they have been mind controlled.] Quote from CM Noecker: "We're counting on the stadium to catalyze development." [Yes they are! This spending should be seen in context of the previous plans to redevelop the Midway site, which also would have involved large public spending on things like new streets only without a catalyst that cranked and accelerated the "payoff" in terms of tax revenue, added density, and activity on this ultra-important corner. For a vision of what the site might look like without any city help, witness the CVS building across the street.] Neighbors are concerned about traffic and parking. There are no firm commitments about the development side of the picture, but there are assurances from the team owner and the strip mall owner. [There's a lot of not-necessarily-substantiated faith that the development stuff will happen. But the city / Met Council literally had no workable plan to develop the site without spending $30M on a parking ramp, IIRC.] Quote from concerned neighbor: "I don't know why we'd want to put any more congestion there." [Congestion is a state of mind.] Soccer hooligans attended the meeting. Chamber and business types like the plans. Quote from sports guy: "this is a sport that's about as egalitarian as you can get." [He's forgetting the timeless and universal sport of complaining about traffic and parking. Also, boxing, which is very egalitarian. Also, nobody knows how much or if any environmental cleanup will be involved, like for example grease from the Chinese restaurant.] There will be a new 300-space parking lot constructed at Pascal and St. Anthony for soccer employees. There will be no surface lots, if parking is built. The soccer team controls the naming rights for the LRT station, which they are going to "expand and improve." [What the heck does that mean, anyway? The LRT station is only 2 years old, right? What are they going to improve? Skyway bridge crap like the Vikings? Not on my watch. Soccer-themed public art? Ugh. Leave the light rail alone.]


Headline: Still controversial Cleveland bike lanes get one last herring [Oops, that's a typo, it should read "smearing"]
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: A bike lane will be striped along Cleveland Avenue, along with a few new parking spots where the sidewalk and boulevard used to be. [Yawn. Something about permit parking or something I don't know.] Neighbors are concerned about traffic and parking.


Headline: Workshop gives public chance to weigh in on UST master plan
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: St. Thomas is doing a new "master plan" for their campus, and people can weigh in. [Ankle bracelets for first-years? Bibs?] People have to pre-register and give their address. Architects are involved. There are campus boundaries and city permits that regulate building heights and many other details. Neighbors are concerned about Tommies and parking.


Headline: Policy Advisory Committee refines Riverview Corridor transit study; But five Mississippi River crossings are still in the mix
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: Someday there might be high-quality transit from downtown to the airport/Ford site along West 7th Street, and it will have to cross the river somehow. The Committee might decide "as early as this summer." They might build a new bridge but they might not, and it might or might not involve demolishing existing buildings. Someone wanted to add a potential new bridge just South of the Ford Bridge but that idea was nixed. Neighbors are concerned about noise. The West 7th neighborhood group "passed a resolution in January opposing the railroad right-of-way as well as West Seventh for any dedicated transitway." [Well that's opposed to just about everything, then, is it not?]


Headline: MPR, Met Council settle for $3.5M over light-rail disruptions; Radio station will use settlement to resolve problems with noise and vibrations
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: Some [very long-wave difficult to hear] vibrations got into the radio studio and MPR sued and now they have settled the lawsuit. [See also: the UMN lawsuits.] The [aforementioned] Riverview transit might also go near the studio. [Foreshadowing!]


Headline: Lexington's reopening moves closer with committee support
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: An old fancy restaurant that's been closed for a long time might open again with new owners. There will be a patio on the roof. [There are not enough patios on roofs in this town.] Neighbors are concerned about privacy, noise, and parking. There is a debate about exactly what time the booze or rooftop will cease. An "acoustic engineer" will be involved. Strange parking dynamic: whether or not valet parking will be mandatory. [HAND ME THOSE KEYS SIR I AM TAKING YOUR CAR WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. Interesting dynamic. Mandatory valet parking. Maybe Saint Paul could solve all its longstanding parking problems by making valet parking mandatory across the entire city, roving bands of valets parking cars for people unable to walk the block or so it requires to park the car oneself. Plus it could be a workforce/makework type of thing, providing much needed jobs to people who can drive and walk but might not have stable employment.] Article includes extensive discussion about valet parking. [This is a classic first-world problem.] The building is being remodeled and there's a room inside called the "Williamsburg Room."


Headline: SHA favors liquor license, patio seating for Starbucks on Grand; If approved by city, coffee shop could become first in area to serve beer and wine
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: There will be booze at the Starbucks. [OK booze patios: Starbucks. Questionable booze patios: Wild Onion, Lexington.] There will not be booze in "to-go cups." [New Orleans, this is not.]


Headline: Superior Street townhouses sold
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: A bunch of buildings with older people living in it were recently sold. There is/was TIF money involved in the project. The idea is to keep the buildings affordable rather than market-rate.

[This Villager re-cap completed while listening to Verdi's Aida.]

Five Statues of Liberty of Saint Paul

[The Statue of Liberty in Paris.]

Liberté, the pursuit of happiness, the unfettered city air freeing us from the visible and invisible chains of oppression.

These freedoms are not only found within history books, but are all around us. And America’s great unsuffering icon, the colossus of escape and relief lies not just at the center of New York harbor. You can’t pin down an idea.

Even Saint Paul has its statues of liberty, its small freedoms. These ladies liberty stand scattered around the city, beacons of relief and lights of opportunity giving succor and hope to the despondent.

Here are five of them:



What: wooden statue of liberty made from a tree stump
Where: Crocus Hill, Fairmount Avenue, up on the bluff

What kind of liberty are we talking about:

The freedom to decorate your yard. The freedom to live in a well-kept wealthy neighborhood of tasteful and remodeled Victorian homes where you can almost always park your car in front of your house. The freedom to be able to walk to a street with delicious restaurants, clothing retailers, and a small liquor store, but to drive there anyway. The freedom to shed convention by making delicate objects with brute tools like chainsaws. The freedom to not only chop down trees, but to turn them into kitsch.

Site-specific poetry:

"Keep, ancient yards, your storied grass!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your trees, your stumps,
Your leftover timber yearning to become large animals,
The wretched detritus of your dumpster.
Send these, the homeless, wooden materials to me,
I lift my chainsaw beside the 19th century door!"




What: large liberty in a coffee shop
Where: Nina’s Coffee, Western and Selby

What kind of liberty are we talking about: 

The freedom to have room for a laptop, a dedicated electric plug, a coffee, and plenty of space to work all day without paying more than $6. The freedom to sit down and share a table with someone if the café is full, even if they’re a stranger. The freedom to gaze out large windows at passers-by on the street. The freedom to pretend like you’re working, even if you’re not. And the timeless liberty of reading a newspaper for which you did not pay.

Site-specific poetry:

"Keep, suburban lands, your Starbucks!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your upper-middle-class,
Your uncaffineated masses yearning to drink coffee,
The nomadic laptops of your creative industries.
Send these, the LSAT takers with low batteries, to me,
I lift my lamp inside the historically preserved brothel!"



What: guy wearing a foam liberty outfit
Where: on the bus bench of University Avenue

What kind of liberty are we talking about: 

The freedom to not have to do taxes by yourself. The liberty of speedily getting a tiny portion of your tax refund right away, and bequeathing the rest of it to predatory lenders. The freedom to hire people to be objects. And the freedom of feeling superior to others because of their crappy employment, because regardless of how bad your job may be, at least you’re not standing in the rain wearing a “statue of liberty” costume.

Site-specific poetry:

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied accountants!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to get something out of the regressive taxation system,
The wretched returns of your working class.
Send these, the undocumented with empty wallets, to me,
I lift my lamp beside the bus stop!"



What: medium-size statue of liberty on the roof of an office building
Where: Lawton Professional Building, West 7th Street

What kind of liberty are we talking about: 

The freedom to divorce thy spouse, the freedom to litigate estate disputes, and to have affordable rent while doing so. The freedom to declare bankruptcy, even under the limited protections afforded to people under to new GOP regulations. The freedom to park on the street without paying. And to protest transit projects that threaten such parking no matter the opportunity cost.


Site-specific poetry:

"Keep, ancient firms, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your conveniently located, your hopefully not poor,
Your befuddled masses yearning to resolve disputes,
The no-longer-happily married refuse of your teeming Riverview corridor.
Send these, the underwater homeowners, the financially insolvent to me,
I lift my lamp beside the 60s one-story office building!"



What: medium-size statue of liberty on the roof of an Italian restaurant
Where: Yarusso Brothers, Payne Avenue

What kind of liberty are we talking about: 

The freedom to never change recipes. The freedom to take absolutely anything from a garage sale and put it on the wall. The freedom to force people to work in places that show the first two Godfather films simultaneously all day, every day. And the freedom to eat as much pasta as you can, once having paid the buffet price.


Site-specific poetry:

"Keep, newfangled hipsters, your trendy foodie culture!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your traditional, your firmly middle-class,
Your hangry masses yearning to eat meatballs,
The curmudgeons of your teeming railroad island.
Send these, the nostalgic, balding men to me,
I lift my lamp beside the pasta buffet!"

[Map with locations.]

[Liberty is all around you.]

Signs of the Times #110

In the Last day

that great day of the feast,

Jesus stood and cried saying,

If any man thirst let him

come unto me and drink

[Sidewalk. Cedar Riverside, Minneapolis?]

Welcome 

to

the Dollar Scholar

Come inside and

throw splat toys

touch slime in a barrel

squeeze squishy stuff

test your mood with mood rings

Fire squeaky from rackets

Try on goofy glasses

And so much more

[Paper. Portland, OR.]

Coffee ->
<- br="" coffee="" no="">

<- coffee="" no="" p="">

(Bears, maybe.)

[Sandwich board. West Saint Paul.]

Welcome

TOURNEY Fans

Have a Great time!

[Shop sign. West 7th Street, Saint Paul.]

Employee Entrance Only

Please Use Front Entrance

Thank You!

[Door. University Avenue, Saint Paul.]

HOT

CROSS BUNS

A LENTEN TRADITION

[Door. Northfield.]

ASK US

ABOUT

RENTING

[Fat bike. Northfield.]

OPEN

ATM

COPIES

MILK

MOVIES

FAX

[Sandwich board. Longfellow, Minneapolis?]

Twin City Yarnbombing #3

 [Location forgotten.]

 [Location forgotten.]

 [Lake Street, Minneapolis.]

[Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis.]

[Location forgotten.]

[Location forgotten.]

[University Avenue, Saint Paul.]

MPR Decoder #9: Janette Sadik-Kahn on Urban Design Leadership

MPR's late-afternoon curiosity catalyst Tom Weber had urban planning rock star Janette Sadik-Kahn on his program last week as part of the tour for her new book, and their conversation was great.

In the middle of the interview, Weber began to ask JSK (as she is known) about the politics of urban change, and how leaders have to operate in an environment where the often-inelegant status quo often has small numbers of vocal and entrenched defenders.

Here's a rough transcript of what they said:

[Transcript begins.]

JSK: You know change is difficult, and I really get that. And all transportation is local, and people have a lot invested in the status quo. But what we found is that people, if given the choice, will choose better streets. Yeah, there was definitely tussles with the bike lanes when we put them down — we striped over 400 miles of bike lanes — but when we left after the end of Bloomberg’s term, there was overwhelming support for the changes with the bike lanes and plazas. If it had been an election, it would have been a landslide in favor of these new approaches to our streets. And again, it’s just really about looking at our streets differently, and trying things out. When people see the world of the possible, they like what they see, and they choose streets that work better. [The only problem I have with JSK's language here is her over-simplistic use of the term "better." You always have to ask "better" for who? I prefer saying "more walkable" for example. Though in this case, the changed intersection design was literally also better for traffic flow, so maybe "better" is defensible here.]
 
TW: I have to say as I read this book of yours, I sensed a tone and I picked up on a tone — and maybe it wasn’t even a tone, maybe you were trying to hit me over the head with a hammer — but I got a sense that leaders like yourself should sometimes, and I might be putting words into your mouth [just ask the question Tom. Say it!], should sometimes you should “just do them.” You shouldn’t necessarily wait for consensus, shouldn’t necessarily go through 170 public meetings to make sure the community supports it, you should just do it. What do you mean by that?

JSK: Well, I think that a lot of cities are leery of trying new things, and they’re afraid they might not work. But there’s a lot you can do with a little imagination and some paint and a few signs. And NYC, like many cities, had been stuck in this planning paralysis, we’d been stuck doing the renderings and the modelings and the rest. And it led to where we were on our fourth ground breaking of the 2nd Avenue subway, and New Yorkers had almost given up on the idea that change could happen on their streets. There was no expectation that things could change, so moving quickly to show how you can transform a place, so that they can see it and feel it and touch it in real time, that made a huge difference. [This is similar to Minneapolis Open Streets.] And so piloting things, trying things, being imaginative with the real estate that you have, can go a long way to building a new consensus to building a new status quo on your city streets

TW: So when you closed Times Square, for example, you did it as a pilot project that you would review in 6 months. And lo and behold, 6 months later everyone liked it, so it stayed. Does that in any way, are you ever worried it was going around some of these democratic ideas of gathering all that input?

JSK: Some people say we just sort of forced engineered this onto the streets of New York, and nothing could be further from the truth. These projects were requested and approved by the 59 Community Boards of New York City, and we have 130 elected officials and 8.4M very opinionated New Yorkers. [Holy crap, that's some politics right there.] And so we held over 2,000 meetings in person, all over the city every single year, whether it was a bridge project, a bus project, a road project, we met very much with everybody there. It was very important point, you have to take a hands on approach to get things done.

[The Broadway beach chairs.]

But we did close Broadway very very quickly, and we didn’t know whether it was going to work or not. We thought it was going to work, had confidence that it was going to work… But I remember that night, when we closed it off and we were standing there looking at it and i thought, “fingers crossed…” And one of the things that we realized at that moment was that we’d created 2.5 acres of public space in the heart of Midtown, but hadn’t put anything there. So we realized, “we have to do something.” Thanks to some quick thinking, we got some very inexpensive beach chairs from a local hardware store, and put the beach chairs into the street. Once we opened it to people, they zoomed into the space and jumped into the beach chairs, and the media reported only on the beach chairs. Did people like the color of the beach chairs? The size of the beach chairs? And really nobody focused on the fact that we had closed Broadway to cars.

TW: The bigger point you made was that, yesterday this part of the street was open to cars, and then you painted it over night, and the quickness and swiftness that people gobbled up those chairs to sit down, in a place that used to have cars on it. That’s what amazed you.

JSK: It totally amazed me. I felt like it was watching a Star Trek episode [Kaaaaahn!], where you don’t see anyone in the street, and then woosh! Millions of people were suddenly there.

[Hear the rest of the interview on MPR.]

I used to work in West Midtown 14 years ago and would sometimes go to Times Square for my lunch break, just to experience the automotive and audio-visual chaos of the place. There was this little concrete planter on exact apex of the corner between Broadway and 7th, and I'd take my sandwich or coffee or whatever and sit right on it, and try to take in all the commotion, traffic, and density for as long as I could stand it.

Today of course, the place is still a zoo, completely with predatory American flag breasts, but at least it's a human zoo. (Back when I was there, it was a car-and-taxicab zoo.)

The exchange also brings up an ongoing Twin Cities conversation (especially in Saint Paul) about how changes to streets should interact with public engagement processes. For example, when Gil Peñalosa was here a few years ago, he said something very similar to what Sadik-Kahn say here, that consensus isn’t always possible or even desirable, that sometimes insisting on consensus means that change is watered down to irrelevancy.

There seem to be two spectra here: What kind of community outreach do you do? (E.g. experiential "trials" vs. community meetings vs. online polling, etc.) And, what is the trade-off between achieving consensus and creating change?

Balancing these needs is not simple, but at least according to these two big-city consultants, cities tend to err too much on the side of preserving the automotive status quo. Maybe it's time to simply try things out, change our streets, and see what happens.

[Times Square before-and-after.]

Bonus: Here's the full Peñalosa quote, from his 2014 talk in downtown Saint Paul:

[16:30] Change is difficult of course, and it doesn’t happen by consensus. When they were thinking about whether to make this [street in Copenhagen] pedestrian, they said that cars don’t park in front of my restaurant, they’re going to go broke. You have to listen to everybody and, at the end of the day, what matters is the general interest. Change will never happen by consensus. If you want change to be unanimous, you have to water down change so much, that its not going to be change any longer. So listen honestly, and make a decision. So its about changing mindsets.