Reading the Highland Villager #128

[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. That's why I'm reading the Highland Villager. Until this newspaper goes online, sidewalk information must be set free.] 


Headline: St. Paul approves historic bike plan; From Grand Round to downtown, effort would double current paths
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: "Bicyclists are beaming, but downtown businesses remain concerned..." Article about unanimous passage of the [long in the works] city bike plan at the mid-March City council meeting. Article includes description of plan's details, including the # of miles and some of the routes. Article includes rough synopsis of council and public discussion, emphasizing opponents who are concerned about how bicycle paths might "take away customer parking." [The Villager gives short shrift to the supporters, placing their comments at the end, despite the fact that the testimony at the meeting was 3-4:1 in support of the bike plan and that it passed unanimously. To see the full testimony, including the short speech by yours truly, check out the video online here.] For example: "Keys Cafe owners Carol Gregory said the 'real and legitimate concerns' of downtown businesses have been ignored." [Personally I'm really and legitimately interested in these concerns, and I'm being serious. Is the problem that there it's too hard to park downtown, or too expensive to park downtown?]

Headline: Ward 3 home design standards are rewritten for entire city; Area residents worry citywide hearing will delay rules' adoption
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: The city has studied how to initiate rules that will limit and/or shape teardown construction in Saint Paul, which is focused in Ward 3 [e.g. the city's largest wealthy area]. The debate at the Planning Commission was about whether to have rules apply only to Ward 3 or to the city as a whole. Neighborhood groups are worried that any delay will allow more homes to be torn down. Article repeatedly cites "houses that are viewed as out of character or out of scale with neighboring homes." [Character is notoriously hard to define, and the city's study tries valiantly to accomplish this impossible feat.] The study's suggestions include regulating total lot coverage, "sidewall articulation" [whatever that is], minimum coverage of doors and windows. There will be a full hearing and this issue will come up again. [I was not at this particular meeting because I was out of town.]

Headline: Redevelopment bug spreading from Selby-Snelling to Marshall; new retail shops and housing eyed for Marshall east of Snelling [If redevelopment is like a virus, reading the Villager is like a flu shot?]
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: A parking lot/drive-thru coffee shop, three single family homes, a warehouse and a vacant commercial building might become something else such as a townhouse or apartments or new buildings, but nobody really knows what. There is some debate about whether a new Starbucks may or may not have a drive thru, but it is not zoned for a drive thru. [Saint Paul needs more drive-thrus. The new Culvers on University Avenue has really revolutionized the Midway neighborhood.] The neighborhood group doesn't want a drive thru. Nothing has actually been proposed yet. "Union PArk committee members agree the site has potential but also noted several drawbacks." [Great story here.]

Headline: Despite revisions, residents still raising concerns over Cleveland Ave. building
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: A developer is trying to build a four-story mixed-use building on the site of an realty office in Highland Park but nobody is happy bout it because "many neighbors still believe the building would be too tall and too dense."There was a meeting about it. The local neighborhood committee made no recommendation. The developer has set back taller stories to attempt to please neighbors. There will be 111 parking spaces, "more than the 93 required by the city." Concerns raised include "early-morning trash collection", "gatherings on decks", "tenants being able to look out into yards and homes", [here it is folks, the one you've been waiting for] "potential traffic and parking impacts." Quote from neighbor: "It's going to be a nightmare." A public works engineer is quoted saying "the development is not expected to have the impact on traffic that neighbors fear."

Headline: City to resurface St. Clair this summer; New asphalt will be laid from Snelling to Victoria
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: A street will get new asphalt. Article includes details about assessments.

Headline: St. PAul calls up new cellular antenna regs
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: The Planning Commission approved new rules for cell towers that will make it easier to add antennas on buildings where antennas already exist. [It's kind of a deep philosohpical problem.]

Headline: Riverview Corridor study at crossroads on public outreach
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: The County [which is leading the study of a transit potential of West 7th Street and its greater environs] is still trying to get input from the public. Article includes quote by CM Thune: "People are going to die of boredom before we get done." [Not if they're in the living nightmare that is Highland Village with a four-story building in it...] Article includes details of outreach from the study, which goes back at least a year, and in fact goes back ten years. Article includes quote from one committee member: "I'm personally convinced that more input is better." [The people involved are trying to reach non-jaded Saint Paul-ites with flexible worldviews, apparently, which takes a lot of work. I guess people like that are hard to find?]

Headline: St. Paul inaugurates study of college campus expansion; Macalester, Hamline are among school buying properties off campus
Author: Jane McClure
 
Short short version: The city  is going to study how to regulate colleges which are expanding without asking permission first. Macalester and Hamline are cited as culprits [though I have also heard that Metro State is guilty of this as well]. Article includes quote from Macalester VP: ""the college does not intent to expand its campus boundary."

Little Free Library Neighborhood Quiz

Twin City sidewalks are chock-a-block full of Little Free Libraries, which are just celebrating their anniversary this year. It's a nice gesture, a good way of getting (rid of) books, and friendly little art projects to boot. Little Free Libraries are great!

But do you think you can tell what neighborhood you're just by looking at what books are in the Little Free Library?

Take This Quiz and Find Out!

If you're right, you'll see a picture of a "weapon of mass instruction" Argentinian bookmobile.

 

If you're wrong, you'll get the long-defunct Arise Bookstore on Lyndale Avenue.

There are 25 questions. What you find out may surprise you!

1) Michael Connelly, Larry Niven, Nora Roberts, David Baldacci

What neighborhood is this?

-- Jordan, Minneapolis
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis
-- West Saint Paul
-- West End, Saint Paul


2 ) "Making shapley fiction." Lots of kids books.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Longfellow, Minneapolis
-- Grand Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Selby Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Central/Phillips, Minneapolis


3) Pregnancy book. TC Boyle. "Devil in the white city." More kids books.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Highland Park, Saint Paul
-- West Side, Saint Paul
-- Powderhorn, Minneapolis
-- Seward, Minneapolis


4) AAA guide to Texas, "Harvest of Gain," Ray Bradbury, David Baldacci

What neighborhood is this?

-- Northeast, Minneapolis
-- Jordan, Minneapolis
-- West End, Saint Paul
-- Kenwood, Minneapolis


5) Memoirs of a geisha, Some sort of Modern Library thing, Tutu goes green.

What neighborhood is this?

-- West Side, Saint Paul
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis
-- Southeast, Minneapolis
-- East River Road, Saint Paul


6) The secret of shadow ranch, Al Capone does my shirts, miscellaneous YA.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Powderhorn, Minneapolis
-- West End, Saint Paul
-- Seward, Minneapolis
-- Edina


7) Weatherbeaten copy of "Wuthering Heights", Orhan Pamuk, Jonathan Kellerman, "Last summer at barebones," Tom Clancy.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Kenwood, Minneapolis
-- Northeast, Minneapolis
-- Central/Phillips, Minneapolis
-- Selby Avenue, Saint Paul


8) 500 paintings book, "Power politics and the Olympic Games," Cooking with Cheese.

What neighborhood is this?

-- West End, Saint Paul
-- Edina
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis
-- Midtown Global Market, Minneapolis


9) Hunger Games.

What neighborhood is this?

-- West Saint Paul
-- West Side, Saint Paul
-- Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis


10) "Passages: a guide for pilgrims of the mind," Adalai Stevenson.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Summit Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Grand Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Uptown, Minneapolis
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis


11) Steig Larsson, "small-space gardening," some YA.

What neighborhood is this?

-- East River Road, Saint Paul
-- Summit Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Seward, Minneapolis
-- Uptown, Minneapolis



12) Patricia Cornwell, Lindsey Davis, Janet Evanovich, Agatha Rasin.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Lauderdale
-- East River Road, Saint Paul
-- Highland Park, Saint Paul
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis


13) Little golden books! Allen Ginsberg, "little owl's bedtime stories," Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Uptown, Minneapolis
-- Southeast, Minneapolis
-- Highland Park, Saint Paul
-- Mac-Groveland, Saint Paul


14) Neal Stephenson, Patricia Cornwell, "Planning your career," "Invisible residents."

What neighborhood is this?

-- Richfield
-- Uptown, Minneapolis
-- Northeast, Minneapolis
-- Mac-Groveland, Saint Paul




15) Janet Evanovich, Stephen King, Thomas Harris, "I'm thankful each day!"

What neighborhood is this?

-- Longfellow, Minneapolis
-- Powderhorn, Minneapolis
-- Kenwood, Minneapolis
-- Grand Avenue, Saint Paul


16) Postromantic art," something about gender? "Out of my skin," Ian Morson.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Selby Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Highland Park, Saint Paul
-- Summit Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Richfield


17) Sue Grafton, Tom Wolfe, Iris Johanson, The Thorn Birds.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Summit Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Powderhorn, Minneapolis
-- East River Road, Saint Paul
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis




18) Lost in space, Madeline L'Engle, "Animal stories," looks like a lot of YA.

What neighborhood is this?

-- West Side, Saint Paul
-- Highland Park, Saint Paul
-- Southeast, Minneapolis
-- Powderhorn, Minneapolis


19) Janet Evanovich, guidebook for Nevada, Stuart Woods, bread machine book.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Seward, Minneapolis
-- Lauderdale
-- Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul
-- West End, Saint Paul


20) Cooking magazine, something about southeast Asia, Shakespeare's The Tempest, Doctor Zhivago.

What neighborhood is this?

-- Northeast, Minneapolis
-- Midtown Global Market, Minneapolis
-- Selby Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Grand Avenue, Saint Paul


21) "Fast food nation", "the clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order," "transnational cinema in a global north," "Nickel and dimed."

What neighborhood is this?

-- East River Road, Saint Paul
-- Central/Phillips, Minneapolis
-- West Saint Paul
-- Highland Park, Saint Paul


22) E.L. Doctorow, Paul Wellstone, Jane Smiley,  "Jane Eyre," "A Farewell to Arms," "The Jane Austen book club."

What neighborhood is this?

-- Seward, Minneapolis
-- Mac-Groveland, Saint Paul
-- West Side, Saint Paul
-- Lauderdale


23) "Ronald Reagan", "The scarlet letter," something about theology," "Ivanhoe," "Of mice and men."

What neighborhood is this?

-- East Side, Saint Paul
-- Summit Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Jordan, Minneapolis
-- Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul


24) "Chocolat", "Kavalier and Klay," "Kill two birds and get stones," guidebook to Uganda, "The Secret."

What neighborhood is this?

-- Selby Avenue, Saint Paul
-- Kenwood, Minneapolis
-- Lyndale, Minneapolis
-- Longfellow, Minneapolis

25) "Enders Game," Larissa Ione, "Miracles of Mentoring."

What neighborhood is this?

-- Seward, Minneapolis
-- West Side, Saint Paul
-- Jordan, Minneapolis
-- Highland Park, Saint Paul

Motivational Poster #1

This one is certainly true.

Reading the Highland Villager #127

[Springtime is Villagers unearthed.]

[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. That's why I'm reading the Highland Villager. Until this newspaper goes online, sidewalk information must be set free.] 


Headline: Ideas tossed around for open space at Ford site
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: An old truck factory is going to become something else, some of which will be "open space." There was a meeting. People would like access to the nearby Hidden Falls park [Note: I've never successfully found the falls], wildlife habitat, gardens, playgrounds, and a "market space." People may or may not want a dog park. [Probably depends on whether one has a dog.] Bike and pedestrian trails seem to be popular, including a "greenway." Article includes discussion of historic ballfields on the site and the city's "parkland dedication fund." Open space may or may not be near Ford Parkway, which may or may not be too busy.


Headline: Blueprint for design of new single-family homes aired
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: City staff have come up with new "parameters" for designs of homes, like size, height, and materials, for the areas which have seen a lot of teardowns. "They aim to prevent monotony." [Lots of things have that aim, including this blog.] Article goes over background of the teardown issue, and has details about recommendations for sizes of home additions etc., e.g. "additions greater than 120 square feet [must have] windows and doors that account for at least 1- percent of the area of any exterior wall." [Sounds specific!] City staff would like to have any regulation extend city-wide. [That would be very difficult, I believe. Other parts of the city are not in similar boats, economy-wise.]


Headline: Bike plan rounds corner to final approval
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: The bike plan will go before the city council. [It did, and it passed.]


Headline: Study hopes to improve on 40 years of free-market trash collection in city; New system sought to reduce cots and wear and tear on the streets
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: Saint Paul has never had organized trash collection, but the Mac-Grove neighborhood got a grant to think about it. Some of the ideas are to "assign" haulers to different parts of the city. There are legal procedures for how to organize trash collection in state law. Minneapolis has organized trash collection. Many other cities have organized trash collection. [For a long time I was thinking about doing a rough anlysis of how much money the city loses in extra street maintenance costs by having 3-5X the number of heavy garbage trucks driving down its streets. The answer is that it's a hell of a lot!] There was a study in 2013 that said that nobody likes having lots of trucks driving up and down their street all week.


Headline: BZA supports plans for Woodlawn teardown
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: A couple can tear down a home they bought and replace it. Neighbors are upset.


Headline: Ward 1 DFL falls short of endorsing City Council candidate
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: Dai Thao did not get the endorsement. [Not sure why. He seems pretty good to me.]


Headline: 'Making Strides' Report outlines steps for a more accessible Green Line
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: People are beginning to notice how crappy the sidewalks around University Avenue really are, especially for disabled people or old people [or anyone on foot, really].


Headline: Lex-Randolph property purchase opposed
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: City and county plans [but mostly county plans] to widen a street by tearing down existing homes [and taking away some of their yards] in order to add turn lanes are not very popular. The local neighborhood group voted to oppose. They'd also like to move the Metro Transit stop farther from the corner. Article includes LOS grades ("between C and F") [for some reason]. "Adding a northbound lane is expected to bring the grade up to a D [from an E]." [$1.5M and the loss of valuable property for an extremely marginal change?] Randolph Avenue is being reconstructed anyway.


Headline: Debate continues over Merriam Park cell tower agreement
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: People are still arguing about whether the city owes the neighborhood money about a cell phone tower that was built years ago.


Headline: Residents appeal BZA decision to allow student rental on Grand
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: People who own a house on Grand Avenue would like to register it as a student rental but are having trouble with it because they forgot to register it when it was required after the student housing ordinance was passed two years ago. The neighborhood group is supporting the owners. Some people are upset.


Headline: Goodwill moves into new flagship store on University
Author: Jane McClure

Short short version: There's another Goodwill on University now. [It's got a big surface parking lot right along the sidewalk, too.]

Twin City Bike Parking #16

[Grand Marais.]

[Grand Marais.]

[Phillips, Minneapolis.]

[Downtown, Saint Paul.]

[University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.]

 [Raymond Avenue, Saint Paul.]

 

[Snelling Avenue, Saint Paul.]

[Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis.]