Across the Great Divide

Dentist Appointment in Minnesota.

This photo shows one reason I think Minnesota is great, even in the winter time. Cars are barely moving on the freeway due to snow, and here, we expect the dangerous convergence of walkers, bikes and skaters/skiers.

My dentist called to confirm an appointment for tomorrow. The caller said, "Do you plan to come despite the snow and everything?"

Absolutely, I said.

I didn't bother to say it would be on a bike.

Hopslam on Ice.

Yes, it's still icy out, but there are still rewards for being in Minnesota in January.

Smart Politics Can Divide, but Can it Figure?

I can't tell if Smart Politics has a statistical tin ear or is willfully deaf.

Here's an example: Minnesota Has 2nd Largest Increase in Prison Population in the Nation This Decade.

What kind of policies or changes in the population are responsible for Minnesota's prison population increasing by 50.79% — from 6,238 to 9,406 between 2000 and 2010? A helpful analysis from a public policy center named for Hubert Humphrey might tell us.

Smart Politics, which posts under the banner of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, just does the math, notes the change and passes on rather pointless observations like this:

Looking at states in the Upper Midwest region, North Dakota experienced the ninth largest increase in the nation in state and federal prisoners since 2000, with its prison population rising at a rate of 34.9 percent to 1,452 total prisoners. South Dakota's rate of increase was ranked #14 in the nation (27.8 percent; 3,342 prisoners), while Wisconsin was ranked #33 (12.7 percent; 23,380 prisoners), and Iowa was ranked #38 (10.2 percent; 8,766 prisoners).

I've remarked often about how state rankings often overstate small differences and get interpreted idiotically. The role of analysts should be to look beyond their number crunching to offer some enlightenment.

The incarceration data is in the Smart Politics table, but a useful caveat is not in the post — a small increase affects a small number percentage-wise more than a large number. Minnesota's high ranking for the period selected means nothing without more context. Even after the increase, Minnesota has the 18th lowest absolute number of prisoners.

More pertinent here would be a comparison between Minnesota and other states with similarly sized populations.

 On a prisoner-per-capita basis, Minnesota has perhaps the lowest rate in the nation. (I haven't calculated every state, but our rate is at least half the rate of similar-sized Wisconsin, Maryland, Colorado and Missouri, and of South Dakota to boot. We're also lower than North Dakota and West Virginia.)

Those lower incarceration rates mean we spend less on corrections and reflect the fact we do more to get people out of the criminal justice system so they can lead productive lives.

You'd think smart policy thinkers at University could dig that out for us.

New Bike Lanes or Snow Storage Slots?

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Here are a couple views of the new curbside bike lane on First Avenue North.

Downtown drivers were starting to get used to the new regime where they parked to the left of the bike lane.

But with the snow the markings on the pavement and the distances to the curb are obscured. That means double trouble for the bike lanes.

First, the bike lane becomes the snow collection zone, both for plowed snow from the street and for snow cleared from the sidewalk by the businesses. I saw a city plow on the street when I was shooting this, but with the cars parked where they are, there's no way to get the blade close to the curb.

The longer the snow remains unplowed, the more it will be compacted by parked cars, people getting out of cars to plug their meters, etc. Unless we have a total melt or a warm streak that allows the plows to clear down to the pavement, the bike lanes will be an obstacle course of bumps, ice, wheelwell chunks and misaligned vehicles for the rest of the winter.

I'm not blaming the drivers here. It's more a problem with putting a San Diego design in a Minneapolis climate.

Winter Cycling Safety Tips... for Drivers.

Yesterday's ride across Minneapolis and back finished before noon, so I missed this kind of cycling adventure. However, today I'll get a chance to test the snow clearing and driving practices in the northwest suburbs for a short but required meeting that hardly seems worth the effort.

[Photo: Edyta]

This is what I signed up for when I sold my car. Who knows, it might be fun.

The first storm of the year always seems to provoke winter driving reminders in local papers everywhere, but the tips deal with snow, ice and winter survival, rather than how to deal with bike commuters on the streets who appear determined to keep riding.

So here are a few more reminders and suggestions if you're behind the wheel.

1. Cyclists have a right to be in the traffic lane. It's the law. If we're there, it's usually because the street got plowing priority over bike lanes and paths. Main roads also get priority over the residential streets we might otherwise take. Sidewalks are rarely cleared consistently enough to be passable, and we're not supposed to be on them, anyway.
2. Moving far to the right isn't always an option. If we're claiming the lane, we're not there to annoy you. If the road is plowed, the right edge where we usually ride is where the snow gets pushed and rutted from parked cars. If it hasn't been plowed, we have a choice between riding in the tracks left by cars or in the snow covered area between tracks. Either option presents certain issues for a cyclist, but what can really be dangerous is moving from one surface to another. We're safest going in a straight line and that may be in the middle of the lane.
3. Leave us some room. Bad driving surfaces can be more treacherous for bikes because we aren't heavy enough to power through ruts or piles of snow the way cars can. If we seem to be riding erratically, it may be that we are reacting to road conditions ahead, and you might thank us. We have the same problems in snow that you do. The main difference is, we can fall down and get run over.
4. I'm pedaling as fast as I can. Which isn't very fast. Keeping a slower, steady cadence allows me to feel the road and reduces risk of slipping under your vehicle. Your driving tips tell you to slow down, too.
5. I don't want to stop any more than you do. For bikes as well as cars, maintaining a little momentum helps prevent us from getting stuck or losing traction. Be aware my stopping zone is extended just like yours, and coming to a full stop can be one of the most hazardous things I do in snow, especially around controlled intersections, where your tires and exhaust are laying down a veneer of ice.
6. I'm not crazy. Riding a bike is how I get around. Trust me, I'm not trying to prove a point or make you feel guilty for burning fossil fuels. If I'm out there in 10° or there are six inches of snow, it means I have to get somewhere, too. Heck, my destination might even be as important as yours.
7. Spare me your outrage. Don't blast your horn or drive close and fast when passing to show me how much I've inconvenienced you. (A light warning tap from a distance is okay.) I have to concentrate on the road ahead and stay upright. It's the snow that's going to make you late for that important whatever, so don't take it out on the cyclist who accounts for three seconds of your delay.

Peace.

Stadium Without Team in Town Without People for Vikes?

A few miles outside of Los Angeles, in a business-tax-free haven of strip malls and strip clubs called the City of Industry -- under 800 residents and fewer than 100 voters -- ground is ready to be broken for an $800-million football stadium. The team to play there is yet to be determined.

[...]

As Neil deMause, coauthor of "Field of Schemes," told me: "It's a weird one, in large part because the City of Industry is so weird. Arnold's claim that it's entirely privately financed is a crock -- the land and infrastructure is being funded by property taxes -- but in a town with barely any actual people in it, you could legitimately argue that the industry in Industry is just voting to tax itself to bring the NFL to town."

– "If there's no team, it's bonkers to build a stadium," LA Times

The Minnesota Vikings are one of the teams the City of Industry hopes to attract, and the Wilfs are again making noises about how terrible their stadium situation is.

If the stadium without the team in the town without people attracts the Vikings, will the franchise be renamed City of Industry Migrants?

So far, in public, the negotiations haven't reached the blackmail stage, where the team threatens to move to the open arms of City of Industry. But wait for it.

The Vikes are so far riding a wave of winning unmarked this season by lap dances, assaults, drunk driving or steroid abuse. The lobbyists will try to point out how much business and tax revenue a team brings to a city — use that to justify public spending for a new venue.

But we have a governor who has given tax shuffles a bad name. The Vikings tax revenue is already going into state coffers, so moving it to stadium payments will take it away from somewhere. And we have plenty of more basic needs, such as health care for the poor, that are taking a hit in the coming year.

Public subsidies for sports teams don't work out any better than they do for corporations who want tax incentives to build plants or relocate jobs. But the teams have something more going for the. They can tap the emotion of fans, and not just raise the ire of taxpayers.

Happy is as Happy Does.

I can almost see Ultimate Happiness from my front door. From Colorado, that is, where we're about 25 miles from the Utah border.

Utah scored the best among U.S. states in a study based on the Gallup Organization's Well-Being Index. Colorado and Minnesota tied for fourth.

"Our research shows that happy individuals are on average healthier and live longer, have higher incomes, better social relationships and are better citizens," Diener said. "Therefore, aiming to increase the happiness in one state is a valid goal."

I suppose. Or you might say being healthier and living longer, having more money and better relationships, and being active in your community make you happy.

Is happiness a cause or an effect? I could see a case being made that close families (but not inbreeding) are good for happiness. Same with beautiful, isolating spaces (but not in the backwoods).

Libertarians are pretty sure John Galt is hiding out west somewhere.

Either way, I think the founding fathers had pretty well figured out the pursuit of happiness angle without benefit of University of Cambridge researchers.

In a baby book that had an entry for her two-year-old's most common phrase, my mother wrote: "I'm so-o-o happy!"

Some kids (and some states) never get past "I'm so-o-o big!"

One Reason the Novel is Going Slowly.

Somehow, doing research on rural mail delivery in Colorado, I stumbled across this photo of downtown Minneapolis, 1905, and ended up wandering around for hours in the turn-of-the-century Gateway District.  It's worth going to the site where I found it to view the wonderfully detailed original.

The corner in the foreground is South Fourth Street and Second Avenue. The first of three buildings facing Second is a mixed use three-story with tenant laundry on the roof, housing a seller of Gluek's Beer, a pool room and possibly a grocery (another photo I've seen advertised a laundry at the second awning). The Northern Hotel is in the middle and the famed Metropolitan Building dominates the shot.

In the large-format version, you can see how trolleys, horse-drawn wagons and bikes are the main conveyances, though there may be one motor car parked on Fourth. In the lower left, an awning marks a hay store — or maybe that's just the name of the proprietor.

The last building along far end of Fourth is the Wyman Building, which still stands, and I can pick out a few other existing buildings in the Warehouse District, including the Jackson Building and the Colonial Warehouse (home of the city's horse drawn trolley system and site of a recent PARKing Day encampment), with its tall, pale smokestack visible abover the Metropolitan Building.

In Twin Cities Then and Now, Larry Millett wrote about this area:

Like other old sections of American downtowns, the Gateway was a place of magnificent detail, as cluttered and inviting as a Victorian parlor. The buildings visible here [a closer-in, lower view of the same main block], including the Metropolitan bristle with all manner of parapets, cornices, finials, chimneys, fire escapes, towers, domes, and other assorted protrusions [...] It is not a beautiful scene, but this little piece of Minneapolis looks wonderefully appealing, a place where a stroller would never lack entertainment for the eyes.

All of this was erased during the early 1960's urban renewal. But there are few strollers to delight nowadays. It was replaced by a landscape than requires no comment.

Grand Rounds: Nice Place But...

The Grand Rounds, a system of parkways that encircles Minneapolis, has been named one of the nation's Great Public Spaces for 2009 by the American Planning Association.

That's great, but the Grand Rounds represents a vision that's well over a century old. The land was acquired and most of it was built before any of us were born. And the investment that finally completed it just got in under the wire; it would never have survived another term of Pawlentyism.

What are we leaving future generations? Besides the debt thing, I mean.

Park and Ride, from a Bicycle Seat.

We biked to the State Fair yesterday, incorporating the bike- and transit-way that runs between the U of M Minneapolis campus and the fairgrounds. I don't recall much bike traffic last year on that route, but fair-bound riders were visible all along the route.

We parked in a designated bike lot manned by friendly folks who checked us in and out. It reminded me of the densely packed bike corrals I've seen in other countries, except this is for a special occasion, not a normal state of life.

Looking at an aerial view of the fairgrounds, the space for parking about 300 bikes used approximately the same footprint as a 12-car section of a nearby parking lot. Given that ride sharing is more likely at the fair than for daily commuting, that means the bike space had about six to seven times the parking capacity of the car lot, plus the surface was a lot cooler, with trees and grass.

And the bike parking area felt far safer — from being run over, mugged or otherwise imperiled.

*****

Apparently, the Eco-Experience Building at the fair had a demonstration of a bike share kiosk from Montreal’s BIXI, one of several potential vendors to Nice Ride Minnesota.

Nice Ride plans to put 1,000 bikes into 80 secure, self-service kiosks throughout Downtown, the U of M Campus and Uptown starting next May. 

Cycling lovers should not get their hopes up. Public bike sharing is nice, but it has its issues. Shared bikes are clunky. They have to be bulletproof to survive the abuse, ugly and non-standard to foil thieves, and awkward to meet the spec of one-size-fits-90-percent. Here in Minneapolis, the bikes will only be on the street April-November.

Public bikes are also often rolling billboards. That's how the programs get funded, and I have no problem with that. Blue Cross Minnesota is the main underwriter here, and for once, that's a very good match of brand with cause marketing.

*****

Back to parking. Twin Cities Streets for People asks, Is Parking the Problem?

Running a community development corporation I am always engaged in the conversation of what makes and maintains a vibrant commercial corridor. The conversation usual stops and starts with parking. Merchants always say that the lack of parking is the problem. I am usually arguing that the lack of a good streetscape, a safe and clean sidewalk, and window display are the bigger culprits. I am of the mind, if I can't see into the store, I won't be entering your store.

There may be good reasons why merchants think a shortage of parking is the main reason their businesses are suffering — especially if there are disruptions of existing parking by construction. But according to the linked post, one consultant found residents and business district employees were more deterred by trash, litter, unappealing storefronts and 'grimy' interiors of stores — all things that were the business's responsibility.

*****

On my trip to the fair, I noticed the marked bike lanes on Como next to the fairgrounds had been X-ed out with black tape. (I wanted to survive the traffic, so I didn't get a photo.) Presumably, this was to indicate that it was okay for vehicles to drive in the lane and keep traffic moving.

But since bike traffic was also heavier than normal, it raises the question of whether such markings are really necessary. Ask the Wisconsin cyclist nailed (and recorded on video) by a car running a red light whether he'd have entered the intersection the same way if there'd been no traffic lights at all.

The concept of shared streets relies on design and social signals rather than regulatory controls that govern how drivers, cyclists and pedestrians behave. This article touts the greater efficiency of traffic flow in the low-speed, shared streets environment. (h/t Twin City Sidewalks)

*****

Finally, Cyclopath offers a Mapquest-like route finder for the metro area that looks at travel from a cycle-centric point of view.

Suppose you wanted to plot a crosstown ride that was reasonably car-free, but still got you to your destination efficiently. Mapquest (call it Carquest) would assume you'd head for the freeway; bike paths don't compute. Cyclopath allows you to select for directness vs. bikeability, calculates distances and provides a map as well as detailed directions.