transit oriented development : Development News

The Twin Cities' stock of publicly shared bicycles goes up on June 10 from zero to 700. That's the number of bikes on the streets for the launch of Nice Ride Minnesota, a new bike-share system that's already an overnight sensation: It instantly becomes the nation's largest.

The Nice Ride bikes are available for rent from 75 kiosks around Minneapolis. A future phase will see that number grow further as the program expands into St. Paul.

The goal, says Nice Ride Minnesota executive director Bill Dossett, is simple: "To make it easy for more people to use a bike during the day."

The Nice Ride organization has been preparing for the big day with twin efforts, both massive. Programming and construction of rental kiosks was underway at Sieco Construction in the Seward neighborhood, while assembly of Nice Ride's fleet of bikes took place at Freewheel Bike, which has locations on the West Bank and along the Midtown Greenway.

Bike stations are in the city's busiest, densest places, from Uptown to Dinkytown--not, Dossett, says, in areas dominated by single-family homes.

Asked to name a sign that the program is a success (a little old lady on a Nice Ride bike, perhaps?), Dossett demurs. "It's one small piece of something that is a lot bigger than us," he says. "It's already going on." People are changing the way they move around the Twin Cities, says Dossett, and using a bike-share system is simply a part of that.

Source: Bill Dossett, Nice Ride Minnesota
Writer: Chris Steller

A turnaround at the St. Paul crossroads known as UniDale has been 25 years in the making, and 2010 looks to be a big year for progress there. A new mixed-use development, Frogtown Square-Kings Crossing Apartments, will mark a significant milestone in the transformation of an intersection that is due to host a major stop on the Central Corridor light-rail transit line.

The intersection of University Avenue and Dale Street was at one time notorious as the site of an adult-entertainment complex known as The Notorious Faust Theater (yes, that was the business' full and official name). The Faust gave up the ghost in 1995; standing on that site now is the new Rondo Community Outreach Library, in a building with housing above.

Kitty-corner from the library is the Frogtown Square site. The deal for the new building closed May 31, allowing construction to begin the next day. Frogtown Square will have 11,000 square feet of commercial space at street level. Kings Crossing Apartments will contain about 48 units of affordable rental housing for senior citizens on the upper three floors.

Meyer Construction, a minority-owned firm, is the general contractor for the $13 million project, which is a joint effort of four community development corporations (CDCs) and Episcopal Homes.

What might light-rail riders see at Frogtown Square's retail level? "At one point, we talked about a hat store," says Patty Lilledahl, who directs business development and finance for the City of St. Paul--a "perfect fit," if it happens, for the building's residents.

Source: Patty Lilledahl, City of St. Paul Planning and Economic Development
Writer: Chris Steller

The web of dedicated paths for biking and walking in St. Paul will soon add an important strand. The city is getting ready to build its first proper bicycle boulevard, on Jefferson Avenue across the southwestern part of the city.

As it passes through St. Paul, the river twists northward, then south again. Due to that geographical quirk, the straight-line, east-west Jefferson Bikeway will meet (or nearly meet) the Mississippi River at both ends: at Mississippi River Boulevard and again at W. Seventh Street/Shepard Road.

Anyone biking the nearly four-mile length of the route will experience three different levels of accommodation: bike lanes from W. Seventh Street to Lexington Parkway; shared lanes (or "sharrows") from Lexington to Snelling Avenue; and bike-boulevard modifications from Snelling to Mississippi River Boulevard.

It's that last stretch where bicyclists will really feel like kings of the road, with a variety of traffic tricks intended to give preference to people pushing pedals. At Cleveland Avenue, a new island will divert cars and give refuge to bikers.

"The city's transportation plan calls for bike facilities every half-mile to mile," explains traffic engineer Paul St. Martin. Jefferson is typical of the kind of street St. Paul is adding to its biking network: located in a current gap in the system, with low traffic volumes, and already stocked with traffic signals. St. Martin said the city will test a similar route on Charles Avenue, another east-west street, which runs just north of University Avenue.

Source: Paul St. Martin, City of St. Paul
Writer: Chris Steller