How you live -- public transportation

Although Chisago County is included in the now 16 county Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area used by the Census Bureau, it is considered rural for transit planning purposes. The Greater Minnesota Transit Investment Plan 2010 - 2030 notes the continuation of unmet transit needs in greater Minnesota (80 counties) regardless of which urban-rural classification is used. I'm going to be thinking some more about the relationship between public transportation and bioregions and whether, in Minnesota, all of that bioregion / cultural region could come together better. I think that's what bioregionalism is supposed to do, get us to think outside our straight line administrative boundary thinking. In Minnesota, as elsewhere, counties are administrative units of the state and their role in transit and transportation continues to evolve.

By Davumaya (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What form of public transportation is closest to you?
When does it operate and where does it go?

The Chisago-Isanti area is served by Heartland Express which offers "demand responsive" [local] curb to curb service Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a local express bus to Metro Transit service connection at "Running Aces" race track in Columbus Township in Anoka County near Forest Lake, in Washington County, from which (very limited) express bus service to St. Paul or Minneapolis is available. Public transportation in the 7-county Twin Cities metro area can be considered underdeveloped but improving as light rail and express bus lines are added. The 80 counties not served by Metro Transit are even more reliant on private transportation.

Today, instead of sharing the usual poem that mirrors the posting's theme, I want to direct you to a CityLab page that has, already assembled, their idea of the ten best transit poems, and/or you can listen to the wonderful Simon and Garfunkel singing the delightful Poem Written on the Underground Wall. (I grew up with "heavy rail" and know how well this captures it. I once asked a "trackless trolley" driver in Boston why they didn't run after 1:00 a.m. He replied "'cuz no one rides then.")

Simon & Garfunkel: Wednesday Morning, 3 AM

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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.

Local doings, or stoppings

eggs and rhubarb            © harrington

Life is getting really interesting here in the country. This morning, Franco the Rescue Dog chased (herded? Franco's a border collie cross) a bear away from our trash can. This afternoon, we headed off for the Chisago City Farmer's Market and bought eggs and rhubarb, asparagus, and tomatoes and green onions grown in either a tunnel or greenhouse.

asparagus                    © harrington

tomatoes etc. grown in tunnel or greenhouse © harrington

They also had a number of plants for sale and a country / folk singer making nice music. Earlier, we had taken a trip to Almelund to check the farmer's market that was supposed to open at 3 PM. We got there about 2:50 PM and saw not a sign of a vendor. Maybe next week?

On our way home from the Chisago City market, we had a pleasant surprise that restored a little of my faith in human nature. The lady shown below was crossing one of the back roads in the industrial park. While I was turning our car around so I could take her portrait, I got to watch three other drivers intentionally drive around her. Before we left, she had climbed into the tall grass at the roadside and was headed back to her pond. I'm not sure where she might have laid her eggs, or if, or when they may hatch. I think it's just nice to know that some of my fellow humans are willing to share the road with non-human pedestrians. Complete streets anyone?

snapping turtle crossing road      © harrington

On a not so pleasant topic, there's an on-line petition to stop frac sand trucks through Taylors Falls.
Please consider signing it.

All of the preceding has been brought to you by Gary Snyder's

"For the Children."

stay together

learn the flowers

go light

********************************************
Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.

Curb appeal

© harrington

This view looks south toward the downtown of one of the first cities in My Minnesota. The building in the center (appearing to block the road which actually curves to the left in front of it) is a block of condominiums with  units still for sale. From here, the boulevard trees nicely frame the condo building, providing curb appeal and softening the street face.

© harrington

As you enter the heart of this river city, the trees are fewer (there's a potted tree barely visible near the right edge of the photo) and, as attractive as the building's facade may be, it's appeal seems to me to be notably less than when it was framed with trees. There have been studies documenting that proximity to parks increases property value. Would a more attractive and walkable public space have led to a shortened time on market for those "Models Open" units?  Which curb has more appeal to you (and where's the bike lane)?

Complete street?

© harrington

This is what the road in front of my house looked like a few short months ago. Today, the branches are bare (except for some stubborn oaks), the ground is covered with fallen leaves, the dusty road is muddy and slick in spots.  Soon, the township will be sending the snow plow, but only when we get more than 3 inches of snow in one snowfall. Township roads are supposedly 4 rods wide, that's 66 feet in more modern terms, except when they aren't. A full 66 foot width might put my neighbor's fence withing the roadway although the township doesn't maintain all the way to the fence by mowing. However, about a mile south of here, the maintained right-of-way isn't much wider than the roadway, with trees encroaching up to the undersized ditches/shoulders. I suspect this arrangement sometimes creates a challenge for the township snow plow driver(s). According to a white paper I recently found on-line, after some idiot ran down the political signs on our property and the local sheriff's deputy informed me that such signs aren't supposed to be placed within the roadway (although I'm still responsible for paying property taxes on it), "While the statutes provide various methods for adopting, dedicating and recording town roads, there is no uniform width to town roads." From a practical perspective, I suppose this means that in My Minnesota, complete streets in a township may have to start with determining what is a complete street width.