New plan for downtown Minneapolis

The Minneapolis Downtown Council has a new 13-year, estimated $2 billion plan of action to build a "flourishing 21st century city."

1. Double downtown population
2. Transform Nicollet Mall into a must-see destination
3. Build Gateway Park
4. Create a consistently compelling downtown experience
5. Establish a downtown sports district that includes a new Vikings stadium
6. Lead the nation in transportation options
7. Create and sustain green infrastructure
8. Forge connections to the University of Minnesota
9. End street homelessness
10. Launch a festival of ideas

Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition winner is...

Metrodome collapse

Scary footage of the roof on the Hubert H. Humphrey Dome collapsing (for the fifth time) under the weight of heavy snow Sunday morning. The dramatic fail inevitably now ratchets up debate about the need for a new stadium in the Twin Cities.

Twin Cities metro mistakes

Myron Orfield explains in MinnPost why the Metropolitan Council, a regional planning agency, has struggled to fulfill its mission of guiding "efficient growth" in the Twin Cities area:

The council decided for whatever reason not to consider job clusters when reviewing cities' comprehensive plans. Before, under the older councils, the plans were disapproved if new jobs weren't clustered in areas where jobs already existed. 

But starting in about 1994, they began to see the rules less as regulation than as a kind of public relations. They took regulatory structure and made it just happy talk. They wanted everyone to be happy together. 

The local comprehensive plans had always been negotiated between local governments and the Met Council. But starting in the '90s, they were just rubber-stamped.

Another important thing that happened came in about 2001 when they decided to open up a huge area near the edge for two-acre residential lots. They basically got rid of the MUSA line [the Metropolitan Urban Services Area, a kind of growth boundary] and discontinued the principle that development had to be orderly and contiguous. That was a big mistake.

The council said basically that the remedy for getting too fat is to loosen your belt.

Minneapolis pedals past Portland

Minneapolis finished first in Bicycle Magazines Top 50 Bike Friendly (U.S.) Cities.

But Milwaukee, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Rochester and several other Great Lakes metros made the list.

Here's a video from Streetfilms that highlights the Major Bike Mojo in Minneapolis...