The Cities: September 30, 2011 Archive

Minneapolis leaders promote pedal pushing

Posted at 11:00 AM on September 30, 2011 by Brandt Williams (1 Comments)
Filed under: Livability, Minneapolis

I'm generally skeptical about promotional productions like this short, video love letter to the Midtown Greenway and the broader Minneapolis bike culture. Obviously, the filmmakers wanted to enhance their case by shooting footage during times when lots of people are out biking. But as someone who rides the Greenway frequently, I can verify that it gets a lot of traffic - even when the weather is not warm and sunny.

And there's more evidence that Minneapolis is serious about enhancing its status as a bike-friendly city. If you drive or ride on Minneapolis streets, you've probably noticed a lot more newly-painted bike lanes along major thoroughfares. I recently rode over a big "bike blvd" sign on Bryant Ave. S. and wondered, "What does that mean?" Apparently, so did Morning Edition producer Jim Bickal, who recently got Shaun Murphy, who coordinates non-motorized transportation projects for the city of Minneapolis, to speak with ME host Cathy Wurzer. Murphy told Wurzer the sign reminds drivers to share the road with the human-powered two wheelers and it encourages bikers to avoid the more car-heavy streets. Listen to the interview here.

If you're a true bike policy wonk, you'll want to check out the city's 2011 Bicycle Master Plan.

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Kid pix only an emerald ash borer could love

Posted at 5:00 PM on September 30, 2011 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Livability, St. Paul

These are the dreaded juvenile delinquents (emerald ash borer larvae) similar to the ones lurking in the leafy neighborhoods of St. Paul.

Jane Hodgins with the U.S. Forest Service office based on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus sent the photos, along with a note that most of them were snapped by USFS biologist Rob Venette.

Sure, it's like an insect family album. But Rob's work is deadly serious - as in, let's learn more about these buggers so we can get rid of them.

Venette wants to know, for example, does the release of the stingless wasp as a biological control agent work?

And, here in a winter photo of Rob's research, he's trying to learn if the larvae have the same aversion to winter temperatures as some two legged Minnesotans with condos in Florida?

Anyway, always good to put a face to a pest.

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