By Art Allen, Communications Assistant

As you may have noticed from some my other posts, one of my biggest gripes with living in the suburbs is the lack of transportation options. More specifically, it’s nearly impossible to get around on foot—and if you do, where is there to go? Taco Bell?

So I nearly fell out of my seat in excitement recently (yes, actually) when I read what I hope is a first of many: Edina is investing $3.7 million in a 1.5 mile biking and walking corridor. This is not a bike trail, winding pointlessly through suburban neighborhoods, starting and stopping arbitrarily. This is a corridor for bicyclist and pedestrian transit. The Promenade, as it’s called, runs through numerous higher-density residential areas and connects them to actual points of interest: retail destinations and enjoyable public spaces.

As a non-transit-related aside, I am also extremely pleased at the emphasis put on the need for public art. Having graduated from the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley (and actually serving on a public art committee while there), I am especially aware of how important public art is in making public spaces enjoyable and livable. The fact that they are mixing permanent fixtures with temporary, rotating displays is also exciting and smart on their part.

Given the utility of the Promenade on top of the beautification the public art will bring, this corridor is likely to be a popular area—and hopefully other communities will take note.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 11:14 am by Transit for Livable Communities and is filed under Transit and Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.