Complete Street >> Complete Bedlam

Not too long ago, I stopped to chat with a couple who live on Myrtle Street about three blocks east of Len’s Grocery.

The conversation went well for a half a minute. Then a car drove by.

GATHUNKETY-THUNKETY-THUNKETY THUNK, said the car’s tires on the pavement.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked the woman. She opened her mouth to repeat what she’d said.

GATHUNKETY-THUNKETY-THUNKETY THUNK, interrupted the next car.

We both glanced over at Myrtle with mild annoyance.

“What was –“ I began –

GATHUNKETY-THUNKETY-THUNKETY THUNK.

The woman sighed. “It’s like this all day long,” she said resignedly. “When we moved here a couple months ago, I had no idea how loud this street was.”

GATHUNKETY-THUNKETY-THUNKETY THUNK, came the shameless reply of yet another car clattering by.

If you’ve driven, walked, or biked (brave soul!) on Myrtle Street recently, you’ve seen the signs about the planned reconstruction project. I hope you took the survey and gave your input – as I’ve said before, I believe the best city government is community-inspired and community-driven. We all need to be active participants as much as our busy lives will allow.

To update Myrtle Street is not, obviously, just a question of repaving and getting a smoother ride – from my own experience following the repaving of 4th Street North, this by itself just encourages speeding.

There’s more to a good street. Enter the concept of “Complete Streets.”

According to the US Department of Transportation:

Complete Streets are streets designed and operated to enable safe use and support mobility for …people of all ages and abilities, regardless of whether they are travelling as drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, or public transportation riders. …They can promote walking and bicycling by providing safer places to achieve physical activity through transportation. 

When Minneapolis adopted its own Complete Streets Policy in 2013, it committed to

"routinely design and operate the entire right of way to prioritize safer slower speeds for all people who use the road, over high speeds for motor vehicles. This means that every transportation project will make the street network better and safer for people walking, biking, riding transit, moving actively with assistive devices and driving, making Minneapolis a better place to live.”

It would be great to find a similar statement of commitment on Stillwater’s website.

By the Minneapolis definitions of street types, I think Myrtle is an “urban neighborhood connector.” Minneapolis lays out two different plans (with and without a bikeway) for this kind of street. (You can see other plans for other kinds of streets here). Here’s one of the plans, for a 59-foot effective right of way.

By my decidedly unscientific estimates from Google Maps, Myrtle has roughly the same dimensions, so I did this little overlay of the "urban neighborhood connector" plan to visualize what’s possible.

Myrtle St., now (left) and what could be (right)

I urge us, as a city, to seize this opportunity to make Myrtle a complete street. Yes, a smoother, quieter ride for cars; but also a street that encourages walkers, bike riders, and scooters. A street on which residents, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can enjoy life in small ways, like being able to hear each other talk in their front yards. A small ask.

“Successful streets are environments where humans, and human interaction, flourish,” according to Charles Marohn.

I would not describe my recent human interaction on Myrtle Street - GATHUNKETY-THUNKETY-THUNK THUNK – as a flourishing one.