The Parking Ban is LIfted!
Mar. 29th, 2023 12:29 pm... and I still can't find a spot in front of my house.
Sometimes I really hate living in Midway, just off University Avenue.
Sometimes I really hate living in Midway, just off University Avenue.
Yesterday, in Midway
Jun. 2nd, 2020 11:54 amMidway is quietly recovering, from what I can tell.
We are out in the streets every day with brooms and paint cans and, in Mason's case, bags of groceries. Yesterday, he spent the first couple of hours packing up food and the last couple helping people load up their cars. He was so cute when he came home, because he said to us, "You know what I learned today? Diapers come in sizes!" Shawn and I were like, "You're ahead of us. We only learned that sixteen years ago!" Because, seriously, both Shawn and I did stints as baby-sitters as kids, but there's so much you don't know until you have an infant in your house. I'm so glad that Mason is learning all this sort of stuff, especially as a young man.
I walked over to to my friend Theo's yesterday because they had painted me a protest sign at my request for me to put in my window. There was ANOTHER charitable organization setting up a food give away at University and Fairview. One of the women handing out stuff gave me a water bottle. She was a nice mom-type and when I said I wasn't in need, said, that I needed to hydrate. "It's hot, don't'ca know."
They seem to be springing up everywhere, because, earlier, as I was coming back from picking up bagels, I saw yet another charity organization organizing a food/medical drive in the empty lot at Lexington and University. So, we are being inundated with help.
My coffee shop, Claddaugh, raised over two hundred dollars in tip jar money for Midway recovery, too. Their tip jar is going to a black artist organization today, I believe.
Meanwhile, in my garden the world continues to turn as though Minneapolis is not burning for justice.
Image: thin-stalked blue irises in a boulevard garden (you can see the base of our street lamp.)
In the backyard, along the fence, the pink peony-transplanted years ago and so has gracefully agreed to be post-diva stage of transplanting--in bloom:
Image: peonies, still too heavy for their own beauty, flopped over in resplendent despondency.
Finally, specifically for![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rachelmanija , my orderly rows of radishes:
image: tiny sprouts in a row, nearly overwhelmed by tree detritus, including cottonwood fluff and maple tree 'helicopters.'
On that note, I shall leave you all with the hope of new life. There will be no peace without justice. We can rebuild.
We are out in the streets every day with brooms and paint cans and, in Mason's case, bags of groceries. Yesterday, he spent the first couple of hours packing up food and the last couple helping people load up their cars. He was so cute when he came home, because he said to us, "You know what I learned today? Diapers come in sizes!" Shawn and I were like, "You're ahead of us. We only learned that sixteen years ago!" Because, seriously, both Shawn and I did stints as baby-sitters as kids, but there's so much you don't know until you have an infant in your house. I'm so glad that Mason is learning all this sort of stuff, especially as a young man.
I walked over to to my friend Theo's yesterday because they had painted me a protest sign at my request for me to put in my window. There was ANOTHER charitable organization setting up a food give away at University and Fairview. One of the women handing out stuff gave me a water bottle. She was a nice mom-type and when I said I wasn't in need, said, that I needed to hydrate. "It's hot, don't'ca know."
They seem to be springing up everywhere, because, earlier, as I was coming back from picking up bagels, I saw yet another charity organization organizing a food/medical drive in the empty lot at Lexington and University. So, we are being inundated with help.
My coffee shop, Claddaugh, raised over two hundred dollars in tip jar money for Midway recovery, too. Their tip jar is going to a black artist organization today, I believe.
Meanwhile, in my garden the world continues to turn as though Minneapolis is not burning for justice.
Image: thin-stalked blue irises in a boulevard garden (you can see the base of our street lamp.)
In the backyard, along the fence, the pink peony-transplanted years ago and so has gracefully agreed to be post-diva stage of transplanting--in bloom:
Image: peonies, still too heavy for their own beauty, flopped over in resplendent despondency.
Finally, specifically for
rachelmanija , my orderly rows of radishes:image: tiny sprouts in a row, nearly overwhelmed by tree detritus, including cottonwood fluff and maple tree 'helicopters.'
On that note, I shall leave you all with the hope of new life. There will be no peace without justice. We can rebuild.
Giving Back
Jun. 1st, 2020 01:58 pmMason is off volunteering again today. He's been putting in regular four-hour shifts at a local church, feeding our neighbors and kiting up street medics. He told us yesterday that he'd like to get Red Cross certification so he could be a street medic in the future, if needed. (This may also be the thing that finally motivates him to learn to drive, too, because they are always looking for people to run transport to the hospital.) I think it's tough to be a social justice-minded teen right now. I think he'd really like to be in the front line protests, but he's sixteen. I'm so glad he's found a place to concentrate his vast energies for good. albeit behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, I will admit to some fatigue. The only thing I could do, politically, today was pick a couple of folks on the list of community organizations seeking funds to rebuild/support various efforts and donate: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/30/how-to-give-back-to-your-besieged-community/
Included in this list is a GoFundMe for George Floyd's survivors. Please circulate widely, if so moved.
I'd like to blog about some of the other things in my life, but to do so seems frivolous. Minneapolis/St. Paul is on fire for justice and the fact that my irises are blooming, the radishes sprouted, my one POUND bag of wildflower seeds showed up today, and something is wrong, maybe, with my jack-in-the-pulpit as it's pulpit has turned yellow (but the internet says so long as the leaves are fine, it's probably doing something natural) all seems minor in comparison.
Meanwhile, I will admit to some fatigue. The only thing I could do, politically, today was pick a couple of folks on the list of community organizations seeking funds to rebuild/support various efforts and donate: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/30/how-to-give-back-to-your-besieged-community/
Included in this list is a GoFundMe for George Floyd's survivors. Please circulate widely, if so moved.
I'd like to blog about some of the other things in my life, but to do so seems frivolous. Minneapolis/St. Paul is on fire for justice and the fact that my irises are blooming, the radishes sprouted, my one POUND bag of wildflower seeds showed up today, and something is wrong, maybe, with my jack-in-the-pulpit as it's pulpit has turned yellow (but the internet says so long as the leaves are fine, it's probably doing something natural) all seems minor in comparison.
I Live in Midway
May. 29th, 2020 08:31 am Last night, a huge chunk of my neighborhood was burned, some of it to the ground.
I'm not going to talk about whether or not looting is justified in the quest for justice, but I will say that I personally hold Minneapolis's District Attorney Mike Freeman responsible for fanning the flames that had already, literally, been spreading through Midway.
We are okay.
Of course we are okay. People weren't targeting houses.
It was a sleepless night for me and my family last night and I worried fires might spread by accident. We lost some really good places last night, very likely forever, including Bole, an Ethiopian restaurant that was a favorite for my family, particularly my extended, made-family. We'd had good times there, and it was a go-to place during the Thanksgiving holiday for us. It is GONE. The is nothing but a still smoldering husk there. I drove past it this morning, on my way to pick-up coffee in order to support my favorite coffee shop, Claddaugh, which was also looted last night (their smaller store had windows smashed and to-go cups taken.)
What kills me is that my neighborhood is barely holding on at the best of times and we have (or had, we shall see what can survive this,) such fun quirky places, like Axe Man Surplus and Midway Books, not to mention the hundreds of mom and pop Thai and other ethnic restaurants all up and down University.
I say all this understanding that George Floyd is dead, murdered by police.That that injustice continues just makes my grief deeper this morning.
I'm not going to talk about whether or not looting is justified in the quest for justice, but I will say that I personally hold Minneapolis's District Attorney Mike Freeman responsible for fanning the flames that had already, literally, been spreading through Midway.
We are okay.
Of course we are okay. People weren't targeting houses.
It was a sleepless night for me and my family last night and I worried fires might spread by accident. We lost some really good places last night, very likely forever, including Bole, an Ethiopian restaurant that was a favorite for my family, particularly my extended, made-family. We'd had good times there, and it was a go-to place during the Thanksgiving holiday for us. It is GONE. The is nothing but a still smoldering husk there. I drove past it this morning, on my way to pick-up coffee in order to support my favorite coffee shop, Claddaugh, which was also looted last night (their smaller store had windows smashed and to-go cups taken.)
What kills me is that my neighborhood is barely holding on at the best of times and we have (or had, we shall see what can survive this,) such fun quirky places, like Axe Man Surplus and Midway Books, not to mention the hundreds of mom and pop Thai and other ethnic restaurants all up and down University.
I say all this understanding that George Floyd is dead, murdered by police.That that injustice continues just makes my grief deeper this morning.
Short Lived Parking Victory
Jan. 17th, 2018 08:18 am So, there's this one guy in a red pick-up truck that ALWAYS parks in front of our house. He's an employee of the Neighborhood Energy Consortium, a business at the end of the block, and has been for... years? Mostly, I don't mind him. I mean so long as there are other spots to park in during the day, it's no big deal.
Yesterday was day two of the snow emergency that St. Paul called. We live on a "night plow" route, which means that the odd side of the street gets plowed at night (it's okay to park on the even side) and, the next morning, everything is reversed. It's a bit difficult to understand at first and, if my arguments with my neighbors yesterday morning are any indication, a lot of people who live on our block are actually fairly unaware how it works... despite years of Shawn and I handing out fliers explaining it (it's probably time to do it again.) Even so, 9/10ths of the neighbors get it. The problem is that we have these employees, including red truck guy, many of whom don't live in St. Paul and are especially unaware of how the snow emergency is supposed to work.
I've been trying to talk to my local city councilperson about the problems with parking in my neighborhood for months. I've lived here since 1995 and parking in front of my house during the day wasn't a problem for years. It's only been within the past... oh, year, or maybe a little more, that it's become increasingly difficult to come back to my house at 7:30 am, after dropping my family off at school and work, and find a spot to park. It only gets worse the closer to 9 am you get. The street is packed by 11am.
I suspect two culprits: the businesses at the end of the block that don't seem to have to provide off-street parking for their employees. This was less of a problem when it was only Insta-Print. Now, not only is that building occupied by these NEC folks (who. ironically, drive off in vans all day) but also Hour Car. That's two businesses where there used to be one. The second culprit is something I'm sure nothing can ever be done about, other than me whining about it a lot, and that's ditch 'n ride people who for reasons absolutely unknown to me think that parking in my neighborhood and taking the light rail from here to whichever downtown they work in is a good idea. (Why here? I mean, I suspect maybe the folks who do it tried nicer neighborhoods and discovered more patrols from parking enforcement and neighbors who were willing to call them out. But, other days I tell myself it's because my gardens are SO IRRESISTIBLE.)
Back to yesterday, right? I kind of lost it. I have watched the plows--which are supposed to tag and tow in order to enforce the plowing rules--just skim down the center of the street and be done with it. More often than not, even when I go to the trouble to move my car and encourage my neighbors to move theirs, some jerk will park right IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
Lately, "that jerk" has been this red truck.
So I walked down to the businesses at the end of the block and asked them to please, please ask their employees to respect the St. Paul snow emergency rules. They stared at me mostly blankly, but one guy said the right things and so I left... still feeling unsatisfied. I stomped back home and emailed an angry note to the assistant to my city councilperson because she had foolishly told me I could "contact her regarding further parking concerns." I asked her if businesses had any requirement to provide off-street parking for employees (and whether now that the stadium was coming to Midway, if we could revisit any waver given to the businesses at the end of my block) and if she knew of a way that I could encourage St. Paul plowing to be more vigorous about tagged and removing the cars during the day time plow hours.
She got on it.
Before I knew it not only were the plows back on my street, but they had TAGGED AND TOWED the annoying red truck.
I was unhealthily giddy for a good two hours after that victory.
.
.
.
This morning he's back in the exact same spot.
Yesterday was day two of the snow emergency that St. Paul called. We live on a "night plow" route, which means that the odd side of the street gets plowed at night (it's okay to park on the even side) and, the next morning, everything is reversed. It's a bit difficult to understand at first and, if my arguments with my neighbors yesterday morning are any indication, a lot of people who live on our block are actually fairly unaware how it works... despite years of Shawn and I handing out fliers explaining it (it's probably time to do it again.) Even so, 9/10ths of the neighbors get it. The problem is that we have these employees, including red truck guy, many of whom don't live in St. Paul and are especially unaware of how the snow emergency is supposed to work.
I've been trying to talk to my local city councilperson about the problems with parking in my neighborhood for months. I've lived here since 1995 and parking in front of my house during the day wasn't a problem for years. It's only been within the past... oh, year, or maybe a little more, that it's become increasingly difficult to come back to my house at 7:30 am, after dropping my family off at school and work, and find a spot to park. It only gets worse the closer to 9 am you get. The street is packed by 11am.
I suspect two culprits: the businesses at the end of the block that don't seem to have to provide off-street parking for their employees. This was less of a problem when it was only Insta-Print. Now, not only is that building occupied by these NEC folks (who. ironically, drive off in vans all day) but also Hour Car. That's two businesses where there used to be one. The second culprit is something I'm sure nothing can ever be done about, other than me whining about it a lot, and that's ditch 'n ride people who for reasons absolutely unknown to me think that parking in my neighborhood and taking the light rail from here to whichever downtown they work in is a good idea. (Why here? I mean, I suspect maybe the folks who do it tried nicer neighborhoods and discovered more patrols from parking enforcement and neighbors who were willing to call them out. But, other days I tell myself it's because my gardens are SO IRRESISTIBLE.)
Back to yesterday, right? I kind of lost it. I have watched the plows--which are supposed to tag and tow in order to enforce the plowing rules--just skim down the center of the street and be done with it. More often than not, even when I go to the trouble to move my car and encourage my neighbors to move theirs, some jerk will park right IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
Lately, "that jerk" has been this red truck.
So I walked down to the businesses at the end of the block and asked them to please, please ask their employees to respect the St. Paul snow emergency rules. They stared at me mostly blankly, but one guy said the right things and so I left... still feeling unsatisfied. I stomped back home and emailed an angry note to the assistant to my city councilperson because she had foolishly told me I could "contact her regarding further parking concerns." I asked her if businesses had any requirement to provide off-street parking for employees (and whether now that the stadium was coming to Midway, if we could revisit any waver given to the businesses at the end of my block) and if she knew of a way that I could encourage St. Paul plowing to be more vigorous about tagged and removing the cars during the day time plow hours.
She got on it.
Before I knew it not only were the plows back on my street, but they had TAGGED AND TOWED the annoying red truck.
I was unhealthily giddy for a good two hours after that victory.
.
.
.
This morning he's back in the exact same spot.
Neighborhood Antics
Aug. 19th, 2017 08:41 am Our neighborhood, Midway, is often, as we say here in Minnesota, "interesting." Last night, around 7 or 8 o'clock we heard a lot of swearing outside. Now, I have to admit, this is a common enough of an occurrence that I didn't think much of it at first, but it went on and on and on. To the point where, if nothing else, I wanted to stick my ear to the open window to find out if it was the kind of argument where the cops might have to be called.*
Of course, my whole family, being terrible gossips, all joined me as we strained to hear what our neighbor is yelling about. We quickly determined that it was "Boat Guy." We have nicknames for all our neighbors that we know by sight, but which we haven't yet had an opportunity to be introduced to. Boat Guy lives at the end of the block, opposite us, and has a fishing boat that he dotes on. Unfortunately, he always parks it in the street. This is a little annoying, because, lately, our block has been filing up with the cars of the people who work at Hour Car and NEC (the Neighborhood Energy Consortium.) I particularly hate the NEC people because they drive their cars into our neighborhood, park in front of my house, and DRIVE OFF IN COMPANY VANS. I might also be less annoyed with an Energy company's employs parking their cars all over, if their business weren't a block and a half from a Green Line stop and a bus didn't have a stop LITERALLY on their corner.
So, anyway, we can clearly see Boat Guy roaming up and down the street swearing up a storm because some f*cker f*cking had his f*cking boat f*cking towed and he was f*cking mad about it. He was literally trying to call people out by saying "I know who you are!" and "I'll make you have to pay $200 by slashing all your tires." He raged up and down the street, even once turning on his radio super loud to try to get people's attention I'd guess, until his wife came out and said, "That's enough, honey. Come in."
I feel for Boat Guy, honestly.
It's not okay for him to park his boat on the street. It takes up two spots AT LEAST and I'm pretty sure there are regulations about where boats are supposed to be stored. But, if his house is anything like ours, he doesn't have a decent garage, IF he has one at all. Hardly any of the houses in our neighborhood have off-street parking options. In fact, a lot of my neighbors on this side have been using the empty grass lots on the other side of the alley to park their cars in because parking is SUCH a pain around here. His alley, like ours, ends in a pretty abrupt t-interection so I'm sure it's a pain to even try to get his boat up and down the alley... even if he did have space for it.
I can't speak for the rest of the neighbors, because obviously someone called the parking police on him, but I'd take his boat over all the stupid strangers parking on my street. He's usually very conscientious about moving it around so that it's not always blocking the same house.
This is only going to get exponentially worse when the soccer stadium goes in.
-----
*A note: There was a time when I used to call for anything that seemed long-lasting. Now, given the current climate, I rarely do this unless someone actually threatens violence or the other person involved says something along the lines of 'don't you dare hit me.'
Of course, my whole family, being terrible gossips, all joined me as we strained to hear what our neighbor is yelling about. We quickly determined that it was "Boat Guy." We have nicknames for all our neighbors that we know by sight, but which we haven't yet had an opportunity to be introduced to. Boat Guy lives at the end of the block, opposite us, and has a fishing boat that he dotes on. Unfortunately, he always parks it in the street. This is a little annoying, because, lately, our block has been filing up with the cars of the people who work at Hour Car and NEC (the Neighborhood Energy Consortium.) I particularly hate the NEC people because they drive their cars into our neighborhood, park in front of my house, and DRIVE OFF IN COMPANY VANS. I might also be less annoyed with an Energy company's employs parking their cars all over, if their business weren't a block and a half from a Green Line stop and a bus didn't have a stop LITERALLY on their corner.
So, anyway, we can clearly see Boat Guy roaming up and down the street swearing up a storm because some f*cker f*cking had his f*cking boat f*cking towed and he was f*cking mad about it. He was literally trying to call people out by saying "I know who you are!" and "I'll make you have to pay $200 by slashing all your tires." He raged up and down the street, even once turning on his radio super loud to try to get people's attention I'd guess, until his wife came out and said, "That's enough, honey. Come in."
I feel for Boat Guy, honestly.
It's not okay for him to park his boat on the street. It takes up two spots AT LEAST and I'm pretty sure there are regulations about where boats are supposed to be stored. But, if his house is anything like ours, he doesn't have a decent garage, IF he has one at all. Hardly any of the houses in our neighborhood have off-street parking options. In fact, a lot of my neighbors on this side have been using the empty grass lots on the other side of the alley to park their cars in because parking is SUCH a pain around here. His alley, like ours, ends in a pretty abrupt t-interection so I'm sure it's a pain to even try to get his boat up and down the alley... even if he did have space for it.
I can't speak for the rest of the neighbors, because obviously someone called the parking police on him, but I'd take his boat over all the stupid strangers parking on my street. He's usually very conscientious about moving it around so that it's not always blocking the same house.
This is only going to get exponentially worse when the soccer stadium goes in.
-----
*A note: There was a time when I used to call for anything that seemed long-lasting. Now, given the current climate, I rarely do this unless someone actually threatens violence or the other person involved says something along the lines of 'don't you dare hit me.'
Neighborhood Politics
Mar. 1st, 2014 11:28 amI'll be honest. We have a lot of issues in my tiny Midway neighborhood, not the least of which is three--count 'em THREE--abandoned houses on the block on the other side of our alley.
But you know what makes people REALLY scream on our local e-forum? The new ban on street parking.
I actually don't blame them. The plowing in St. Paul has been sucking for a number of years now, and it's fairly ridiculous when you go to the suburbs and discover dry, wide roads that seemingly miraculously have been plowed to the curbs (proving both are POSSIBLE). It does make a person wonder what they have in the suburbs that we don't have in the city (besides, presumably, money).
Also, my street is clogged with cars on a good day; parking has always been difficult given our proximity to University Avenue and the people who work at the various businesses at the end of our block. Plus, a lot of residents, including myself, have no working garages. (We have a "garage" but it has barn doors and probably last fit a car the size of a Model-T.) This is fairly typical up and down our alley. Plus, we are in what is politely called a "high-density" neighborhood, which means a lot of what look like single-dwelling houses are actually duplexes, triplexes, and more. So, though it looks like we only have half-a-dozen houses on our block, in reality, that's more like fifteen or more families, many of whom own more than one car.
So, yeah, I'm not sure how things are going to go. I wish, in fact, if St. Paul was going to do this, they'd give residents in neighborhoods like ours parking permits and ticket and tow all the neighborhood "interlopers." I doubt I'm going to get to park in front of our house any time soon. I suspect that during these frigid weeks I may have to park blocks away and haul groceries and kid the distance....
On the flip side, right now, we have to skid to one side or another if two cars are coming down the same street from opposite directions. Because the roads are already piled high with snow and ice that are inches from the curb, the streets really are dangerously narrow when cars are parked on both sides--especially since people won't go all the way up to what exists as a curb because they still want to get out on their passenger side doors.
It's a gnarly business, though I can't help but side with the people who are screaming WELL, IF YOU'D PLOW RIGHT THE FIRST TIME WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM, WOULD WE???!!
But you know what makes people REALLY scream on our local e-forum? The new ban on street parking.
I actually don't blame them. The plowing in St. Paul has been sucking for a number of years now, and it's fairly ridiculous when you go to the suburbs and discover dry, wide roads that seemingly miraculously have been plowed to the curbs (proving both are POSSIBLE). It does make a person wonder what they have in the suburbs that we don't have in the city (besides, presumably, money).
Also, my street is clogged with cars on a good day; parking has always been difficult given our proximity to University Avenue and the people who work at the various businesses at the end of our block. Plus, a lot of residents, including myself, have no working garages. (We have a "garage" but it has barn doors and probably last fit a car the size of a Model-T.) This is fairly typical up and down our alley. Plus, we are in what is politely called a "high-density" neighborhood, which means a lot of what look like single-dwelling houses are actually duplexes, triplexes, and more. So, though it looks like we only have half-a-dozen houses on our block, in reality, that's more like fifteen or more families, many of whom own more than one car.
So, yeah, I'm not sure how things are going to go. I wish, in fact, if St. Paul was going to do this, they'd give residents in neighborhoods like ours parking permits and ticket and tow all the neighborhood "interlopers." I doubt I'm going to get to park in front of our house any time soon. I suspect that during these frigid weeks I may have to park blocks away and haul groceries and kid the distance....
On the flip side, right now, we have to skid to one side or another if two cars are coming down the same street from opposite directions. Because the roads are already piled high with snow and ice that are inches from the curb, the streets really are dangerously narrow when cars are parked on both sides--especially since people won't go all the way up to what exists as a curb because they still want to get out on their passenger side doors.
It's a gnarly business, though I can't help but side with the people who are screaming WELL, IF YOU'D PLOW RIGHT THE FIRST TIME WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM, WOULD WE???!!
