tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105190442024-03-14T10:30:22.108-07:00Jesse LorenzUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-42625371474250096552022-01-14T08:37:00.031-08:002022-02-01T08:50:05.466-08:00Minneapolis Should Open the Protected Bike Lanes on Blaisdell Avenue<div class="separator"></div><p> </p><p>Many people were excited to see the new concrete-protected bike lanes
being installed on Blaisdell Avenue South between 28th Street and 32nd
Street this past fall as part of the <a href="https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/projects/whittier-lyndale-bikeway/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Whittier-Lyndale bikeway</a> project. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, delays have plagued this project. <a data-id="https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/public-works/" data-type="URL" href="https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/public-works/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Public Works</a>
initially committed to delivering the entire length of lanes during the
2021 construction season. The department got off to a late start,
however, and ended up splitting the project into two phases to be
delivered across 2021 and 2022. People who have been <a href="https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/downtown_bikeways_workgroup_plans_for_the_end_of_2018" rel="noreferrer noopener">advocating for a safe way to bicycle between south Minneapolis and downtown since 2018</a> were understandably frustrated by that delay, but it was understandable given the pandemic.</p>
<p>What’s not understandable is Public Works’ rationale for never
opening up the newly concrete-protected bike lanes between 28th and 32nd
streets, and instead forcing bicyclists to ride in a car-traffic lane
for four blocks. This has been happening since October 1, 2021.</p><p class="has-text-align-center" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Blaisdell Closed1467.jpg" class="jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-lazy-loaded="1" height="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/fI6U7vHlCjAVVTKRcAGOjOC1LinDhENaUFy5nKiFocTCvyK-SA-AJifnVZxt6aNf8aqmmRNwFdjf1nk3U1ono33qdQ07PLvM7Aipi_wzc1LnTZwQELdGND6ZwtS7tArvlBJWVFnP=w480-h640" style="width: 477px;" width="480" /></p><p></p>
<p>This decision directly conflicts with the <a href="https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/RCAV2/25522/Complete-Streets-Draft-Policy.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener">updated Complete Streets Policy</a> that <a href="https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/File/2021-01281" rel="noreferrer noopener">the City Council adopted in late 2021</a>. That policy states that during street construction: </p>
<p>“<i>Impacts to pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users will be
limited to the extent possible during construction. Safe, convenient,
and connected detours will be established for people as they walk, take
transit, and bicycle when those networks are temporarily interrupted by
construction work.</i>”</p>
<p class="has-text-align-center" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img alt="2021-12-23_15-10-13.png" class="jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-lazy-loaded="1" height="406" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/rxhanY2dCMhKX1uEQ70HoVQyPhueSSyTHfPbgUOjDFgHxvIx4efKmE6hLfrUo7QhvcwWnRAJpW6wV9yqX7_PdqlJwWJDmqCiTShwxUR9eboglDmLvBZ3YYys_JlVv2OZBH0rrOJ-=w640-h406" width="640" /></p>
<p>The Public Works representative responsible for closing this section
of bike lane has stated that they cannot open it until the weather warms
up enough to fully paint the stripes for the bike lanes between 28th
and 32nd streets. Otherwise, automobile drivers might become confused
and drive in the protected bike lanes.</p>
<p>Here’s what this Public Works staffer couldn’t answer: How does the
absence of green paint in this concrete-protected bike lane make it more
dangerous to my safety than the alternative — me having to bike in an
automobile traffic lane with my children?</p>
<p>This same Public Works staffer suggested that if bicyclists don’t
want to ride in the car traffic lane on Blaisdell, they can simply take
an alternative protected bike route. But no other protected bike route
exists between south Minneapolis and downtown, a fact this Public Works
staffer was surprised to learn.</p>
<p><b>In the near term: </b>Public Works should open this
portion of the Whittier-Lyndale bikeway and plow it for the rest of the
winter. A solution that temporarily keeps drivers out of the
concrete-protected bike lane does not necessarily require green paint to
be applied to the asphalt. Since I am neither a trained traffic
engineer nor a lawyer, however, I can’t say which solutions would
prevent the city from being found liable if a car driver mistakenly
drove down this bike lane and struck a bicyclist.</p>
<p><b>In the long term:</b> Public Works needs to put vulnerable road users first on Minneapolis streets — and follow its <a data-id="https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/public-works/tpp/complete-streets-policy/" data-type="URL" href="https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/public-works/tpp/complete-streets-policy/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Complete Streets Policy</a> every time it performs work on sidewalks, crosswalks or bike lanes. </p>
<p>Telling my family and friends that we should just take another route
does not comply with Complete Streets and seems to value easy solutions
for city staffers more than the lives of people who use city
infrastructure in multimodal ways.</p>
<h3>Want to Take Action to Fix This Problem?</h3>
<p>Email your City Councilmember and the staff associated with this
project. Let them know that you’re counting on them to keep you safe on
our streets year-round and to hold staff accountable to following city
policy.</p>
<ul><li>Ryan Gottsleben, paving engineer, Minneapolis Public Works: Email <i>Ryan.Gottsleben@minneapolismn.gov</i> or call 612-590-4233 (mobile).</li><li>Larry Matsumoto, paving engineer, Minneapolis Public Works: Email <i>Larry.Matsumoto@minneapolismn.gov</i> or call 612-919-1148 (mobile).</li><li><a href="https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/city-council/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Find your City Councilmember</a>.</li></ul>
<p></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Blaisdell Closed1480.jpg" class="jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-lazy-loaded="1" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/8KDY0WONmlJ_OT6j90BE3QqocCu0LfDm6784LVH_ieM6EtfzQ_6wsOCQMOXhgmSPX9Lw4uu88Gzt0slW-YA3ZXOBhkhQM0JBlwlGesgnozHmGQgasq8trw3umwSnj1x7q_MU5URC=w640-h480" width="640" /></div>
<p></p>Note: this post was originally published at: <a href="https://streets.mn/2022/01/14/open-protected-bike-lanes-on-blaisdell/">https://streets.mn/2022/01/14/open-protected-bike-lanes-on-blaisdell/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-8582205639223931112019-08-21T11:37:00.014-07:002022-01-06T11:42:57.255-08:00New Bollard Day for 26th Street!<p>The Our Streets <a href="https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/tags/downtown">Downtown Protected Bikeways work group</a> would like to thank the City of Minneapolis Public Works employees that recently restored the bollards to 26th Street!</p>
<p>Up until a week ago, there were only thirteen plastic bollards
designating the bike lane on 26th Street between Blaisdell and Lyndale
as protected. On the eight block stretch of 26th Street between Lyndale
and Hennepin, there was just a single bollard. Most of the missing
bollards were accidentally taken out by last winter’s snowplowing, and
had been missing since February. Many of our work group members had
stopped riding on 26th Street as a result – 26th Street just didn’t feel
protected at all any more.</p>
<p>We’d love to see something stronger, and more permanent installed on the 26th Street corridor. We aren’t engineers, but this <a href="https://www.dezignline.com/protected-bikeway-pedestrian-products/bikerail/">BikeRail</a>
product seems like it would do a much better job of keeping cars from
drifting into the bike lane, and potentially harming cyclists. In the
meantime, we are happy that the plastic bollards are back.</p>
<p>Check out the “Before” and “After” photos below. Which street layout
do you prefer? Would you like to see more permanent infrastructure here?
Let us know in the comments, or on <a href="https://twitter.com/OurStreetsMpls">Twitter</a>.</p>
<p><b>Before:</b></p>
<p><img alt="1" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-82373 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="82373" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="1" data-large-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1.png" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-medium-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1-500x260.png" data-orig-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1.png" data-orig-size="578,300" data-permalink="https://streets.mn/2019/08/21/new-bollard-day-for-26th-street/1-14/" height="260" src="https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1-500x260.png" width="500" /></p>
<p><b>After:</b></p><p>
</p><p><img alt="2" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-82374 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="82374" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="2" data-large-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2.png" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-medium-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2-500x260.png" data-orig-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2.png" data-orig-size="578,300" data-permalink="https://streets.mn/2019/08/21/new-bollard-day-for-26th-street/2-13/" height="260" src="https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2-500x260.png" width="500" /> </p><p>Note: this post was originally published at: <a href="https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/new_bollard_day_26th_street">https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/new_bollard_day_26th_street</a> and <a href="https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/">https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/</a> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-81998180034215015382019-02-20T11:30:00.022-08:002022-01-06T11:37:26.310-08:00Municipal Sidewalk Clearing in Richfield: An Interview<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr align="left"><td><img alt="Sheridan Ave And 73rd St" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77381" class="wp-image-77381 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="77381" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 8","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1548673659","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.000104004160166","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Sheridan_Ave_and_73rd_St" data-large-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Sheridan_Ave_and_73rd_St-768x1024.jpg" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-medium-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Sheridan_Ave_and_73rd_St-375x500.jpg" data-orig-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Sheridan_Ave_and_73rd_St.jpg" data-orig-size="2823,3765" data-permalink="https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/sheridan_ave_and_73rd_st/" height="685" src="https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Sheridan_Ave_and_73rd_St-375x500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="514" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77381" style="text-align: left;">A municipally-cleared sidewalk at Sheridan Ave and 73rd St in Richfield, MN. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><em>Having clear sidewalks in the winter is an important issue for a
lot of people. People should be able to move around their city or town
year-round, and they shouldn’t have to use cars in order to get around
easily. For my family, we need clear sidewalks in order to walk to the
library and stores while using our stroller to carry small children. For
some of my neighbors, they need clear sidewalks so that they don’t
slip, fall, and end up in the hospital. For a few of my neighbors, they
need clear sidewalks so that they can use their wheelchair to roll to
the bus stop. For all of these reasons, I have been curious about
alternatives to having property owners shovel their own sidewalks. When I
heard that the city of Richfield, which is a suburb just south of
Minneapolis, provides municipal sidewalk clearing, I wanted to learn
more about their program. I didn’t find any information about it online,
so I called Richfield’s Public Works department, and they put me in
touch with Chris Link. What follows is my conversation with Chris, which
has been edited and condensed for clarity.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Who are you, and what do you do?</strong><br />
My name is Chris Link. I’m the Operations Superintendent for the city of
Richfield Public Works. It’s my overall responsibility for snow removal
procedures and policies for streets, sidewalks, trails, everything.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>For context, how does Richfield Public Works handle snow events, in general?</strong><br />
We treat every storm differently. It’s basically, when will it stop, or
slow down? Today for example, it started snowing in the middle of the
night, the forecast said that we’d have about two inches at five o’clock
in the morning, but there was a lot more than that. So we said, we’re
going to have our crew that clears our main roads come in at 5:00, we’ll
do one run of our main roads, and then we’ll see what the storm is
doing. So today we had ten guys start at 5:00, and now everyone’s going
to go out at 9:30. The snowfall on Sunday ended at 1am, so we went out
at 1:00 and plowed until 10:00, and then went home. We have to really
balance it, we don’t want to wear the guys out. When they’re tired,
that’s when accidents can happen. We don’t do split shifts, we use all
available staff.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Do Richfield residents have to shovel their sidewalks at all?</strong><br />
No. It’s not required, there isn’t an ordinance that says they have to.
I’ve worked for Richfield for twenty years, and ever since before I
started, we’ve had equipment to clear the sidewalks.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How many miles of sidewalks does Richfield clear?</strong><br />
It’s roughly forty-six miles. 66th Street’s [separated cycle track is] brand new, so we’ll have updated numbers this summer.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How many miles of streets does Richfield clear?</strong><br />
124 miles, and with a 4” snowfall, that will take us six to eight hours to clear.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">(<em>For reference, Minneapolis currently has 1,715 miles of sidewalk and 1,081 miles of streets according to the <a href="http://www.minneapolismn.gov/pedestrian/pedestrian_pedestrian-masterplan-document">Minneapolis Pedestrian Masterplan</a>.</em>)</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How long does it take Public Works to get all of the sidewalks cleared?</strong><br />
Now [because of our new equipment] we can get through sidewalks in about
eight hours. It’s getting more difficult with the amount of snow [this
February]. We’re going to have to start hauling some of the snow away.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Do you know approximately how much the service costs per resident?</strong><br />
We don’t assess separately, it’s just a service that Richfield provides
through taxes. We’ve never calculated the cost. If I start spit-balling,
the capital costs for the vehicles, we probably have close to a half
million dollars in equipment for just sidewalks. And then there’s our
time, but I have a difficult time adding cost to city services, because
when you talk about staff time, they are going to be here working no
matter what. It’s just [because it’s snowing] today they’re going to be
plowing snow. In two weeks, they could be doing trees, changing water
meters, fixing water main breaks, they’re always going to be here.</p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_77386" style="text-align: left; width: 495px;"><img alt="Washburn Ave And 75th St" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77386" class="wp-image-77386 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="77386" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 8","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1548673163","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.000207986688852","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Washburn_Ave_and_75th_St" data-large-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Washburn_Ave_and_75th_St-768x1024.jpg" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-medium-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Washburn_Ave_and_75th_St-375x500.jpg" data-orig-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Washburn_Ave_and_75th_St.jpg" data-orig-size="2811,3748" data-permalink="https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/washburn_ave_and_75th_st/" height="647" src="https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Washburn_Ave_and_75th_St-375x500.jpg" width="485" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77386">Municipally-cleared sidewalks at Washburn Ave and 75th St in Richfield, MN.</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Are residents generally happy with the service?</strong><br />
Yes. We do have our problem areas though where, “It’s not cleared on
time and I’ve got to get to the bus,” we get those kind of calls, but I
assume that they’d much rather have us do it than them. We aren’t
perfect though. Sometimes it is difficult for people in wheelchairs to
get through our sidewalks. We aren’t perfect, and I know that.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What are some other comments that you hear from residents?</strong><br />
The hard part with sidewalks now is ice events. We don’t [treat]
sidewalks after ice events. That’s the part that we’re working through
right now. These [winter] rain events that we’re getting are more
frequent. When I started, it wasn’t an issue. The last four years, it
has been. We’ve had one ice event per year. On streets we can kind of
take care of it. The last one we had was terrible. With sidewalks we
didn’t put any salt out, we didn’t put any sand out. There are
environmental concerns, and there’s budgetary concerns with that. If we
start putting salt on sidewalks, we can kill grass and trees, and
there’s the environmental side of it too. We’ve been trying for a number
of years to reduce the amount of salt that we use. That’s our biggest
struggle right now is what to do with ice. [Another challenge is plowed
snow storage.] 66th Street has a boulevard area for snow storage from
the street. That works out very well for us, but Nicollet and Lyndale
and Penn Ave have sidewalks directly next to the street, and those are
very difficult to clear. They take a long time to clear, we have to go
back multiple times to clear plowed snow. Nicollet and Penn are county
roads, but Lyndale is ours. We’re responsible for all of the sidewalks
though. We don’t wait until all of the plowing is done on those roads,
we clear the sidewalks along those roads multiple times, I think it’s a
better service. It’s frustrating [for us] to have to do it again and
again, but it’s a better service.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How does liability work for the sidewalks?</strong><br />
The city is protected by state statute. If the city causes a dangerous
situation, then the city could be found liable, like ice created by a
water main break, the city could be found liable for if someone got hurt
by it. Snow isn’t caused by the city though, so we aren’t liable for
it.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Are the corners of intersections cleared after the plows go past?</strong><br />
Our procedures and policies are changing. Up until last year, we had two
pieces of equipment that would go out on sidewalks, and it was
difficult. It took a long time. If we got a 4” snowfall, all the streets
would be done the same day, but all of the sidewalks probably wouldn’t
be done for about four days. Now we have five pieces of equipment, so we
are in the middle of changing our operations. A lot of that is because
our streetscapes have changed. Now we have dedicated cycle tracks [on
66th Street] that are off street. We have a lot of bus ridership, so we
are starting to clear the radiuses and landing pads. This is our first
year of doing it this way, it’s been pretty successful, but it’s
ever-changing.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Does Richfield have a prioritization of streets versus sidewalks?</strong><br />
We do, but it doesn’t really come in to effect unless we have a severe
event of 12” or more. We have the staff, they’re here, so we’re going to
send them all out. Here is a map of all of our sidewalks. The city is
broken up in to thirds. We have sidewalk plows [pre-deployed throughout
the city].</p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_77391" style="text-align: left; width: 621px;"><img alt="Richfield Sidewalk Plowing Zones" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77391" class="wp-image-77391 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="77391" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Richfield_Sidewalk_Plowing_Zones" data-large-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Richfield_Sidewalk_Plowing_Zones.jpg" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-medium-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Richfield_Sidewalk_Plowing_Zones-500x320.jpg" data-orig-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Richfield_Sidewalk_Plowing_Zones.jpg" data-orig-size="791,507" data-permalink="https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/richfield_sidewalk_plowing_zones/" height="391" src="https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Richfield_Sidewalk_Plowing_Zones-500x320.jpg" width="611" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77391">Map showing Richfield’s three sidewalk-clearing zones.</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What are some differences between Richfield and Minneapolis, or St. Paul?</strong><br />
Minneapolis relies heavily on on-street parking. On-street parking is
allowed in Richfield, but for us, a Snow Emergency goes in to effect
after two inches of snow has fallen, and then you’re not allowed to park
on the street until the roads have been plowed. We try to do as much
notification as possible.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Do crews clear down to the pavement after every snow?<br />
</strong>We don’t have a bare pavement policy for streets. That gets
back to [what we were talking about with] the salt. Travel lanes, or at
least their wheel paths, we’d like to have cleared. We do have
maintenance agreements with certain property owners. At 66th and
Lyndale, those businesses will generally clear their own sidewalks. We
do one pass of sidewalks after a snow event. [Our equipment may not
always be as wide as the sidewalk], so if the businesses want more than
what we clear, then it’s the responsibility of the property owner. Our
equipment plows a six foot path, except for they cycle tracks and
trails, which we plow out to eight feet.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What kind of machinery does Richfield use to clear its sidewalks? </strong><br />
We have <a href="https://tracklessvehicles.com/Products/Winter-Attachments/Ribbon-Snowblowers">sidewalk plows</a> and a skid-steer, a <a href="https://www.bobcat.com/utility-products/toolcat/features">Toolcat</a>,
and a pickup. They all have attachments. We have blowers. We have
brooms too, but we generally only use those early in the season.</p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_77380" style="text-align: left; width: 608px;"><img alt="Skid-steer and Toolcat" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77380" class="wp-image-77380 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="77380" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 8","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1549964833","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.000625","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Skid-steer_and_Toolcat" data-large-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Skid-steer_and_Toolcat-1024x556.jpg" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-medium-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Skid-steer_and_Toolcat-500x271.jpg" data-orig-file="https://streets.mn/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Skid-steer_and_Toolcat.jpg" data-orig-size="4032,2188" data-permalink="https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/skid-steer_and_toolcat/" height="324" src="https://3kpnuxym9k04c8ilz2quku1czd-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Skid-steer_and_Toolcat-500x271.jpg" width="598" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77380">Skid-steer and Toolcat clearing sidewalks in Richfield.</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Are there any things that cause confusion for Richfield residents? Any weird rules related to municipal sidewalk clearing?</strong><br />
Not really. We rely on feedback from our residents. If we miss
something, I want to know. One difficulty is private property plows
where they blow snow on to the sidewalks. Then the snow is too heavy for
any of our equipment to get through. That’s where we try to work with
our public safety folks.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What else should people know about Richfield’s snow clearing service?</strong><br />
The ice thing is a big thing. We don’t have a solution for it. We don’t
know what the right thing to do is. We’ve thrown around the idea of
having stockpiles of salt and sand for residents to use, but there are
disadvantages of that with cleanup, and environmental concerns. The sand
gets in to the storm ponds and at some point you have to remove it, and
dredging storm ponds is very, very, very expensive. We haven’t used
sand since 2008 for either streets or sidewalks. I don’t like, but
there’s got to be those conversations. I’ll say it, there’s climate
change. There’s something going on. There’s too many ice events now for
there not to be. We didn’t have these, even just ten years ago. It’s odd
and difficult for us. Ice is the hardest thing to deal with. We don’t
have the answers.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i> Note: this post was originally published at:
https://streets.mn/2019/02/20/municipal-sidewalk-clearing-in-richfield-an-interview/ </i><br /></p><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77381"> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-71959619911403637522012-11-03T15:20:00.000-07:002012-12-30T15:22:40.331-08:00Long Exposures in New Mexico<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/8187302606/" title="Stream by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8187302606_6a86d03e1c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Stream"></a><br/>
A 1.5 second exposure of a stream in the Santa Fe National Forest.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/8186273739/" title="Nightsky by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8069/8186273739_e34669e425_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Nightsky"></a><br/>
A 30 minute exposure of the night sky.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-76375176617319588422012-10-10T15:16:00.000-07:002012-12-30T15:17:45.859-08:00Lake Maria State ParkA lovely fall day in Central Minnesota.<br/><br/>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/8164743814/" title="Lake Maria State Park by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8343/8164743814_c98cf9f220_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Lake Maria State Park"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-37613302536827640982012-01-23T14:59:00.000-08:002012-12-30T15:04:34.476-08:00Barrett-Jackson 2012A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys_Americar">Willys Americar</a> at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction.<br/><br/>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6792632437/" title="Willys Americar by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6792632437_12f7cab0a2_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Willys Americar"></a><br/>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-86994019683586481612011-12-30T14:37:00.000-08:002012-12-30T15:08:51.946-08:00Titan Missile MuseumThe <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_Missile_Museum">Titan Missile Museum</a> is an interesting bit of Cold War memorabilia. You can tour the entire decommissioned ICBM site, or even <a href="http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/index.php?pg=18">rent out the crew quarters overnight</a> to get the full experience.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6588279765/" title="Panel by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6588279765_914f77e34c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Panel"></a>
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Control Panel
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6588278417/" title="Expansion Joint by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6588278417_a903bbf271_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Expansion Joint"></a>
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Expansion JointUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-58369983097809315352011-10-17T14:11:00.000-07:002012-12-30T15:06:08.697-08:00Minnesota Landscape ArboretumA beautiful fall day at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Landscape_Arboretum">Minnesota Landscape Arboretum</a>.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/7475353798/" title="Minnesota Landscape Arboretum by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7475353798_a53aa94ab2_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Minnesota Landscape Arboretum"></a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-9067283571329152792011-07-11T22:33:00.000-07:002012-12-30T13:41:21.107-08:00Portraits in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.We recently returned from a long weekend in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The food highlights were definitely the fresh crab at <a href="http://www.obryckis.com/">Obrycki's</a> and the really tasty crab cake sandwich at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/cross-street-market-baltimore">Nick's</a> in the Cross Street Market. The photographic highlights were a few portraits of people, like Mark, that we met while walking around Baltimore and D.C. Mark occasionally plays jazz music near Baltimore's Inner Harbor. He says that the pay isn't usually very good, but it keeps him tuned up for the bands that he plays in. One of his bands is the <a href="http://www.bluemoonbigband.com/OneOnly5.html">Blue Moon Big Band</a>, who backed up Kevin Bacon and Renée Zellweger in 2009's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185431/">My One and Only</a>.<br /><br />Mark told me that he returned from Afghanistan in one piece, only to lose part of his left leg due to an improperly treated blood clot.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5929314188/" title="Mark by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6132/5929314188_1c52de8613_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Mark" /></a><br /><br />Philip is nine years old and has been riding his skateboard around the Hampden neighborhood in Baltimore for, "one year and seven months." Philip says that he mostly rides with his older brothers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5929317474/" title="Philip by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6141/5929317474_047fc3044d_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Philip" /></a><br /><br />This guy was just hanging around in D.C., not really doing much of anything.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5928693495/" title="Lincoln Memorial by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6135/5928693495_4dae6b9562_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Lincoln Memorial" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-17870220275763919662011-06-25T13:43:00.000-07:002012-12-30T15:05:34.788-08:00A Texan in New YorkThe man makes the hat.<br/><br/>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6825282475/" title="Cousin from Texas by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6825282475_2c621ea1e7_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Cousin from Texas"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-43439585522949572282011-05-30T13:47:00.000-07:002012-12-30T15:07:16.958-08:00Southwestern Tourism: Holbrook, AZ and Madrid, NMHolbrook, Arizona is home to one of the remaining <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigwam_Motel">Wigwam Villages</a> and the nearby <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_Forest_National_Park">Petrified Forest National Park</a>. This abandoned building seemed particularly photogenic.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/8154530379/" title="Abandoned Building by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8154530379_6190c04c18_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Abandoned Building"></a>
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Madrid, New Mexico is currently enjoying more tourism than Holbrook by a long shot. Clint is one of the volunteer firefighters that protects Madrid against the ever-present threat of wildfire.
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/8156616886/" title="Firefighter Clint by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/8156616886_9603e4f45c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Firefighter Clint"></a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-83800062297953482062011-05-23T10:35:00.000-07:002011-07-16T10:43:19.515-07:00Classic CarsIt's too bad there isn't more chrome on modern cars.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5943202099/" title="1963 Mercury Monterey by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/5943202099_d63368c870_z.jpg" width="425" height="640" alt="1963 Mercury Monterey"></a><br />1963 Mercury Monterey<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5943202783/" title="Ford Galaxie by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6122/5943202783_8aa40fcf68_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL"></a><br />1964 Ford Galaxie 500XLUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-41570678748321737192011-03-29T22:53:00.000-07:002011-11-13T09:23:10.108-08:00Across Syria - by Bus!When we last left off, we were heading to bed with the intention of waking up early, taking a bus to Aleppo, and stopping along the way to tour <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers">Krak des Chevaliers</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norias_of_Hama">Norias of Hama</a>. Unfortunately, jet lag caught up to us, and we woke up a bit after 8:00. Undaunted, we pored over our guide book and began to consider the most efficient route. With a semi-firm plan in place, and pastries in our bellies, we hailed a cab and found our way to the Damascus bus station.<br /><br />The bus station is in an industrial part of Damascus, and we felt a bit out of place as we struggled to locate the station entrance, identify the logo for the bus company recommended in our guide book, purchase tickets, communicate our travel plans to the police, spot the arabic numeral identifying our bus bay, locate our assigned seats, and generally not appear to be completely lost.<br /><br />We were seated in the front of the bus, under the careful eye of the bus driver and his attendant, a man who managed to gracefully serve tea as we hurtled through the Syrian countryside. Some careful time-table perusal indicated that our hope to view what T.E. Lawrence called, "perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world" were unrealistic in the extreme, and that even viewing Hama's Norias might not be feasible. We had only purchased tickets to Homs (B on the map below).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339839268/" title="Damascus to Aleppo by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6224/6339839268_70a563f9ba_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Damascus to Aleppo"></a><br /><br />After deciding to skip Krak des Chevaliers during this visit, we next attempted to determine if our bus would continue on from Homs to Hama. The attendant stated that it would, but that we would need to purchase our tickets and re-board the bus during the short ten minute layover. Our time in Homs was short, and harried. <br /><br />We arrived in Hama and secured tickets to Aleppo that would allow us time for a brief detour to view Hama's Norias and what remained of Hama's old town after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre">Assad's massacre</a>. Our plans were a bit complicated by the fact that the Hama bus station had been relocated since our guidebook had been published and the fact that our presence had attracted a 16 year old, leather jacketed tail that we couldn't shake. We hired a taxi to solve both of these problems. <br /><br />The scale of the Norias was remarkable:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339034739/" title="Al-Kaylaniyya, As-Sahuniyya and Al-Jabariyya Norias by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6339034739_60527bbf75_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Al-Kaylaniyya, As-Sahuniyya and Al-Jabariyya Norias"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339032303/" title="Al-Mohammediyya Noria by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6339032303_118ffa8202_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Al-Mohammediyya Noria"></a><br /><br />As was the brilliant simplicity of their construction:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339783268/" title="Square Peg by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6339783268_147ff8555e_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Square Peg"></a><br /><br />The Norias certainly make an appealing backdrop for a portrait:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339785384/" title="Posing by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6049/6339785384_666c37f800_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Posing"></a><br /><br />Unfortunately, Assad's destruction of Hama's old town was almost complete, and little of it remains beyond the Norias, an alley and a few mosques:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339784258/" title="An-Nuri Mosque by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6055/6339784258_780dcbe00c_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="An-Nuri Mosque"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6339035293/" title="Mosque by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6040/6339035293_cf76035e88_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Mosque"></a><br /><br />With daylight fading, we made our way back to the bus station, and the rest of our time in Hama was relatively uneventful. Our arrival in Aleppo was a bit more exciting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-81097596689845810652011-03-29T00:12:00.000-07:002011-11-13T09:32:50.210-08:00Damascus, Syria - Day 2After a sound night's sleep in our luxe hotel, we awoke excited to further explore Damascus. Our plan for the day was to visit the Umayyad Mosque, and Souq al-Hamidiyya. <br /><br />The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_Mosque">Umayyad Mosque</a> is an important Islamic landmark, and is magnificent. To enter, all uncovered women, and men wearing shorts are required to don cloaked garments in the appropriately named "Putting on Special Clothes Room".<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275808628/" title="Putting on Special Clothes Room Sign by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6275808628_d804e71ebe_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Putting on Special Clothes Room Sign"></a><br /><br />Once inside, it's difficult to not be impressed by the grandeur of the mosque.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275809682/" title="Umayyad Mosque Courtyard by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6239/6275809682_cddb693672_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Umayyad Mosque Courtyard"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275810472/" title="Umayyad Mosque by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6117/6275810472_600705fe10_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Umayyad Mosque"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275809946/" title="Umayyad Mosque Prayyer Hall by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6219/6275809946_e824edb2fc_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Umayyad Mosque Prayyer Hall"></a><br /><br />Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of visiting the Umayyad Mosque was seeing the many families relaxing in the courtyard, visiting with each other, picnicking, and enjoying the beauty of the mosque.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275810194/" title="Damascus by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6227/6275810194_e7a422b94e_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Damascus"></a><br /><br />After exploring the Umayyad Mosque, and having some spectacular chicken shawarma for lunch, we then visited <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Hamidiyah_Souq">Souq al-Hamidiyya</a>, a fairly large Middle Eastern bazaar, to take in all of its wonderful shops. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275287135/" title="Souq al-Hamidiyya by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6091/6275287135_5effc5764f_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="Souq al-Hamidiyya"></a> <br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souq">Souqs</a> are generally organized such that each store only sells one type of item: only shoes, only denim jeans, only women's lingerie, etc. And typically, stores selling a particular type of good are all right next to each other, so if you need a new water pipe, some spices, or even some tape, it's relatively easy to do price comparisons. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275808206/" title="Hubbly Bubbly Shop by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6101/6275808206_9ecb49734e_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Hubbly Bubbly Shop"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275814196/" title="Spice Seller by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6275814196_5714d01632_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Spice Seller"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275813570/" title="Tape Store by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6031/6275813570_8dcde61596_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Tape Store"></a><br /><br />As the sun was beginning to set, we decided to attempt to tour Damascus' Citadel, even though it was rumored to be closed for renovations. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275287699/" title="Citadel by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6058/6275287699_8fd4a5f66b_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Citadel"></a><br /><br />We managed to sweet talk one of the engineers into giving us a tour of their improvements, and I was glad to have done so once we reached the top of the citadel's immense stone walls. The views of Damascus were spectacular.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275288733/" title="Umayyad Mosque through Arrowslit by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6107/6275288733_b0118c1a58_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Umayyad Mosque through Arrowslit"></a><br /><br />While walking back from the citadel, these three guys let me join their football (soccer) game. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6275814472/" title="Footballers by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6275814472_f67313491e_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Footballers"></a><br /><br />The boy in the sweater wasn't particularly fond of passing.<br /><br />Next up: traversing the length of <a href="http://www.jesselorenz.com/2011/03/across-syria-by-bus.html">Syria by bus</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-77336934707550420202011-03-28T20:08:00.000-07:002011-10-24T00:29:21.565-07:00Damascus, Syria - Day 1After exploring the ruins of <a href="http://www.jesselorenz.com/2011/03/bosra-syria.html">Bosra</a>, we continued on to Damascus. We didn't have any <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_of_Paul">revelatory experiences</a> during our trip, though it was interesting along the way to observe the architectural flourishes and embellishments of the Syrian homes. In contrast, Jordanian homes are almost entirely devoid of decoration.<br /><br />Our driver told us that he lacked the proper permit to drive us directly to our hotel in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus#Historical_sites">Old City</a>, so he pulled over on the side of the M5 highway, hailed a cab, and instructed the cab driver on how to get to our hotel. While in the cab, we had a brief moment of panic when the driver stopped following the signs towards the Old City and instead appeared to begin driving us towards Iraq. Our fears of abduction were thankfully unfounded and we felt a bit sheepish when he left us off just steps away from our hotel.<br /><br />We stayed at Hotel Agenor, right on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Called_Straight">Straight Street</a>. While checking in, we were greeted warmly with freshly squeezed, exquisite tasting blood orange juice. The courtyard of the hotel was tranquil and lovely:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6183603531/" title="Hotel Agenor by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6162/6183603531_249abb7878_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Hotel Agenor"></a><br /><br />After setting our bags down, we began to explore the streets of the Old City:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6184125306/" title="Damascus Old City by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6175/6184125306_7089e84bc9_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Damascus Old City"></a><br /><br />This minaret near our hotel was particularly spectacular in the waning daylight:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6183604167/" title="Minaret and Moon by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6166/6183604167_fac5f1ef28_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Minaret and Moon"></a><br /><br />President Bashar al-Assad looks like such a pleasant, welcoming chap: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6184123972/" title="Propaganda by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6171/6184123972_034385b7d6_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Propaganda"></a><br /><br />One of my favorite aspects of travel is getting to meet new people and learning more about how they live. This artisan was quite friendly and proud to welcome two American tourists to his city:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6184125722/" title="Craftsman by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6184125722_6f6a85fdb2_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Craftsman"></a><br /><br />After a spectacular dinner of mezze at <a href="http://mideast.blogs.time.com/2008/02/05/theres_a_saying_in_the/">Naranj</a>, we wandered back to our hotel. The courtyard was perhaps even more beautiful in the flickering candlelight:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/6183607073/" title="Hotel Agenor by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6183607073_dd39a86299_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Hotel Agenor"></a><br /><br />Next up: <a href="http://www.jesselorenz.com/2011/03/damascus-syria-day-2.html">exploring more of Damascus</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-83712459600166356012011-03-27T11:16:00.000-07:002011-10-24T00:29:02.036-07:00Bosra, SyriaAfter our day trip to <a href="http://www.jesselorenz.com/2011/03/jerash-jordan.html">Jerash</a>, we returned to Amman, and that night we attempted to arrange a ride to Damascus. We finalized our negotiations with the driver shortly after midnight, and he agreed to pick us up in his private car at 8:00 the next morning.<br /><br />Having a driver was an extremely helpful luxury. Crossing the border would have been much more time-consuming and confusing without his help. His opinion on the political status of Syria would also prove to be quite prescient. As we approached the Syrian border, our driver predicted that citizens of Syria would attempt to replace their government soon.<br /><br />With our driver's help, we crossed into Syria at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasib_Border_Crossing">Nasib</a>, which is only a few miles from the town of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daraa#2011_uprising">Der'a</a>. Der'a would enter the news a few days after our crossing when it became the first town in Syria to join the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring">Arab Spring</a> movement and to <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/syria-to-release-children-who-sparked-anti-government-protests-1.350531">openly protest the ruling Ba'athist party</a>. The day after our departure from Syria, four of the participants of these protests would be killed by Syrian security forces.<br /><br />The border crossing was several miles long and involved numerous bureaucrats. The architecture of the government buildings was distinctly dilapidated Soviet.<br /><br />Once we had passed through the multitude of checkpoints, we made a slight detour to the city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosra">Bosra</a>:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5849393927/" title="Bosra by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5279/5849393927_3bccc9de3b_z.jpg" alt="<span class=" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" /></a><br /><br />We scrambled around the ruins of the old town in Bosra, which dates from the 3rd century AD:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5849108905/" title="Bosra - Old Town by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/5849108905_6daff1195d_z.jpg" alt="<span class=" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5849665596/" title="Cathedral by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/5849665596_af3c6662e9_z.jpg" alt="Cathedral" height="426" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Bosra's main attraction was its black basalt theatre-cum-citadel:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5849668014/" title="Theatre by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2496/5849668014_6c049f2c7e_z.jpg" alt="Theatre" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />Theatre<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5849666852/" title="Citadel by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/5849666852_f41e31d01a_z.jpg" alt="Citadel" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />Arrowslit<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5849668744/" title="Arrowslit by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2597/5849668744_d294df9094_z.jpg" alt="<span class=" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" /></a><br />Arrowslit<br /><br />If you're interested, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62445171@N00/">arjayempee</a> has a more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62445171@N00/sets/72157621538935373/with/3730910249/">thorough documentation of Bosra</a>.<br /><br />Next up: <a href="http://www.jesselorenz.com/2011/03/damascus-syria-day-1.html">Damascus</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-86748270922672140942011-03-26T11:52:00.000-07:002011-10-24T00:28:42.137-07:00Jerash, JordanOur trip to the Middle East began with a visit to the ruins of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerash">Jerash</a>, one of the ancient Roman cities in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapolis">Decapolis</a>. It's amazingly well preserved and visitors are permitted remarkable access to the remaining structures.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5690563225/" title="Hippodrome by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5101/5690563225_e2b43f5a6e_z.jpg" alt="Hippodrome" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />Hippodrome<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5690565885/" title="South Theatre by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5221/5690565885_09f587dd92_z.jpg" alt="South Theatre" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />South Theatre<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5690566285/" title="Oval Plaza (Forum) by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5185/5690566285_27bc35469c_z.jpg" alt="Oval Plaza (Forum)" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />Oval Plaza<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5691143640/" title="Courtyard of the Fountain by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5691143640_ddcccf1ce8_z.jpg" alt="Courtyard of the Fountain" height="427" width="640" /></a><br />Courtyard of the Fountain<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5691145368/" title="Cardo Maximus by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/5691145368_47e0a28cbf_z.jpg" alt="Cardo Maximus" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />Cardo Maximus<br /><br />Next up: <a href="http://www.jesselorenz.com/2011/03/bosra-syria.html">the road to Damascus</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-74506196659916274312011-01-29T11:42:00.000-08:002011-05-05T11:43:14.621-07:00No Parking<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5509163273/" title="No Parking by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5017/5509163273_f84bdf15cc_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="No Parking"></a><br />No ParkingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-59711833582141025442011-01-22T10:40:00.000-08:002011-05-05T11:40:34.695-07:00Tonto National Forest<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5509741580/" title="Fisherman by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5509741580_b858e0b408_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Fisherman"></a><br />FishermanUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-76100902822656918002011-01-22T09:16:00.000-08:002011-05-05T11:38:24.376-07:00San Francisco, California<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5509034323/" title="City Hall Wedding by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/5509034323_27842d04e6_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="City Hall Wedding"></a><br />City Hall Wedding<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5509034951/" title="City Hall by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5255/5509034951_0764614a2e_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="City Hall"></a><br />City Hall<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5509637524/" title="Tartine by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5509637524_a2e8bf7005_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="Tartine"></a><br />Tartine<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5509065709/" title="The Jugtown Pirates by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5509065709_7160283ec9_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="The Jugtown Pirates"></a><br />Jugtown PirateUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-41840456179813914642011-01-15T11:30:00.000-08:002011-05-05T11:34:20.597-07:00Jerome, Arizona<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483844326/" title="Hotel Connor by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5215/5483844326_db87d8979d_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Hotel Connor"></a><br />Hotel Connor<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483845408/" title="446 by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5483845408_539dea4a75_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="446"></a><br />446<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483252891/" title="Man and Motorcycle by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/5483252891_d1c0023cba_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Man and Motorcycle"></a><br />Man and Motorcycle<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483846922/" title="Jerome by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5173/5483846922_48f5628435_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Jerome"></a><br />JeromeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-38765351341178173232011-01-15T11:24:00.000-08:002011-05-05T11:30:06.104-07:00Arcosanti<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483208039/" title="Bell by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/5483208039_b59ddfb601_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Bell"></a><br />Bell<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483804504/" title="Hammers by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/5483804504_42b7ff06bd_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="Hammers"></a><br />Hammers<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5483811266/" title="Work Area by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/5483811266_71c3efb792_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Work Area"></a><br />Work AreaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-10396753377372194622010-12-30T19:01:00.000-08:002011-01-26T19:02:24.268-08:00Tucson, Arizona<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5383115530/" title="Waterfall by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/5383115530_0f46c56cfa_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Waterfall" /></a><br />Waterfall<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5383119818/" title="Beds by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/5383119818_ea926973cc.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Beds" /></a><br />Beds (for sale)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-38720612704414581002010-12-23T18:47:00.000-08:002011-01-26T18:56:49.057-08:00Kohler, Wisconsin<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5382449107/" title="Grass by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5007/5382449107_572b2c2e9b.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Grass" /></a><br />Grass<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5382454227/" title="Kohler Factory by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5382454227_90514fc1a3.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="Kohler Factory" /></a><br />Kohler Factory<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5383060508/" title="The American Club by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5130/5383060508_73525142da.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="The American Club" /></a><br />The American Club<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5383061090/" title="The American Club by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5383061090_cc27317b54.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="The American Club" /></a><br />The American Club<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5383067576/" title="Kohler Design Center by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5383067576_a71aa2ae6b.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="Kohler Design Center" /></a><br />(Part of) The Kohler Design Center's Great Wall of China<br/><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5383069142/" title="Kohler Design Center by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5164/5383069142_2e9bd4d504.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Kohler Design Center" /></a><br />Mirror at the Kohler Design CenterUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10519044.post-8365712280945164822010-12-11T14:11:00.000-08:002011-01-26T18:45:13.501-08:00Christmas Cactus<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlorenz/5232410377/" title="Christmas Cactus by jesselorenz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5232410377_9cb82ebd17_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="Christmas Cactus" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0