Perhaps you've noticed that there has been a lot of conversation about Snelling Avenue over the past year. This is partially because of some planned MN Department of Transportation maintenance projects for the southern portion, as well as work that was done last season to the bridge decks and ramps just north of Hamline University.  
Snelling Avenue presents unique challenges among our streets because it serves as a commercial corridor, connects neighborhoods, and is a state highway. Snelling is home to many businesses, educational institutions, residents, and the State Fair.   
 
MNDOT is currently undertaking a study of Snelling to figure out how it can best accommodate all of its users -- cars, buses, pedestrians, trucks, cyclists. Your input into this process is extremely important and I encourage you to attend the upcoming June 12 open house or review information on the website and submit comments. After the consultants gather information about the current state of Snelling and feedback from its users, they will have another public meeting to share options for the future of Snelling Avenue. Some of these options may be short-term suggestions for improvement, and others may be longer-term capital improvements that will take time to implement.  

As the Chair of the St. Paul Public Library Board, I've decided to visit all of the City's 13 branch libraries.  I hope to better understand the strengths and limitations of our facilities, the needs for improvement, and the ways in which City residents are using our libraries.  I frequently have reasons to be in the three branch libraries in Ward 4 - Merriam Park, St. Anthony Park, and Hamline-Midway - but I was less familiar with libraries in other parts of the City.

Recently, my Legislative Aide Samantha Henningson and I took biked over to the east side of St. Paul to see the Hayden Heights, Sun Ray, and Dayton's Bluff branch libraries.  We decided to skip the Arlington branch library as I had already been there and the library is slated to be replaced as part of the new Payne/Maryland complex.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biking through the North End and noting great little places along the way, including Lyton Park, we rode the westernmost section of the Gateway Bike Trail and then through Phalen Park.  We arrived at Hayden Heights, at the corner of White Bear Avenue and Arlington just minutes after the library had opened on noon on a Monday, and already most of the computer terminals were occupied.  The branch, built in the late 70's, was a fairly bright, welcoming space.  But like many of our libraries, the computer terminals seem to get far more use than the collection of books, and it seems to lack the comfortable chairs and cozy spaces that more and more library patrons are looking for today. 

We continued on our journey east and south, across the City's east side, discovering by accident a great bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the BNSF railroad tracks at Hazel Street.  When we arrived at the Sun Ray branch around 1:30, the place was already teeming with activity.  Like Hayden Heights, the computer terminals were the focus of activity, but there were also patrons perusing the stacks and staff being trained in the new 3M Cloud e-library tools.  3M is piloting its new cloud library collection with the St. Paul Public Library, as well as its new e-readers, 50 of which are available to be checked out from the Sun Ray Branch.  

Sun Ray is slated to be gutted and refurbished in the next couple of years, creating more spaces for sitting and working and consolidating the staff spaces to make the whole library more inviting and user-friendly.   
We finished our tour with a stop at the Swede Hollow Cafe for a late lunch before continuing on to the Dayton's Bluff branch library, which is located on the campus of Metro State University and physically co-located with the Metro State library and bookstore.  Dayton's Bluff is a more modern, well-lit space than the other two, with a large children's activity area and was also quite busy even at the relatively slow library-use time of 3:00 on a Monday.  
The tour left me with the over-riding impression that how we use libraries has changed dramatically in recent years, and will probably continue to change dramatically in the coming years.  Libraries are still being heavily used as portals to information, but much more of this activity seems to be oriented around access to the internet.  The library collection is still very well used, but a larger share of it is DVD's than in times past, and more and more people are going on-line to put "holds" on books and then simply picking them up at their neighborhood library.  

The implications of these changes are profound in terms of how we think about the best, most effective use of public resources for the library system moving forward.  How should we be re-designing library spaces to fit the ways in which people now want to use our libraries?  How can we continue to provide a great, critical service for the community in terms of learning and literacy, as well as work force training?  What is the right balance of new technology (e-collections, e-readers, etc.) and the traditional bread and butter of books and magazines to browse?  

This is an interesting and exciting time to be the Chair of the Library Board, and I will be grappling with these important questions. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on these questions as well.

 

    

The Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom (CWOC) project was honored at the 22nd Annual Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Awards on May 15, 2012.  The CWOC project received an award in the Organization/Community Education category.  The District 10 Como Community Council's Environment Committee nominated the CWOC project for the award. 

The Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and Saint Paul Chapter of the American Institute of Architects co-sponsor the Awards to recognize projects, individuals and organizations that enhance and celebrate the City's cultural resources.

 

Nearly a decade ago, District 10 Environment Committee members in collaboration with St. Paul Parks and Recreation Environmental Services, began removing the buckthorn from the project's wooded site.  In 2006, volunteers formed an advisory committee that expanded the project's mission to include educational uses for the site.  The CWOC occupies and preserves the largest remaining significant woodland area of Como Park and provides a readily accessible urban site for outdoor learning. 

 

Removal of invasive non-native species and use of the woodland as an "outdoor classroom" closely reflect the intent of William LaMont Kaufman, Superintendent of St. Paul Parks and the original designer of this area of Como Park in 1935.  Kaufman had advocated the preservation of this woodland as a natural sanctuary within the city. 

 

The CWOC concept today carries forth Kaufman's promotion of stewardship for this important community asset.  Thousands of hours of community volunteerism have already contributed to the success of this project.  Furthermore, the Woodland site includes three historic features, two of which have been restored.  One of these, the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Fireplace, serves as a primary meeting location in the woodland.

The awards ceremony honored volunteers of the Como Woodland Advisory Committee, the City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department (Environmental Services and Design Divisions), and A & M Construction (historic restoration masons) all of which have been instrumental in the project's development.