Cul-de-sacs may face elimination soon

Cul-de-sacs may face elimination soon
BY DARLENE PROIS
McClatchy Newspapers

MINNEAPOLIS - Joanie and Craig Aasen wanted to run from their newly purchased home after discovering $60,000 worth of hidden mouse damage. Now, a year later, they're thankful they didn't. Their now mouse-free home has a feature that was worth every headache: It's on a cul-de-sac.

"We don't know what our lives would be like if we hadn't moved here," said Joanie Aasen, a 36-year-old oncology nurse. "Our social life is here."

Like many suburban families, the Aasens prize how quiet and child-friendly their lollipop-shaped street in Vadnais Heights, Minn., is. But not everyone shares that affection. Across the nation, concerns about traffic congestion and increased road maintenance costs are causing a growing backlash against these icons of suburban life.

Local governments across the country, including some in Minnesota, have passed zoning ordinances to limit cul-de-sacs. In Oregon, which embraced "smart growth" land-use concepts decades ago to combat sprawl, 90 percent of the state's cities have ordinances limiting new cul-de-sacs.

Minnesota cities are more permissive, but some are also taking steps to limit new ones. City councils in St. Cloud and Northfield, for example, prefer to routinely deny new cul-de-sacs unless there is a physical necessity for them.
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/business/15050994.htm

as a walker, I HATE having to go 2 blocks over, left turn, 1 block up, right turn 3 blocks to get to the damn bus stop that is 1/2 block from my house (as the crow flies).

"Where does all the snow go? Spread across all the yards," he said. "Where does the sand and salt go? Spread across the yards. Where do all the rocks, gravel, and winter trash go? You guessed it, spread across the yards."

Well, where does it go when you don't live on a cul-desac

PLOW GOES BY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaghhhhhh!!! It brings to mind this wonderful rant, that makes the rounds of the internet every few years: :rofl:

December 8: 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our coffee and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

December 12: The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbour tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man I'm glad he's our neighbour.

December 14: Snow, lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so much though.

December 15: 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16: Ice storm this morning. Fell on my backside on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like mad. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17: Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. Boy do I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20: Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the nasty stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. Bloody snowplow came twice. Tried to find a neighbour's kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're sold out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22: Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of that white mess fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to use the bathroom. By the time I got undressed, went and dressed again I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the jerk is lying.

December 23: Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24: 6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke both of the shovels. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the guy who drives that snowplow, I'll drag him through the snow by his fingernails. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for the snowplow.

December 25: Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the messy slop tonight. Snowed in! The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. Gee, I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's wacky. If I have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to scream.

December 26: Still snowed in. Why the heck did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27: Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze.

December 28: Warmed up to above - 50. Still snowed in. That woman is driving me crazy!!!!!

December 29: 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30: Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a million dollars. The wife went home to her mother. Another 9" predicted.

January 2: Weatherman says it's the warmest winter they have ever had, but looks like a cold streak is coming.

January 4: Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8: I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

the driveway the plow eventually comes by and deposits that hard dirty snow on my driveway too. That's hard, heavy stuff to reshovel. I just couldn't figure what 's the diff between doing plowing of cul-de-sacs versus straight streets. We all get a few feet put back in on the driveways I think

Cute story

Although I lived on the corner a block down from the cul-de-sac it was still nice because nobody drove on the street in front of my house unless they were going somewhere on that street. Had my street run all the way through it would have had to go underneath a railroad overpass and a small stream, so it was impractical. The street I live on now does not have a true cul-de-sac, but it ends at a river. I never realized there was any kind of real problems with cul-de-sacs until now.

quiet..and a safe place for kiddies to play :)

In Aurora our only problem was the psychotic builder who named the streets inside the development.
We lived on Bethany Place .. The "place" names were girls' names.. The "drive/street/road" names were
men's names. It was a huge development with a maze-like construction off the main roads on four sides.

To get to our street, you had to turn into the development on "Bob Lane"...go a few blocks, turn left on Bob STREET...then a few more blocks an a right on Bob Drive...

People thought I was CRAZY when I gave them directions..

The only thing I could figure was that the developer's family was smaller than he thought and he ended up with more streets than famil members.. Emily was a repeater name too

When we lived in Indiana, our house number was 118 and the people directly across the street from us was 3681.. I guess when that street was built you got to pick your favorite number

I lived on Scarlett Dr. and there was a Robin Hood Dr., Nottingham Ave., Marion Rd., etc. It wasn't a big area, but it was a "bubble" off of the main road so the entire development was like a cul-de-sac inasmuch as there was no reason to drive through Sherwood Manor to get to anywhere else.