10th anniversary post: Cedar Rapids' protected bike lanes experiment

 

Protected bike lane demonstration project,
3rd Avenue SE, 2 August 2015

A protected bike lane is one that is separated from moving car traffic by some barrier, such as parked cars, bollards, or curbing. This provides more physical protection for riders than a single stripe of paint or a painted zone (buffered lane). (See discussion with illustrations in the Urban Bikeway Design Guide, prepared by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO).)

I've been thinking that, when it comes to protected bike lanes, nothing serves as proof-of-concept quite as well as all the riders you see riding on sidewalks instead of streets. But proof of which concept? Sidewalks, despite the occasional presence of pedestrians as well as numerous driveways, are physically separated from the motor vehicle traffic, just like a protected lane; but, unlike a bike lane and more like a trail, they are located off the street.

He wants protection! 300 block of 10th St SE, 2021
(Google Earth screenshot)

Cedar Rapids built its first protected bicycle lane on 3rd Avenue SE less than ten years ago, thanks to advocacy and funding by the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization and its crack transportation planner, Brandon K. Whyte. Whyte led a "pop up" demonstration in August 2015, in which parking was moved off the curb to provide protection for the cycle lane. 

Beginning of the protected lane at 8th St SE

By 2019 Cedar Rapids had built protected lanes along 3rd Avenue from 8th Street SE to 6th Street SW. They remain, to my knowledge, the only such lanes in the city. Most bike lanes in the city are unseparated, while construction of cycling infrastructure has focused on trails and shared-use paths.

Shared-use path on K Avenue NE accommodates both
bikes and pedestrians

NACTO considers protected lanes to be an essential part of an "all ages and abilities" (AA&A) cycle network: Protected bike lanes are the only tool for All Ages & Abilities biking on streets with high curbside demand, speeds of more than 25 mph (40 km/h), multiple adjacent travel lanes, or motor vehicle volumes over 6,000 vehicles per day. They do what trails can't; while off-street trails like the CeMar Trail provide cyclists with superior protection over a sustained distance, they don't provide access to destinations (homes, schools, shops, offices) which are inevitably located on streets. Attempting a comprehensive trails network entirely apart from existing streets network could easily become "prohibitively expensive" [David Sucher, City Comforts (Seattle: City Comforts Inc, 2nd ed, 2016), 90].

Riding downtown on 3rd Avenue SW

Protected bike lanes are credited with improving traffic safety as well as encouraging cycling among the interested-but-reluctant. Within a year of introducing bike lanes, New York City found sharp decreases in injuries to all travelers, particularly (and perhaps counter-intuitively) pedestrians [Jeff Speck, Walkable City (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012), 190]. Nationally, analysis of data at both the block and network levels published in Nature found protected lanes had 1.8 times more riders than blocks with standard bike lanes, and even more when compared to shared streets (Ferenchak and Marshall 2025). 

Janette Sadik-Khan, who as transportation commissioner of New York City built miles of protected bike lanes among other pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, told Gilbert Penalosa at a Cities for Everyone webinar this summer:

When we put down protected bike lanes like... on 8th Avenue, which was the first one in the United States, we heard lots of people say that they were scared that people wouldn't be able to reach shops, that it was going to be bad for business... but sales data showed that where we put down protected bike lanes, injuries were cut in half, for all people, and shops showed a nearly 50 percent increase in retail sales. [The accompanying slide showed "-58% injuries, -67% pedestrian crashes, -29% speeding, +49% retail sales." She showed additional data from Toronto ("+100% cyclists") and London.] So whether it's making a street safer, better for business, or making it easier to get around, mile for mile, meter for meter, euro for euro, nothing beats a bike lane. [Quotation starts at 24:30 of the video]

Despite all these high-powered arguments, there is opposition. Some of it is the inevitable opposition of self-centered motor vehicle operators who wish everyone would just get out of their personal way, and perceive--correctly--that they are expected to slow down and share road space. Some especially confident cyclists object to what they see as relegation, when as vehicles their bicycles are fully entitled to space on the streets. 

But even ordinary cyclists have concerns about protected lanes. The main concern seems to be intersections, when cyclists are forced into traffic, particularly turning traffic than may not have seen their fellow road user. In particular, parked cars, which often form part of the protective barrier, can obstruct the motorists' view of the protected cyclists. I have myself, because the protected lane forces you into a more-or-less straight path, experienced unavoidable interactions with people standing in the lane, riders coming the wrong way at me, and one e-cyclist urging me out of their way.

100 block of 3rd Avenue SW:
Without a protective barrier, parked cars can and do
encroach on the bicycle lanes (Google Earth screenshot)

These problems appear to be in large part fixable. A cement curb between the cars pictured above and the bike lane they're sharing would provide a lot more "protection" for cyclists.

Given the value of bike lanes in encouraging ridership and improving street safety, we certainly shouldn't fall back onto the status quo. We should respond to problems as they arise, as Memphis has done with bike lanes on Broad Street. After residents experienced frequent issues at the intersection of Broad and Collins Streets, a transportation consultant involved with the original installation "suggested that the city could create a truck apron at the corner using speed bumps. This would tighten the turn radius for cars, forcing them to slow down, while still allowing larger trucks to make the turn. It’s also a quick and easy change to make" (Strong Towns 2025).

NACTO has a number of recommendations for intersections, based on four principles: 

1. change underlying assumptions about how intersections must operate
2. give people biking and walking clear priority over turning vehicles
3. reduce the approach speed and turn speed of motor vehicles
4. make people walking, biking and driving mutually visible

The specific remedy will depend on the intersection, of course, but a bike setback like this...

Source: NACTO

...gives both cyclist and driver more time to see each other. (Note the distance between the crosswalk and where the cars turn.) 

• "Right turn on red" could be barred where there are frequent conflicts between cars and bicycles (and pedestrians). A leading green only works when cars aren't expecting to roll regardless of the color of the light.
• Clearly-marked and maintained crosswalks and "cross-bikes" provide paths across the intersection that are visible to drivers. 
• Removing one parking space from each intersection will provide more visibility, not just of bicycles but also of motorized cross-traffic. 
• Finally, more and more visible traffic enforcement would discourage rogue behavior by everyone--as long as it's focused on genuine dangers (cars blowing stop signs, wrong-way bike riding, aggressive or erratic movement by anybody) and not on easy prey like pedestrians crossing empty streets.

That all said, I think there's room to expand the presence of protected bike lanes. Jeff Speck prefers--at least he did when the first edition of Walkable City was published--shared streets for downtown areas, to allow everyone access to shops, assuming "an environment of such slow driving that bikes and cars can mix comfortably at biking speeds" [2012: 203-204]--which is not always the case in Downtown Cedar Rapids. Speck wants to look at streets "where car speeds get into the thirties." I'd start with those of our stroads that don't have quieter streets that parallel them: 16th Avenue SW, Center Point Road NE, and Mount Vernon Road SE, to name a few.

So, bottom line: protected bike lanes are a boon--not a cure-all, and not appropriate everywhere, but done right they are a boon nonetheless.

ORIGINAL POST: "Cedar Rapids' Protected Bike Lanes Experiment," 3 August 2015

Can special events help activate parks?

Welcome booth, Art in the Park 2024
(My brain overheated in 2025 so I took no pictures)

Sunday's exuberant Art in the Park at Redmond Park had possibly the biggest turnout yet, with the park full of people thumbing their nose at the steamy weather (while respecting it by staying hydrated). Big events like Art in the Park, Marion's Thursday night Uptown Getdown, Lisbon's Sauerkraut Days, and downtown farmers' markets can bring big crowds to parks or wherever in town they're held. For those who take the lead in planning, they are a lot of work, with the hope of a lot of reward in seeing your event pop in real time. Sophia Joseph of the Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association, who had a big hand in planning the event, posted on Facebook:

It's a lot of work, a lot of heart, a lot of community, and a lot of joy. I'm tired. After we rest up, we are excited for our 5th annual event next year, which is sure to be our biggest and best yet.

2024 Sidewalk chalk competition on 3rd Avenue

For one day last weekend, Art in the Park brought the crowds and the fun and the sidewalk chalk to Redmond Park in the Wellington Heights neighborhood. Marion's Uptown Getdown and Cedar Rapids's Summer on the Square do it for several summer evenings. What about the many other days in the year? A successful park is a place for neighbors to gather and play all year around. The presence of a natural gathering place, whether a park or a town square, is one element of the Strong Towns Strength Test, asked provocatively: If there were a revolution in your town, would people instinctively know where to gather to participate? More to the point: If you can't envision your neighbors gathering together in a central location, it's hard to envision coming together to solve day to day problems and build strong towns--much less demonstrating publicly for a common goal. (Strong Towns 2017)

But first, play time: Packing the Redmond Park playground
after the 2024 Easter Egg hunt

As space that includes some natural elements, parks in particular provide other benefits. Nadina Galle, in her book The Nature of Our Cities--not to mention all the other aspects of her public work--commends natural spaces for providing individuals with awareness of "the extraordinary richness of life that surrounds us" (2024: 133) as well as "restoring the ability to concentrate and triggering a physiological response that lowers stress levels" (2024: 185). 

But they can't do that if we're not there. And that means that park spaces large and small must be interesting and feel safe (Jacobs 1961 ch 5, Kaplan, Kaplan and Ryan 1998), as well as providing for our toileting needs, and maybe so comfortable that one could grab a nap (Sucher 2016: 144, 219). Jacobs (1961: 135-145) talks about connection to a vibrant neighborhood outside the park, internal intricacy (appropriate for multiple uses), centering (one clear climactic point), sunshine (and shade), enclosure, and demand goods. 

Redmond Park splashpad in operation, 2014

Jane Jacobs is focused on large city parks, but the Reimagining the Civic Commons folk argue in their latest post (Reimagining the Civic Commons 2025) that the same considerations apply to small neighborhood parks as well, like River Garden in Memphis and Akron's Summit Lake Beachhead. River Garden, they note, "layers different uses within close proximity to each other to promote connection and casual conversation." Some of the places they profile offer ongoing programming; others rely on a diverse set of demand goods. 

Do big events like Art in the Park help with any of this?

I think they can, under certain circumstances.

1. The park is connected to a successful (or potentially successful neighborhood). There should be, in short, a ready set of nearby people who could populate the park. There should be sidewalks connecting the park to its surroundings, and infrastructure (street lighting, street trees, narrow driving area) conducive to getting to the park. Ben Kaplan's 2019 photo essay on Viola Gibson Park in Cedar Rapids shows what happens when these elements are neglected.

   

   Chicago's Walsh Park is accessible by street or the 606 Trail

   
   
2. The park has a reasonable set of demand goods. Walsh Park on Chicago's north side (pictured above) has a dog park as well as a big play area. Redmond Park in CR has playground equipment, a splash pad, and picnic benches for public use, although they could use some more trees. Our city's biggest parks have a greater variety of features, including swimming pools, ball diamonds, and wooded trails.

   

   walking trail at Bever Park

3. The special events serve the purpose of bringing people into contact with the park's everyday uses. Come for the chalk art, stay for the swingset. If people come to the park for a municipal band concert, and are inspired to return on their own some day soon, that's good. That's why I'm cool even with closing streets for Art in the Park and the downtown farmers market, but think having a NASCAR race in downtown Chicago is grotesque. Auto racing, whatever its attractions, prevents rather than promotes everyday public use.
4. Commitment to regular programming. San Francisco's Noe Valley Town Square, cited by Reimagining the Civic Commons, "serves as the neighborhood's 'living room,' hosting weekly farmers' markets, concerts, yoga and dance classes, family events and more" That's great, if there are the staff and resources for it, but not necessary for successful public space.

What you need is a reason, preferably multiple reasons, for people to be there, and easy access so they can get there without great effort. Urbanism is mostly about daily life, about creating spaces that can be enjoyed in community every day. As such big special events are more of a distraction than a feature. But they too have their place, when the uniquely special contributes to the routinely special.

On the other hand...
Redmond Park on an ordinary Sunday afternoon

MORE ON THIS SUBJECT:

Gilbert Penalosa's terrific Cities for Everyone webinar series will feature Shannon Baker of Waterfront Toronto on Tuesday 8/19 at 10:00 a.m. CT. Her topic is "Connecting Nature and the City." Register here. Recording is available a few days after the presentation at gpenalosa.ca.

PRINT SOURCES

Nadina Galle, The Nature of Our Cities: Harnessing the Power of the Natural World to Survive a Changing Planet (Mariner, 2024)

Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Modern Library, 1961)

Rachel Kaplan, Steven Kaplan, and Robert L. Ryan, With People in Mind: Design and Management of Everyday Nature (Island Press, 1998)

David Sucher, City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village (City Comfort Inc, rev ed, 2016)

10th anniversary post: CR churches

 

Apartments across from Greene Square,
part of a surge of building in the core of Cedar Rapids

Ten years ago this month, I hosted two events featuring Charles Marohn, founder and CEO of Strong Towns: an evening public event at the Iowa City Public Library, and a meeting of the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization the next morning in Ely. Remarkably, I wrote nothing about those events and took no pictures; all I did was post a link to the video on Iowa City's website, which link has, alas, now expired. (A subsequent Iowa City appearance by Chuck, in 2019, can be found here:)

I did take pictures in July 2015, lots of them, of churches in the Oak Hill Jackson neighborhood. The idea was that there were a number of houses of worship remaining from the era when the core of Cedar Rapids was bustling and dense, and that when--as I anticipated--urbanism returned bustle and density to the city center, these religious institutions would be ready to support the new arrivals and be the basis for renewed community.

Since that post, three more churches have been started in Oak Hill Jackson, and I have acquired editions of Polk's Directory for 1953 and 1998 that show changes in the property uses as well as in the surrounding areas.

New Churches

Veritas is a non-denominational church that
hosts a coffeehouse on weekdays

Veritas Church, 509 3rd St SE

In 1953 this building was Nash Finch wholesale grocers (the folks who operated the Econo Foods and Sun Mart chains). There was a Sinclair station on the other side of 3rd. In 1998 there was no listing for the church's current address, while Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity occupied the building across the street that is now their ReStore. The oldest Google Earth photo, from 2012, shows the Intermec company occupying this building.

Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1103 3rd St SE

This congregation was started in 2020, and is affiliated with the conservative Presbyterian Church of America. They hold services in the theater at CSPS Hall, a historic Czech and Slovak community center dating from the 1890s. In 1953, this block of 3rd Street had, besides CSPS, six single-family households, one duplex, and 11 businesses, as well as the Salvation Army at 1119-1123 (now Parlor City). In 1998, there were two households and five businesses sharing the block with CSPS.

Revolution Community Church, 1202 10th St SE

This congregation, along with the ROC (Recovering Our City) Center, is using the building that ten years ago was occupied by Oak Hill Jackson Community Church. The sign above the door actually says "Refuge City Church," which testifies to the versatility of the abbreviation "RCC." In 1953 this was St. George Syrian Orthodox Church, which built the church in 1914; they moved to Cottage Grove Avenue SE in 1992. In the 1998 Polk's Directory there was no listing on 10th Street SE between 12th and 15th Avenues.

Older White Denominations

First Presbyterian Church, 310 5th St SE

This venerable church was built in 1869, and occupies the same block as the also-historic YWCA, opposite Greene Square Park. "First Pres" is the first of the oldline Third Avenue Churches; now, with the departure of First Christian Church and People's Church (Unitarian Universalist) in the 2010s, it is also the only mainline church on the southeast side below 10th Street.

St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, 1224 5th St SE

Built in 1904, this church long served the working class neighborhood around the Sinclair meatpacking plant. In 1953 just that block of 5th Street had 14 households containing 47 residents, as well as two vacant houses and the Sisters of Mercy at 1230 5th. In 1998, the block still had seven occupied residences, but all the older houses in the area were bought up and leveled after the 2008 flood. 

Historically Black Congregations

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 512 6th St SE 

Built in 1931, Bethel AME Church has, like St. Wenceslaus, has continued its ministry after losing many of its closest neighbors. In 1953, the 500 block of 6th Street had seven single-family homes and two duplexes with a total population of 45. By 1998 it was down to two single-family homes, two vacant apartments at 514 6th, and four residences "not verified." Today there is just a vacant lot between Bethel and 5th Avenue.

New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ, 631 9th Av SE 

This church was built by Hus Presbyterian Church in 1915; Hus moved to Schaeffer Drive SW in 1973, and then closed in 2021. The 9th Avenue block had seven single-family homes and four duplexes in 1953, with a total of 68 residents. By 1998, the New Jerusalem congregation was established in the building, and the block listed five single-family homes and two duplexes.

Historically Black Congregations (possibly shut)

Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 1030 7th St SE 

This church was built in 1965, but it's not clear that it's still in operation. Their Facebook page last updated 2022, and they're no longer listed on American Baptist Churches website. The banner still appears on the building, and the lawn is cut, but a sign on the door says "Mask required to enter," which surely is a vestige of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-21.

In 1953, this address was the home of John D. Malbrue, a factory worker for Collins Radio, and his family of five. The block had 13 homes for 45 people, as well as a grocery store at 1000 7th. In 1998, the block had three homes, the church, and a social service organization called Options; 1000 7th was vacant. (Today 1000 7th is the site of the charming Sacred Cow tavern.)

Southeast Church of Christ, 930 9th St SE 

A handsome "Church of Christ" sign has been added to the exterior since 2015, but the charming garden I noticed is gone. Its web and Facebook links are to churches in Texas. In 1953, the building contained the grocery store of William W. Krejci; the block had 10 single-family homes and five duplexes, with a total population of 68. The 1998 Polk's Directory lists the Church of Christ, nine homes, and two "not verified." It's still a well-settled block.

Here in 1998, but no longer

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 824 8th St SE

Mt. Zion moved to the edge of town after the 2008 flood, after nearly a century in the neighborhood. Its location is now part of a parking lot for the MedQuarter. Before the move, that block of 8th Street, which once was home to 56 people besides the church and a funeral home, was down to the church and one vacant property. 

Church of Jesus Christ of the Apostolic, 916 10th St SE

In 1953 this address was the house owned by Mrs. Francis Leksa. It is now part of an apartment complex constructed post-flood.

Plenty of churches remain nearby: Harris Oak Hill Apartments

Holy Ghost Missionary Baptist Church, 1003 6th St SE

There is no listing for this address in the 1953 Polk's Directory, but 1001 6th was the home and store of grocer Milo Grubhoffer. What was probably the church building was for some time post-flood used for storage by the nonprofit Feed Iowa First. Something new is being constructed in its place even as we speak.

Construction at former Holy Ghost site

Ten years on, the church scene in Oak Hill Jackson is different, but similar. In the meantime, there's been a lot of building.

New Bo Lofts addition, across from St. Wenceslaus

Loftus Lofts, in the heart of New Bohemia

Will all this new construction be populated? Will the new residents find, or even look for, community in their neighborhood churches? Do the churches even want to play the role of community rebuilder, or are they focused on their present membership? To answer these questions, we would need data, which I famously don't have.

ORIGINAL POST (with more pictures): "CR Churches," 20 July 2015

Eight things that make me proud in Cedar Rapids

 

Cedar Rapids sign, taken from the 3rd Avenue Bridge

Our big orange photo op is not one of them. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. Many other towns have already done it, so it's not exactly original, and writing your name on everything seems more like a sign of insecurity rather than pride. ("Gulf of America," anyone?) 

Do these photo ops age well? There's this one in New Bohemia from the ill-fated NewBo Evolve festival. It's still there, seven years later...

NewBo sign, 1300 block of 3rd Avenue SE

...and I took this picture of it in a snowstorm in January 2024, so maybe they do?

But I'm not here to complain about the sign. Really, I don't hate it. I'm here because my inability to appreciate its wonderfulness has led me to contemplate the things about Cedar Rapids that do make me proud. These are the things I show visitors and new students. I was going to list five, but I'm up to eight, and might have gone further, but I should get this written, and anyway what I missed might inspire you to make your own list!

Blake Shaw performs in CSPS courtyard,
October 2020

1. Arts and theater scene. Whether your art of choice is visual, musical, or theatrical, there's just a lot going on here. CSPS Hall, where I volunteer, has been showcasing eclectic music and art since 1993, and has been an anchor for growth in New Bohemia. The Cherry Building has regular exhibits of art by residents of its studios. There are several theater groups, and our local colleges feature all manner of fine arts productions. This is all on top of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Eastern Iowa Symphony, and Theater Cedar Rapids. There's a lot to appreciate here, most of it accessibly priced and presented. City of Cedar Rapids arts and culture page 

Group ride on the Cedar River Trail, May 2023

2. Bike/trails network. What Cedar Rapids has in common with the host cities for the last three Congresses for the New Urbanism is our bicycle network is progressing, and is just a few connections away from being fully functional. On my side of town, the CeMar Trail will create a direct, paved route from the core of Cedar Rapids to the center of Marion. The Cherokee Trail, when completed, will go from downtown all across the west side. Our separated bike lanes downtown were the first or second in the state, depending on who you're asking. Linn County Trails Association page 

Gazette offices, downtown Cedar Rapids
(two blocks from their old offices)

3. Cedar Rapids Gazette. With limited resources, the Gazette is a solid local daily (at least online) paper that is locally owned, a rarity in a town this size. They do not shy away from exploring, in both news and opinion sections, aspects of issues that don't fit the lines coming from the Statehouse or Chamber of Commerce. And their offices remain downtown, which goes far with me.

Clifford the Big Red Dog helped open the new
main library in August 2013

4. Cedar Rapids Public Library. I got my library card as soon as I moved to town, and have been a satisfied patron ever since. I always find something worth reading in their vast collection. The main library has endured the 2008 flood, at the time the most costly disaster ever suffered by a U.S. library; the expectation they will be a refuge for the increasing unhoused population; and a state government that is suspicious of its efforts to serve a diverse population. A new facility under construction will provide expanded services to the west side.

Interior, Craftd Coffee, downtown CR

5. Coffee. For whatever reason back in the 1990s, the big chains were late in colonizing our town, allowing a rich variety of local shops to emerge. The big boys are here now, but the locals are holding on, mostly in the core of Cedar Rapids as well as Marion and Hiawatha. They are places to sit a spell, enjoy free or cheap refills, and see friends old and new. I have my favorites, but the whole of the coffee scene is even more than its parts.

The Round Barn, longtime home of the 
Indian Creek Nature Center

6. Indian Creek Nature Center and city parks. More than fifty years ago, someone had the vision to establish a place on the outskirts of town where adults and children could learn about nature while in nature, the community could celebrate the joys of homemade maple syrup, and the staff could model sustainable land conservation. To this add Bever and Ellis Parks, the oldest and best of our mixed-use parks, which include natural areas as well as playgrounds and swimming pools.

Cultivate Hope Corner Store grand opening, 2022

7. Matthew 25. There are a lot of social service organizations around town, but this one, begun in 2006 by pastor brothers Clint Twedt-Ball and Courtney Ball, is distinctive. From the start they had the goal of working with the neighbors rather than merely working in the neighborhood (in their case, the Taylor and Time-Check neighborhoods on the near west side). They were forced to pivot by the 2008 flood, and have continued to change over the years in response to new challenges. They opened the Cultivate Hope Corner Store in 2022. With Clint's departure this year, leadership is passing to a new generation.

Ready for Food Truck Tuesday
at New Bo City Market, May 2024

8. New Bo City Market. Since its inception in 2012 it's been more of a food court than a market, but it's a food court unlike any other around, with a variety of ethnic offerings not found elsewhere in town. Some shopkeepers have been able to make the jump from a market stall to their own shop, proving the market's worth as an incubator as well. Their Friday night concert series is a summer tradition now. A capital campaign is underway to expand the size of the facility, including a grocery store, dental clinic, and meeting space.

Downtown dreams and reality

 

Downtown Cedar Rapids parking map

The City of Cedar Rapids is surveying residents on the subject of parking in Downtown and surrounding areas (Czech Village, Kingston, New Bohemia). (If you're in CR, and seeing this before Wednesday 6/11, contact me and I'll send you the link.) The survey mostly asks for data about destinations, times, and difficulty parking. 

According to my sources, the city is looking at removing meters from downtown, or else adding meters to other areas in the core. If we do remove meters from downtown, however, that will cut the flow of cash to ParkCR, the company to which we foolishly sold the parking concession in 2014, and which is already receiving less income than we had contractually promised. We would have to pay them off somehow.

Parking instructions from ParkCR, Third Avenue Bridge,
Downtown Cedar Rapids

I'm torn about the parking survey, regardless of how we work things out with ParkCR, because removing meters seems the best thing in the short run for downtown businesses, the city, but more free parking is not in the long-term general interest. We have learned from reading Donald Shoup (he's tough) and Henry Grabar (a much easier go) that free public parking in a high-demand area s a policy mistake, because setting the price at zero makes demand for any product artificially high. Too much demand for parking results in traffic congestion and noise and an unpleasant environment for anyone else in the area. Eventually, it results in pressure on the city to supply more, either through more public lots or parking mandates on developers, which wastes space. High-value land is yielding no revenue, and the empty space it creates between revenue-producing destinations makes the area less walkable and less interesting. Free parking is the enemy of vibe.

[If you're attending an Orchestra Iowa concert on a Saturday night at the historic Paramount Theater, profiled in this 1.75 minute video from Iowa Public Broadcasting, driving is your only alternative. Finding a parking space can be a challenge.]

Ideally, any city's core would be best advised to develop around non-drivers who are able to walk, bike, wheel, or bus to multiple revenue-producing destinations. I'm fixated on grocery stores and other suppliers of necessities, but Bill Fulton (2025) has observed that:

people who lived near downtowns and liked to walk places tended to drive to the grocery store or the mall, in large part because they want to have a vehicle to haul the stuff home. Since Covid, of course, many of these folks choose to order all kinds of goods online.

Maybe I should stop dreaming about groceries and hardware in the core? Even so, says Fulton, 

People who lived [near the downtowns he studied] tended to walk more when they had some place they wanted to walk to. And what they wanted to walk to most often was parks, libraries, cafes, and restaurants.

Our city's core is attractive, but what surrounds it is without form and void. 

Between 5th and 12th Streets, much of the space is
dedicated to parking

Hence, with respect to the very few who ride across the void on our incipient trails system, or utilize our limited public transportation, the only connection to the world outside the void is by private car. 

Whether we're talking grocery stores or "parks, libraries, cafes, and restaurants," patrons either come from close by or from far away. If they come from far away. Here's the paradox: The more parking our city provides, the less room there is for the places people want to go. Yet sincerely trying to build a walkable core by putting a price on parking is a risky game, maybe as likely to take businesses off the streets as to put people onto the streets and into destinations. "We don't want parking meters in NewBo," says City Council member Ann Poe.

Block-long free parking in Czech Village
does fill up on weekends

If you're reading this critically, you'll notice my argument is missing data. I've got none. What I'm also missing is a sense of what the city's vision is. A decade ago, Cedar Rapids seemed motivated to become an active town, bringing in the Blue Zones folks and building separated bike lanes. I really couldn't say what the city's vision is now, other than some vague notion of "success" based in attracting shoppers.

So, what's an urbanist supposed to write in the comments section of the survey? The market price for parking in the core area outside of downtown is probably zero, because there's so much of it. Maybe the best approach is to attend to the needs of core constituents now, even if that means (sob!) more subsidies for car parking and (double sob!) paying off ParkCR with money that would have been better spent elsewhere. Shoup argues for charging market prices for parking, with money devoted to improving the district where it's spent. That alone keeps the path open to a more vibey, financially resilient, walkable future.

If we've learned anything positive from the DOGE derecho,
it's that the national government is no longer a reliable funder
of expensive stuff

P.S. I wonder how many people who resent food assistance or affirmative action as "government handouts" not only allow an exception for parking, but expect that parking should be free?

SEE ALSO: "I Wish This Parking Was...," 27 November 2020

Bike to Work Week 2025

Trail crossing by Manhattan Park, Cedar Rapids

This year's observance of Bike to Work Week--or whatever time period is celebrated in your community--occurs in the shadow of a hostile presidential administration that has shown itself willing to stop at nothing to get whatever it wants. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a former reality TV star and U.S. representative with zero experience in transportation policy, has ordered a review of any federal grants that include bike infrastructure (Kuntzman 2025). While claiming bike lanes cause accidents and traffic congestion, he has removed research from the DOT website that shows the opposite (Wilson 2025). Viable alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles are the only way to reduce traffic congestion, as well as a key way to reduce climate change, but the Trump administration has scrubbed those data as well.

Why is bicycling so threatening to those now in power? Lyz Lenz (2025) notes the link to community building, which is itself threatening to an individualist ideology: "Project 2025 specifically criticizes the Federal Highway Administration for funding parks, trails, bike paths, and sidewalks--all the things that make our communities accessible and walkable." She argues that the Department of Transportation under Duffy "helps set in motion a vision of American life that is small, isolated, and alone."

Here on Holy Mountain, our vision is of an America that is large, connected, inclusive, and in no real way threatening. And by golly, spring is here, the sun is out, we have a good two weeks until the bugs show up, and there are bikes to be ridden! And who do we see spiking the guns of disillusionment, but our very own city, along with neighboring towns and the Corridor MPO!! Yes, Bike to Work Week is back, with innovative programming like commuter group rides and a Tuesday evening family ride with decorative lights encouraged.

Pedal for Pancakes gathering by the Cedar River

Monday, May 12 (high temp 84)

It was sunny and summery today, near-perfect weather for the start of Bike to Work Week. The week began with an experiment: replacing the trail "pit stops" of previous years with the first of two guided commuter group rides. This one left at 7:30 a.m. from McCloud Place on the city's northeast side, progressing down the Cedar River to downtown. I live on the southeast side, so I passed on scooting across town to meet them at that early hour, and settled for getting downtown in time to watch them cross 1st Avenue at 7:47.

Morning commuters cross 1st Avenue E

There were two city staff and three commuters, hardly a throng, but not bad for the first time ever. I wonder, too, if the decline in downtown office work since the pandemic affects the potential audience for this? Anyway, we have a base to build on. The afternoon return trip had several more riders.

Six years ago, British blogger Robert Weetman (cited below) wrote five questions to assess the bikability of a given route. The answers are admittedly going to be impressionistic rather than quantifiable, but arguably give the best indication of potential ridership, which I would say is the point of Bike to Work Week. 

Weetman's first question is...

Looking only at traffic-related safety, would most people allow an unaccompanied 12 year old to cycle here?

Maybe. Most of what I rode today was on appropriate bike infrastructure in manageable traffic. I encountered two pinch points that would deter many ordinary people from attempting a ride downtown during working hours. The 1st Avenue trail crossing treatment is much improved from its initial form, but it still would make me anxious if the 12-year-old put too much trust in it. This morning, as I awaited the commuters, a senior woman, resplendent in an all-purple outfit, approached 1st Avenue on her bike. She pushed the crossing light, and we crossed together. "Are they going to stop?" she rhetorically asked about the 1st Avenue traffic. "Sometimes they don't." Today they did. 

No traffic, no problem: Heading downtown on 3rd Avenue
at 8th Street

Later, when I was chatting with the commuters, they all said that most safety issues were at intersections. One guy talked about 3rd Street and 8th Avenue SE, where car traffic in the right-turn lane is competing uncertainly with cyclists in the bike lane. I brought up 3rd Avenue and 8th Street SE--yes, a completely different intersection--where the separated lane starts on 3rd, but first you have to cross 8th where cars are waiting (we hope) to get onto Interstate 380. I know the city's grid well enough to avoid this intersection, but I'm not 12 years old. Denver's Bike Streets organization has created a map to help people navigate that city safely on bicycles; maybe we could gin up something like that here?

Commuters gather at McGrath Amphitheater for the return trip

10th Anniversary Post: Neighborhood stores

 

Founded April 2022:
Cultivate Hope Corner Store, 604 Ellis Boulevard NW

One of my hopes ten years ago for urbanist development in Cedar Rapids was the emergence of neighborhood grocery stores. I'd been reading urbanist luminaries like Andres Duany and co-authors, as well as Jane Jacobs and Stacy Mitchell, who commended having daily essentials like groceries within walking distance. Though corner stores flourished a couple of generations ago--the 1953 Polk's Directory for Cedar Rapids lists well over 100--today the grocery landscape is dominated by big box suburban supermarkets and gas station-convenience stores. In 2015, the then-new master planning document Envision CR did not mention corner stores, although it allowed that newer developments on the edge of town could see "neighborhood retail or mixed use" near residences.

Closed June 2024:
Former Hy-Vee, 1556 1st Avenue NE

The ensuing decade has brought some though not very much movement in this direction. The versatile social service nonprofit Matthew 25 opened a corner grocery store on the northwest side three years ago. Meanwhile, however, the Mound View and Wellington Heights neighborhoods lost their grocery store when Hy-Vee closed last spring. There are a couple of "international" groceries in preparation, but they haven't opened yet. 

Opening TBD: Hornbill Asian Market,
 1445 1st Avenue SE (photo 12/31/2024)

And burgeoning apartment construction in the core neighborhoods have surprisingly (to me, at least) not resulted in local stores to serve their new occupants. 

The Neighborhood Corner Store is operated by Matthew 25 as a non-profit, and they seek donations of cash and produce. It has the potential to do a lot of good in what it calls a "former food desert," but may not be a model for widespread adoption of corner stores. When I talk to sympathetic people about the Neighborhood Corner Store, they immediately mention the shortage of parking. Of course, if you're coming from across town, that's going to matter, but that's not what corner stores are for. It makes me wonder if Cedar Rapids even "gets" the concept of corner stores, much less is waiting for them to supplant the large-lot suburban supermarkets?

Small groceries were everywhere in my early life; growing up, we did most of our grocery shopping at the Sunnyside Supermarket, three blocks from our house, albeit required crossing a fearsome state highway.

Former Sunnyside Supermarket site:
611 West Roosevelt Road, Wheaton, IL today

My only recent experience with corner stores came in Washington, D.C., where I spent a semester in 2018. There were three corner stores near our apartment, no doubt due to the neighborhood's unusual combination of wealth and population density. One of them, the Congress Market on East Capitol Drive, has since gone out of business. 

Congress Market, formerly at 4th St and East Capitol Drive SE

So has an Amazon Fresh store in Crystal City that had only opened in 2022, as well as two small-format Target stores (Del Maestro 2025).

So, I don't know. The argument for corner stores is compelling: As walkable destinations, they provide everyday opportunities for exercise, energy conservation, and community building. But are there viable business plans, and strong enough public preferences to choose corner stores over megamarkets? 

Dave Olverson's recent piece for City Builder blames zoning restrictions for the lack of corner stores, and so, in a talk for Cities for Everyone that focused on housing, does Missing Middle Housing author Dan Parolek. Addison Del Maestro, however, notes the difficulty of slotting neighborhood stores into metropolitan form that is decidedly suburban:

"Urbanism," after all, isn't just land use. It's all the other elements of a place scaled to urban land use. [Emphasis his.] That includes passenger and utility vehicles--urban firetrucks, the small cars that Europe calls "city cars"--for example. It also includes smaller-scale retail. But because the status quo everyday store has shifted from a small Main Street store to a big-box, car-oriented suburban one, localities and developers do not have a bundle of "off the shelf" retail concepts to fill out Main Streets, urban neighborhoods, and mixed-use developments. Residents want their own grocery store nearby or underneath the apartments, but most national and general merchandise chains do not really operate that retail concept at scale. (Del Maestro 2025)

Cedar Rapids found this out when city officials, actively but in vain, tried to recruit grocery chains into the former Hy-Vee space on 1st Avenue NE. I just don't think that zoning reform will be enough in our town, as long as grocers choose away from small stores, and residents are for the most part comfortable driving to supermarkets, as well as being anxious about the supply of parking being impacted by stores near their homes. 

Neighborhood supermarket? Folks in this subdivision
can walk to Hy-Vee

ORIGINAL POST: "Envision CR IV: Neighborhood corner stores," 28 May 2015

EXCITING UPDATES!!

"NewBo City Market Expansion to Field Neighborhood Grocery by Field to Family," Iowa's News Now, 8 May 2025

Rebekah Vaughan, "Developer Hopes to Bring Grocery Store to Wellington Heights, Neighbors React," KCRG.com, 6 May 2025