Pedacito de Tierra is out now! A short story about the Puerto Rican diaspora in Minnesota.

Listen: www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv67...

Pedacito de Tierra drops October 3. So excited to share!
Pre Save HERE: lnk.fuga.com/anglicanegrn...

@carlyellefsen.com

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County streets should be for people, not parking.

And hierarchy should be inverted in this layout, starting with solidarity for our transit-dependent and climate conscious neighbors.

District 3 Commissioner @mariongreene.bsky.social and Josh Potter—Hennepin County Transportation Engineer—should hear from you directly.

Ask @ward10.minneapolismn.gov to speak up too.

Don’t let this pass. Don’t let this pattern of incrementalism continue. There is still time to use your voice.

Provide your feedback but don’t be completely distracted by the storymap.

Even with 43,000 engagement touchpoints, a successful 4:3 pilot, and clear community energy…

This design is what they proposed. Many of our voices discarded.

What about our opportunity to dream bigger?

Open Streets—put on life support by @mayorfrey.com —showed us.

50k people (well, when @ourstreetsmn.org organized it) on Lyndale. Joyful, car-free, vibrant. Spending, connecting, breathing cleaner air.

Now, the plan is to shrink the program in 2026.

Dedicated bus lanes improve employee retention and job access.
Buses move far more people using far less space.

We’re in an air quality crisis and this plan shrinks from our responsibility to act.

People who don’t drive tend to have more disposable income and spend more at local businesses.

Others who don’t drive because they can’t are essential to the corridor’s economy.

Transit riders deserve dignity and dedicated space to travel and thrive.

From the invisible members of our community who live with a disability, to the able-bodied person who chooses to walk, bike, roll, or take transit— whether out of necessity, climate consciousness, or both.

You benefit.

That means 24/7 bus lanes throughout, protected bikeways throughout, green space throughout…using space for community centered development that incentivizes more shift and reduces vehicle miles traveled.

And we know who benefits.

Mode shift means improved access and accessibility for everyone.

This is part of a larger pattern that @mayorfrey.com and @mariongreene.bsky.social continue to uphold on Lyndale and across MPLS: class hierarchy based design over universal access.

We know what works. Traffic improves and evaporates when modes are accessible and designed to be effective.

Transit riders are once again pitted against cyclists.

Meanwhile, businesses sit, watch, and eat their fries on their prized parking spots—paid for by you, the person who doesn’t own or drive a car.

Hennepin County’s proposed layout for Lyndale Avenue S. falls short.

It’s not a people-first design. It’s a decorated, street-level parking lot, dusted with the occasional confetti of mode shift virtue signals.

No protected bikeways, 24/7 bus lanes, or green space throughout the entire corridor.

@carlyellefsen.com

Available Oct 3 Album cover showing artwork of Puerto Rico travel lines to the Twin Cities, Minnesota Streaming services icons: Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, YouTube, Apple Music

It took many brilliant collaborators to bring this to life. And some courageous Puerto Ricans here in the Twin Cities. Pedacito de Tierra drops October 3. So excited to share—hope you’ll listen.

Tell @governorwalz.mn.gov: no more highway rebuilds. Explore boulevard alternatives. Stop cementing in emissions. Support humans. Support at-grade, support health. Clean air is a human right.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s our responsibility to connect the dots: climate-fueled wildfires from Canada and local transportation emissions are colliding, and the state can take decisive action to stop making it worse.

We can’t survive repeated bouts of toxic skies—and yet @mndot.mn.gov is planning to channel more vehicle emissions into our communities, even as we deal with Canadian wildfire smoke.

It’s our responsibility to connect the dots: climate-fueled wildfires from Canada and local transportation emissions are colliding, and the state can take decisive action to stop making it worse.

He should direct MnDOT to restore the at-grade boulevard option in the Rethinking I-94 planning process. As our governor he should prioritize removal, not expansion, and prioritize clean air, equity, and neighborhood safety.

This is happening as climate chaos worsens air quality statewide. Every additional car trip adds to particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions, compounding the region’s vulnerability during wildfire events.

@governorwalz.mn.gov has the authority to redirect MnDOT.

MnDOT is doubling down on the reconstruction of I-94, arguing that an at-grade boulevard would worsen traffic congestion and increase emissions near residential areas. In effect, state leadership is choosing concrete and asphalt over community-based alternatives that reduce driving and emissions.

Minneapolis now ranks 2nd worst in the world for air quality. Unhealthy smoke from massive Canadian wildfires choke our skies and spoil our precious summer months.

But we have to do our part.

Traffic cameras may issue fewer tickets—but they still tell the wrong story when our streets remain designed for speed, not safety.

Let’s stop using fear and speak the language of prevention. Not enforcement.

Street design is safety.

Surveillance is not.

Authoritarian leaders have long used this kind of rhetoric to justify surveillance and control over care and prevention.

As Dr. King warned, “The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.” We can’t pursue justice with tools that deepen inequity.

It’s not Vision Zero if we ignore the public health crisis of car dependency and climate injustice.

And the phrase “reckless driving won’t be tolerated”? That’s not the language of safety. It’s the language of punishment.

We all want safer streets. Traffic cameras won’t get us there.

If we’re serious about vision zero, we have to address all causes of traffic related deaths—including car pollution, which disproportionately harms the same communities that are over policed through traffic enforcement.

It’s not over…but you have to get involved. And stay involved. Take the action step and sign the letter, and keep checking in for more opportunities to support the work.

Another show!

Bar / Standing Late Show @ 8:00p.m.

www.exploretock.com/berlin-minne...

Seated Early Show @ 6:00 p.m.

www.exploretock.com/berlin-minne...