Monthly Archives: May 2012

Doing it Downtown, all summer long

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Opinion piece by Ezra Van Den Einde, MSUM

The lakes are great and who doesn’t love a road trip with the family, but downtown is the real place to be during the summer. Starting in mid May, a series of fun summer events will be going on in downtown Fargo-Moorhead.  To help you plan your summer I have highlighted a few events you won’t want to miss.

Like classic cars? Starting on May 17 Broadway in Fargo will be swarmed with fancy, unique and classic cars. The event lasts from 5-9pm and will be held the first Thursday of the month through September. For more information or to check out photos, visit “Cruisin’ Broadway” on their facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cruisin-Broadway-Downtown-Fargo/91362550665

The weekend following the kickoff off of cruise night will be a busy one. With people parking their cars and lacing up their running shoes, Fargo will be overtaken by runners of every skill level. From a youth half mile run to the main event where over two thousand runners will be taking on the 26.2 mi. trek through the streets Fargo, the event has something for everyone.  Registration ends on the May 6 and can be found along with a rundown of weekend events on the Fargo Marathon website.

http://www.fargomarathon.com/index.html

One of the next major events to take hold of Fargo’s downtown streets will be the 37th annual Fargo Street Fair. The Street Fair claims to be North Dakotas largest free outdoor event, attracting thousands for great vendors selling clothes, food, crafts and more. The dates you should mark on your calendar are July 19- 21. Applications to your space as an artist, crafter or vendor can be downloaded here.

If these events still leave you with time to spend celebrating summer in Downtown Fargo and Moorhead, don’t worry. Spend some time in one of the beautiful parks. Go for a refreshing swim at Island Park Pool. Visit the Hjemkomst Center, the Plains Art Museum or the Fargo Theater. Spend a day shopping on Broadway or take a walk along the Red River. Where ever your summer takes you, remember that you don’t need to look any farther than downtown for memorable summer fun.

Below are a couple more sites to help you continue Doing it Downtown this summer.

Downtown Fargo

 Fargo-Moorhead events calendar

Sharing the Road

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Bicycle outside of GNB

Story and Photos by Ezra Van Den Einde

With higher temperatures around the corner and road construction heating up it may be time for locals to warm up to bicyclists.

Fueled in part by the growing presence NDSU has in downtown Fargo, an effort is being made to add bike lanes to 10th  and University, both are one ways in north Fargo.

The discussion has been heated at times and one city commissioner is strongly opposed to the idea.  “Those are our only north south arterials through the whole city, to me, to try to shove something on there, that’s just incredibly wrong.” Dave Piepkorn said during a recent Fargo city commission meeting. Piepkorn says the negative feedback he has received exceeds that of any other issue.

The city plans to run a series of public service announcements to better educate and prepare the public for bicyclists.

Great Northern Bicycle Company

One downtown business owner whose life revolves around these controversial spinning wheels has ideas that may ease the publics concerns. Tom Smith, owner of Great Northern Bicycle Company in downtown Fargo, thinks the negative response is “a bit of a knee jerk reaction” and that the concerns have to do with dangers and the amount of daily traffic on 10th and University.

Biking down Broadway

 

In order to make biking safer and decrease the publics’ discomfort of sharing the roadways with bicycles, Smith says it’s necessary for bicyclists to follow all traffic laws. He says being consistant, predictable and following traffic laws will help cyclists become an accepted part of city traffic.

Below is a link to a safety education video for drivers and bicyclists created by the League of Illinois Bicyclists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1PXvxh_6MI&feature=player_embedded

 

 

Pay to Park? Forget it.

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Finding a spot to park

Article and Photos by                             Ezra Van Den Einde, MSUM

Living in downtown Fargo, people may have problems finding spots to park near their homes, but a recent study says that there’s a surplus of empty pavement. What’s the name of the study and who conducted it?

 

Dick Herrig has been working the Fargo parking lots as an attendant for 14 years and says that if people are willing to walk a couple of blocks shouldn’t have problems finding a spot.

Dick Herrig and Bob Nelson

Herrig works a parking lot on NP Avenue, which is shared by the city of Fargo and adjacent business owners. He says, “It’s full to capacity… 90 percent or more have a monthly permit.”

Bob Nelson, works with Herrig, says, “We need a parking ramp to replace the one they tore down.” He added that the Island Park Ramp could accommodate more daily commuters, if they were willing to walk across the railroad tracks.

The downtown area has 11 city lots with monthly rates ranging from $50-$65. Six of the lots also have daily and hourly parking rates.

City of Fargo parking

According to the city of Minneapolis website, rates for non-reserved monthly parking in can cost up to $203. Compared to Minneapolis, parking in downtown Fargo is one half to one third the cost, so people in Fargo should be happy with walking a couple of blocks or paying such a small cost to park downtown.

 

(Edited by Lauren Tollefson, MSUM multimedia journalism major).