Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I recently posted a thread about moving closer to a job in White Bear Lake. After searching craigslist and a map of the area, I've decided I'd like to try and rent a townhome or similar property in one of the following areas: White Bear Lake (or Township), Vadnais Heights, Maplewood, Oakdale, Shoreview, Little Canada, North St. Paul or Arden Hills. I may still consider areas surrounding these like eastern Blaine, Roseville or St. Paul.
For those of you who live in or are familiar with these areas, could you suggest areas that might be good locations to start searching for townhomes? I understand that craigslist and padmapper are great resources, but I also realize that some of these properties may not end up being posted online right away. I've driven around searching for signs a bit in these areas, but I mostly end up in residential areas with very few rentals and waste gas driving around. If I know where to look, I could drive to that area and find a phone number for a property management company or private renter. I know I've seen a couple of townhome For Rent signs just down the road from where I work that I have not seen posted online.
My main reason for searching for town homes is that they typically include a garage. I'm also interested in small houses or a duplex if within my budget. I'd like to say that I am finished with apartment living because I really need to have a garage for storage and to work on projects I've wanted to over the past several years. I wish I was, but I don't think I'm quite ready to buy a house.
Renter's Warehouse seems to represent a lot of townhouses and stand alone houses that private individuals are renting out. I haven't worked with them, so I'm not endorsing them, but they might be worth a call. It looks like their website lists at least a few options out in that area.
I can certainly understand wanting a garage and workshop space as a result wanting a townhome. Even though the distance from east Blaine to your job in White Bear Lake shouldn't be a problem, the fact that no roads travel through North Oaks means the smaller two lane roads through Shoreview and Arden Hills very slow and congested.
Depending on where in White Bear Lake and who you work for: SmartCarte, Taymark, Cortec, Schwing International, Westin Nielsen, Unger Meats, H.B.Fuller, Wilburt Plastics, St. Croix Hardwoods, Tautges- Redpath etc. You probably want to live closer to work.
The townhome complexes in White Bear Lake and White Bear Township are along White Bear Parkway from 1- mile north of County Road 96 to 1-mile south of County Road 96; Birch Lake Road and Oakmede also have townhomes there are more townhomes along County Road E at Linden Avenue Then also on Linden Avenue for a half-mile north of County Road E to Cedar. There are some town homes along Elm street west of White Bear Avenue near the elementary school. There is another cluster of townhomes near I-35E and County Road J just off of Otter View which you can see right from the interstate.
Vadnais Heights has the bulk of their townhouses along stretches of both Centerville Road and Greenhaven Road with some also along Turnhill.
Maplewood has alot of new townhomes stretching from just one-block west of Maplewood Mall all the way along County Road D and beginning at Southlawn past Kennard beyond Costco, past US Highway 61 into Vadnais Heights still along County Road D past LaBore Road and Centerville Road.
Most townhomes in Oakdale are along that cities "Signature Street" Hadley Avenue between Century Avenue/ Geneva all the way to 10th Street. along Century Avenue (which is also MN Highway 120) between I-694 and I-94. There are a lot of townhomes along Helmo Avenue between 10th Street and 15 Street with a big complex at the corner of Helmo Avenue and 15th Street.
I would also second the earlier suggestion to look at Renters Warehouse as mentioned by a previous poster.
I can certainly understand wanting a garage and workshop space as a result wanting a townhome. Even though the distance from east Blaine to your job in White Bear Lake shouldn't be a problem, the fact that no roads travel through North Oaks means the smaller two lane roads through Shoreview and Arden Hills very slow and congested.
What roads are you talking about?
I think you could argue that many of the roads have speed limits that are "only" 50 mph, some even just 40mph. But, I don't know that I've ever seen many of those roads congested.
I think you could argue that many of the roads have speed limits that are "only" 50 mph, some even just 40mph. But, I don't know that I've ever seen many of those roads congested.
County Road 96 from I-35W to downtown White Bear Lake with stoplights which are timed in such a manner that you miss every one of them during the afternoon rush and from White Bear Lake to I-35W in the morning rush -same problem. Far too many vehicles for the number of lanes available.
Congestion and stopped traffic at US Hwy 10 and County Road 96 was one of the major reasons the Twin Cities Army Amunitions Plant at that Arden Hills intersection did not get awarded the Vikings stadium. Same congestion at Hwy 96 and Lexington; Hwy 96 and Hodgson Road; Hwy 96 and Centerville Road; Hwy 96 and I-35E. All these issues have now only been worsened by the I-694 road costruction for the next two-years because County Road 96 is the only I-694 alternate. County Road J is only two lanes with some stoplights and many 4-way stop signs which are backed-up during rush hour.
Even getting to County Road 96 or County Road J is a chalenge from eastern portions of Blaine as eastbound US 10 is often at a dead stop from Central Avenue (Hwy 65) into the I-35W merge near Medtronic and I-35W is stopped with all the downtown bound traffic then into the US 10 split. At this point, the US Route 10 is at a dead stop from 35W for the full mile to where it backs up from the stop light at US 10 and County Road 96. Everything is reversed in the afternoon.
Is this the worst commute in the Twin Cities? No,but it ranks up there. Agrivating? Yes. Is all the new activity and development in and around east Blaine along Central Avenue, Radisson Road and Lexington Avenue around the National Sports Center, The Lakes, Deacon's Walk, the Tournament Players Club of the Twin Cities, and The "Villages of Blaine" just to name a small sample of what is taking place possibly the best thing happening in that portion of Anoka County and a blueprint and example for suburban area's of northern Ramsey County and northern Washington County to proceed with their future growth and development? I believe the answer is yes.
County Road 96 from I-35W to downtown White Bear Lake with stoplights which are timed in such a manner that you miss every one of them during the afternoon rush and from White Bear Lake to I-35W in the morning rush -same problem. Far too many vehicles for the number of lanes available.
Congestion and stopped traffic at US Hwy 10 and County Road 96 was one of the major reasons the Twin Cities Army Amunitions Plant at that Arden Hills intersection did not get awarded the Vikings stadium. Same congestion at Hwy 96 and Lexington; Hwy 96 and Hodgson Road; Hwy 96 and Centerville Road; Hwy 96 and I-35E. All these issues have now only been worsened by the I-694 road costruction for the next two-years because County Road 96 is the only I-694 alternate. County Road J is only two lanes with some stoplights and many 4-way stop signs which are backed-up during rush hour.
Even getting to County Road 96 or County Road J is a chalenge from eastern portions of Blaine as eastbound US 10 is often at a dead stop from Central Avenue (Hwy 65) into the I-35W merge near Medtronic and I-35W is stopped with all the downtown bound traffic then into the US 10 split. At this point, the US Route 10 is at a dead stop from 35W for the full mile to where it backs up from the stop light at US 10 and County Road 96. Everything is reversed in the afternoon.
Is this the worst commute in the Twin Cities? No,but it ranks up there. Agrivating? Yes. Is all the new activity and development in and around east Blaine along Central Avenue, Radisson Road and Lexington Avenue around the National Sports Center, The Lakes, Deacon's Walk, the Tournament Players Club of the Twin Cities, and The "Villages of Blaine" just to name a small sample of what is taking place possibly the best thing happening in that portion of Anoka County and a blueprint and example for suburban area's of northern Ramsey County and northern Washington County to proceed with their future growth and development? I believe the answer is yes.
Thank You for your critique and question!
I'm not sure where to begin here. I'll start with County J having no stop signs at all from Hastings to Centerville Road. That's more than 8 miles and basically the entire length of the road. I've heard County J used to be worse, but the construction that apparently fixed that was many years ago now.
I know people who seem to swear by 96 as a faster road than 694. I've taken it probably at least a dozen times during rush hour and never noticed stop light timing to be a problem. In any case, it's not a 2 lane road and seems unlikely as a choice from Blaine to White Bear Lake (why not just take County J instead?).
I doubt the intersection of Highway 10 and 96 had much to do with the Vikings stadium since that intersection is getting turned into an interchange next year without said stadium.
Getting to County J from the eastern part of Blaine is pretty easy. Either you take the local connector to J (if you are east of the airport) or take Lexington to J (perhaps using Radisson/Lovell or 109th to get to Lexington depending on where you are starting from). In any case, traffic on 10 is completely irrelevant from the eastern parts of Blaine. So is traffic on 35W since there is no southbound exit onto County J.
Part of the problem here in the Northern suburbs is there is no density. Blaine is a huge, sprawling mess of a city. It's just terribly laid out. For example, there is a roundabout with STOP SIGNS on all entrances of it. /Facepalm. There is an undriveable, unwalkable, unbikeable sprawling shopping complex at I-35W and Lexington, that has a Cub Foods and you have to drive a giant circle around it filled with stop signs. Completely unwalkable. Central and University Avenues take forever to cross. I really hate this whole area.
96 is a terrible, congested mess
694 is a slow congested mess at least they are fixing.
You can't fix traffic by adding lanes though. If adding lanes work, LA would be have the best traffic in the world. This is because of induced traffic. Basically when supply increases (more lanes), more of a good is consumed (more driving).
Part of the problem here in the Northern suburbs is there is no density. Blaine is a huge, sprawling mess of a city. It's just terribly laid out. For example, there is a roundabout with STOP SIGNS on all entrances of it. /Facepalm. There is an undriveable, unwalkable, unbikeable sprawling shopping complex at I-35W and Lexington, that has a Cub Foods and you have to drive a giant circle around it filled with stop signs. Completely unwalkable. Central and University Avenues take forever to cross. I really hate this whole area.
96 is a terrible, congested mess
694 is a slow congested mess at least they are fixing.
You can't fix traffic by adding lanes though. If adding lanes work, LA would be have the best traffic in the world. This is because of induced traffic. Basically when supply increases (more lanes), more of a good is consumed (more driving).
Can you be more specific about what you don't find walkable about the Village shopping area? It seems pretty easy to walk around to me. I'd also argue it's pretty easy to drive and bike around there as well. Honestly, it seems to be the type of shopping area that "walkability" proponents are arguing for (except that it doesn't have apartments or any housing). I also don't know what you mean by needing to "drive a giant circle around it filled with stop signs".
Central/65 is a traffic issue. I'm guessing there is a hesitation to do much about it until it becomes a freeway.
Where does University take a long time to cross?
Of course, none of this has anything to do with commuting from the eastern part of Blaine to the northwest part of White Bear. I still maintain County J is a perfectly fine, non-congested route for such things.
That one is at Lake Drive and Lexington, near the McDonald's. Every other roundabout I have seen either has no signs or yield signs, which is one of the benefits of roundabouts.
Quote:
Can you be more specific about what you don't find walkable about the Village shopping area? It seems pretty easy to walk around to me. I'd also argue it's pretty easy to drive and bike around there as well. Honestly, it seems to be the type of shopping area that "walkability" proponents are arguing for (except that it doesn't have apartments or any housing). I also don't know what you mean by needing to "drive a giant circle around it filled with stop signs".
Just my opinion. Main problem is it's too spread out. The 4 lanes of curvilinear road winding through it with a center island is unnecessary for the amount of traffic, and creates large swaths of distance to cross by foot. Unnecessary curvature to the road adds distance for cyclists/walkers. Giant surface parking between the sidewalk and the businesses e.g. Wal Mart and Cub Foods. Business should abut the street with parking behind. If you want to go to say Wendy's, you have to stop at I believe 4 stop signs that seem rather unnecessary. The most walkable part of the center is not near either of the entrances, of which there are only two ways to enter.
Part of the problem is the businesses on the west side of Lexington as well; they are really spread out and it's over a mile walk from some of them to the shopping area, plus crossing 6 lanes of traffic on Lexington. (To be walk-able, destinations should be no more than 1/4 mile away.) So even the workers there generally drive. The offices areas (west side of Lexington) are separate from the retail and restaurant areas. If they had been combined it would be a more pleasant place to live and work.
The area kind of looks walkable, but it's still a get-in-get-out type deal. There is a lot of unused space that could have been made into a small park or public space. There is new housing development down the road but it's not walkable to this shopping area--they could have integrated housing to this shopping area. Typical results of segregating shopping, retail, housing and business.
In walkable communities there are many people walking. Often there are places that look walkable, but no one walks.
Near 109th Ave and Central, it's similar...large developments, roads lead to collector roads to spread out lots lead to structures. Put the structures on the roads tighter together, parking behind. Housing development that dumps onto 55mph roads where people drive 60+ like 109th Ave NE. I see kids biking on these roads because it's the only way out of their subdivision and it looks dangerous. If I lived there, my children couldn't walk to school, to the store, etc. Those winding, curvilinear, roads with houses on them that end in cul-de-sacs are really only drive-able.
Quote:
Of course, none of this has anything to do with commuting from the eastern part of Blaine to the northwest part of White Bear. I still maintain County J is a perfectly fine, non-congested route for such things.
Good point!
Last edited by Pisces69; 07-12-2012 at 04:01 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
