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1^.31 <br />M I • <br />V>| • <br />A slower <br />approach to <br />traffic woes <br />gains speed <br />Engineer: Building bigger <br />roads worit work anymore <br />By Laufie Blake <br />Star Tribune Staff Writer <br />The asphalt rebellion has arrived in the Twin <br />Cities. <br />Fueled by concern about speeding traffic, streets <br />are being narrowed to slow cars down: bike and bus <br />lanes are growing by the mile, and on-street parking <br />is m^ng a comeback. <br />^ding the uprising is Walter Kulash, a consulting <br />engineer with the unorthodox view that drivers mav <br />be happier on streets that don't move as many cars <br />as possible as fast as possible. <br />In growing demand nationwide by urban plan­ <br />ners looking to rejuvenate aging cities and suburbs, <br />Kulash, based in Orlando, Fla., has become a regu ­ <br />lar consultant in the Twin Cities area. He prescribes <br />slower speeds, prettier streets and the construction <br />of iight-rail transit for the traffic problems here. <br />“For years, all we heard from the cities and <br />towns that are our clients is, ‘More asphalt, more <br />streets, Kulash said. “Now a lot of the very same <br />cities that thought their mission was to get people <br />in and out as fast as possible have begun to realize <br />what a mistake that was. “ <br />Many cities now see the enormous value of <br />neighborhoods, and they want streets to support <br />them, he said. Some cities are looking for designs <br />that make a street a prestigious corporate and retail <br />address. Some are ooking for street designs that <br />make the most of natural features. <br />Turn to TRAFFIC on B4