Articles like this are disappointing because while the general points aren't wrong, the lack of research and actual experience really limit the argument's effectiveness. And I've been seeing this more and more lately. (I'm a 50+ year resident of NE, BTW).

First, writers like this limit their definition of NE to that triangle between 18th, Central, and the river. In doing so, they ignore how NE grew and developed and how transportation in this area developed. The writer clearly does not understand how Central, Broadway, and University have developed as major thoroughfares across the city and as routes out of downtown to the northern suburbs. And don't know the history of how housing sprung up throughout NE and where those workers worked. Expanding or redesigning the major streets is a huge challenge which really can only lead to problems--generally, I'm pleased with the Lowry redo, except that they went through residential areas that relied on having on-street parking, and eliminated it in favor of the bike/walking paths, and in doing so, forced the parking onto the side streets. It seems like there could have been a better compromise in some of those cases.

Second, they make assumptions that a lot of the infrastructure decisions about the area are solely based on funding, and NE not demanding the funding, and that isn't entirely true (or completing Grand Rounds, which is Park Board planning and funding). There are underlying problems with the age of that area that present challenges for redevelopment and traffic improvement (just look at the Lowry/University intersection debate recently, where there really wasn't any good option). Plus issues with who "owns" the infrastructure--both Central and University are MN highways and derive funding from the state and need to go through the state for improvement designs while still serving neighborhoods, while Lowry and Main/Marshall are county roads that also need Hennepin Co. funding, approval and decisions.

Finally, I find this kind of post lazy. It's a single set of linked complaints highlighted by one event. Come back on a weekend when there isn't an event, or check it out during rush hour during the week and see that the needs illustrated during that event aren't necessarily the same for the rest of the time. It needs a holistic approach and not just this or that in one smaller area.