Mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 16, the Annual “Give to the Max” Day - and donate to the Hamline Midway Coalition!

Throughout the 24-hour period of 12:01am to 11:59pm on 11/16, one donor will be randomly chosen every hour to have $1,000 added to their donation. So donate during the dark underbelly of the night and in the dim predawn light!

What a great way to help make our neighborhood an even better place to live, learn, work, and play.

It’s easy. Donate using the box on the left, or:

1. Go to the Hamline Midway Coalition's page on GiveMN.org.

2. Enter your donation!

This is an exciting time for Hamline Midway residents who want to improve Mississippi River water quality! As part of the upcoming 2012 Residential Street Vitality Program (RSVP), residents whose streets will be reconstructed this summer (see map of Hewitt-Tatum RSVP Project) are eligible for FREE boulevard rain gardens with joint support from the City of St. Paul and the Capitol Region Watershed District. [Don't live in the Hewitt-Tatum RSVP area? You may be eligible to receive grant assistance from the Capitol Region Watershed District.]

A rain garden is a shallow, constructed depression to catch rainwater and allow it to infiltrate into the ground within 48 hours. Rain gardens contain plants that can tolerate standing water for several hours. Rain gardens help the Mississippi River's health by allowing water to infiltrate into the ground rather than run off into storm drains directly to the river. Boulevard rain gardens in this project are engineered to accept some stormwater run-off from the street.

For RSVP residents interested in having a boulevard rain garden, the City will install a curb cut, dig a depression into the boulevard, and put down mulch as part of the street repaving project for no extra cost. The watershed district will provide planting designs and free plants for residents to transplant into the rain garden. Residents are responsible for watering and maintaining the rain garden.   

Want to make your home and garage more secure? Download our new Residential Burglary Prevention Checklist for tips and tricks to trip up burglars. Get copies to distribute to your neighbors from Hamline Midway Coalition. Contact Faith at 651-494-7683 or faith@hamlinemidway.org.

Over 30 volunteers turned out for the first Green Alley Makeover on Saturday, September 24, 2011! The crew pulled weeds, pulled trees, disposed of garbage, mulched, and planted on 17 properties. Many thank-yous go out to neighbors, Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) members, Hamline Midway Coalition's Community Building Committee (CBC), and our Master Gardener Diane Fraser. The alley was transformed when trash-filled, overgrown, and untidy spaces were cleaned up and planted. Plus, some block residents connected for the first time while others strengthened their relationships throughout the process. Better neighbor connections and well-kept spaces can help prevent crime such as illegal dumping, graffiti, and residential burglaries.

The vision of the project was to support residents who want to improve their alleys for water quality, safety, food production, and aesthetics. This block on Charles Ave between Griggs and Syndicate got 20 property owners on board with a green alley pilot project, and in exchange, received organizing help and volunteer assistance for a Green Alley Work Day from the CBC and HMEG. One alley resident and work day volunteer expounded on the benefits of the event: "Many alley [spaces] that looked derelict now look clean and tended-to. I met neighbors I'd never spoken with before, and had great conversations with residents I almost never see. [Plus] I got to use a weed wrench!" Another volunteer said, "Extreme Alley Makeover should be the name of this program - beautiful transformations of neglected space!"

Hamline Midway Coalition has departed from its long-time home at the Hamline Park Building and is now located in the lower level of the Hamline Midway Library at 1558 West Minnehaha Avenue, just east of Snelling. We hope that this new location will be more convenient. Please stop by and see us!

All HMC board, committee, and working group meetings will now be held at the library.

HMC staff have new phone numbers and the old HMC phone and fax numbers will no longer be in service. Contact Michael Jon at 651-494-7682 and Faith at 651-494-7683.

Over the next several months, HMC will be working with the City of Saint Paul to find a new use for the Hamline Park Building. This process will begin with a Community Meeting on the Future of the Hamline Park Building: 7:00pm, Monday, October 10 at the Hamline Midway Library.

For more information, contact Michael Jon at 651-494-7682.

This summer over 700 people attended the Friendly Streets Block Parties presented by Hamline Midway Coalition and the Frogtown Neighborhood Association. The five block parties, held in July and August at various spots along Charles Avenue, introduced residents to a variety of techniques to make streets more attractive and safe. 

Block party attendees cast over 1700 “votes” on a series of 24 images of street design concepts, expressing their like, dislike, or ambivalence about traffic circles, bumpouts, speed bumps, bike boulevard striping and signage, alternative signalization, public art, and more. Additionally, over 200 people completed a detailed survey about street use, design concepts, and related ideas. Input gathered at the block parties will be used to guide the future design of Sherburne, Charles, and Edmund between Rice Street on the East and Aldine on the West.

To see more photos of the Friendly Street Block Parties, click here.

For more information about the Friendly Streets Initiative, contact Michael Jon Olson at michaeljon@hamlinemidway.org or 651-494-7682. 

What does it mean to "green" your alley? Residents recently packed the Hamline Midway Coalition's conference room in April of 2011 to explore this question, share ideas, and hear from experts in water quality and horticulture. The Hamline Midway Coalition's Community Building Committee (CBC), in partnership with the Hamline Midway Environment Group (HMEG), is supporting residents who want to improve their alleys for water quality, safety, food production, and aesthetics. Residents who get their neighbors on board with a green alley vision can get organizing help and volunteer assistance on alley work days from the CBC and HMEG. Contact us for more information.