Crossing Kingshighway
In June I did a post about being unable to active a pedestrian signal at Kingshighway & Devonshire (see Pedestrian Signal Activation Button Beyond Reach). That button got relocated after I pointed out the absurd location. Last week I used the next crossing to the north, at Kingshighway & Sutherland. Yes, you guessed it, another pedestrian button not reachable from the sidewalk.
I eventually wheeled into the grass to press the button because it didn’t seem like it would change without doing so. Even after pressing the button it took many minutes to give the ok to cross the street.
A week earlier I spotted another problem button from the #11 (Chippewa) MetroBus.
The Chippewa button I emailed in to the Streets Dept while I was still on the bus. I’m notifying the city of the problem at Sutherland via this post. To be fair, many intersections are great for pedestrians.But we tend not to remember that which works like it should, we remember those that give us fits.
Eventually I hope to gather volunteers and do a pedestrian audit of an area — signals, crosswalks, ramps, etc. In the meantime I’ll catch them one at a time as I go about my daily life in various parts of St. Louis.
— Steve Patterson
These examples are difficult or impossible to activate for people with certain disabilities. For more-able-bodied pedestrians, the obstacles are significantly smaller, but still can be aggravating. But what I find most confusing, around here, is at intersections with more than one button, which street is each one for? Most other cities have signs with arrows, pointing toward the direction each one controls . . . .
Why wouldn’t the City inspect what they are paying for before the contractor gets paid? JZ71, the signs are supposed to have an arrow pointing which direction. They are to be provided with right or left arrows. Again, the City lets contractors get buy with shoddy work or lets the design engineers produce incorrect plans that the contractors follow blindly without consideration of the practical use of the signal. Same with the timing of the crosswalk . . . how long does it take the average person to walk or wheel across? Is this taken into consideration (especially on wide streets like Kingshighway at Forest Park Pkwy or Tucker.
This has “good enough” and “not my problem” written all over it. Pathetic…