Our library system is wonderful, I feel fortunate to live just two blocks from the magnificent Central Library, which recently had a $70 million dollar renovation. Returning a few items the other day when the library wasn’t open I realized the renovation included a new return box.
There I am on the sidewalk in my wheelchair looking for the slot to slide the items in.
East side of the after hours book return at the Central LibraryThe return slots are only accessible from Locust Street, not the sidewalk
I had previously assumed the ramp you see behind the library return box was for passenger loading/unloading, but perhaps it is so pedestrians could easily get into the street to return books & videos.
Most other libraries in St. Louis have easily accessed return boxes, not requiring competing with moving traffic. Here are a few examples:
Central Express 4 blocks east of CentralBaden, far north cityKingshighway at SouthwestBuder, south Hampton
Does someone at the St. Louis Public Library think everyone downtown drives everywhere? Returning books a few blocks away means getting in the car? Another day I asked a librarian at the circulation desk who confirmed they only have the one return box.
It appears the new book return is accessed from below so librarians don’t need to go out with a cart to retrieve items, a wise choice given the volume at Central. Not providing a way for pedestrians to return items without having to enter the street is yet another example how everyone involved either 1) drives and didn’t consider the pedestrian viewpoint or 2) deliberately made a decision to make returns a challenge for pedestrians.
As I’ve done for the last month, this is another post on potential development sites along the proposed initial route of the St. Louis Streetcar. The sections already reviewed are as follows:
This post continues west to the end of the first phase of the route, starting at Lindell & Vandeventer to Lindell & Taylor, south on Taylor to Children’s place at the BJC hospital complex and next to the Central West End MetoBus Transit Center & MetroLink station (map).
Longtime readers know I’ve advocated a modern streetcar line for years connecting Downtown, Midtown/Grand Center, Central West End, and the Loop. My preferred route was to go north on Vandeventer then west on Delmar. I’d still like to see a streetcar on Delmar. Other options to go north from the current proposed route are at Sarah and/or Taylor. I’d like to see a decision made about future expansion so the track can be added onto without disrupting the Lindell route.
Anyway, here’s a look going west from Vandeventer:
This Rally’s was built in 1993 on nearly a third of an acre site with streets on three sides (Lindell, Vandeventer, & McPherson. The land & building are owned by a firm in San Diego, CA. Given the short life expectancy of such a structure I’d expect a more urban building on this site in the first 5 years of the streetcar line.Next door the American Automobile Association of Missouri is renovating their iconic former headquarters building. CVS is building a drugstore on the west end of the site.The apartments at 3949 Lindell are being rebuilt after a 2012 fire, this is an August 2008 photo. More development of this scale will become the norm along the route, it’ll be a 10-20 year process, not overnight.A number of buildings occupy smaller lots on the south side of Lindell, these do a poor job of connecting with the sidewalkThis McDonald’s was built in 2008 on a site that is nearly an acre. McDonald’s owns the site so I wouldn’t expect to see a change for 20-30 years unless the land value increases dramatically and drive-thru sales collapseThis building, The Continental, was built in 1965. City records indicate it has 49 apartments. Density is good but it isn’t welcoming. New facade? Raze & replace?The Arby’s on Lindell, built in 2007, is also on nearly an acre siteThis American Red Cross building has good mass & density, but a poor relationship with the public sidewalk, typical for 1966.The former mansion at 4054 Lindell was built in 1896. It appears to be in decent condition so perhaps it’ll get a new owner or be razed for something more urban.The apartment building at 4066 Lindell, built in 1927, has 68 apartments. As is it provides affordable units, but renovation to go upmarket is possible, displacing low-income tenants in the process.The part of Lindell Marketplace on the east side of Sarah sits on 4.8 acres. The will get razed & redeveloped into a dense mixed-use site before the larger site to the west due to fewer tenants to inconvenience.With three outlots included, Lindell Marketplace on the west side of Sarah has 9.3 acres. It is bounded on all sides by public streets, built in 1986. Multiple ownership, anchor tenant Schnucks, and many small tenants complicate redevelopment.This Jack-In-The-Box at 4111 Lindell, built in 2011, occupies one of the three outlets.CVS wanted to raze the former Public Housing Authority building at 4100 Lindell but there was opposition. Hopefully it’ll get a nice renovation that respects the original 1957 design. I picture a ground floor restaurant with a lush patio out front, offices or apartments 0n upper floors.The 1948 building next door is more likely to get replaced than renovated.4158 Lindell is from 1948 but I see no reason why a developer shouldn’t raze it and build a mixed-use building. The Leonardo Apartments to the west is on a smaller lot and contains 34 apartments.The Walgreens at 4200 Lindell was built in 2002 on a massive 1.8 acre site. I see this as being a perfect location for Walgreens’ new upscale urban flagship format, complete with a fresh sushi bar, in a multi-story mixed-use building. Click photo for article about this new format.I’d like to see the American Cancer Society lease part of their ground floor to activate the NW corner of Lindell & Whittier StThis one-story branch bank was built in 1995 when SLU bought & razed the branch at Lindell & Grand. The site is 0.75 acres.In 2009 the San Luis Hotel was razed for a parking lot. Hopefully we’ll eventually see a new building on this siteThe Boatman’s Bank on Lindell in 1990-91, now a Bank of America, is very disconnected to Lindell.The NE corner of Lindell & Euclid was built in 1968. A high-rise was planned for this site when the economy crashed.The SW corner of Lindell & Euclid has been a parking lot for 20+ yearsThe parking lots on the east side of Kingshighway should also be considered for developmentThe west end of phase 1 would be next to the open air CWE MetroBus Transit CenterThis street would be the initial west end point, nearly zero development potential unless you’re willing to raze a garage built in 1994
There’s much more development potential here than I originally thought, but with mixed-use projects like 3949 Lindell and the planned City Walk (with a Whole Foods) it could be argued the streetcar is needed in other areas to get development rolling.
Future installments in this series will look at:
Development potential in the downtown central business district
Some challenge/changes the streetcar will create
And a poll(s) on routes for future expansion
Still, I’m excited by the transit the streetcar could provide as well as the level of development it could spur.
Map source: Explore St. Louis, click to view original
Lately I’ve been posting about the St. Louis Streetcar, a proposed modern streetcar line that’d primarily serve the central corridor from Downtown west to the Central West End. Though the proposed streetcar route includes a spur into North St. Louis, I believe north & south sides of the city have tended to get the short end of the transit infrastructure stick. Our Metrolink light rail opened 20 years ago serving the central part of the city, and the streetcar will double-down on this area.
I’ll personally benefit since I live downtown, but I’d like better transit options for reaching destinations in north & south city. I recognize many people might live say in north city but work in south city, or vice versa. Existing bus routes like the #70 (Grand) only partially fills the transit needs of the city.
Improvement options I’ve listed in the poll are:
Nothing, doesn’t need improving
Run existing buses more frequently
Reduce/eliminate fares
Bigger articulated buses for the busiest routes
Buses that go from diesel in the county to electric via overhead wires in the city
Bus rapid transit (BRT) lines serving city neighborhoods
In-street modern streetcar lines serving city neighborhoods
In-street light rail lines running through the city to connect to the county
These answers will be presented in random order in the poll (right sidebar), you can select up to 3 choices. You’ll have the option to provide your own answer as well.
A number of years ago East-West Gateway Council of Governments studied light rail lines through North & South St. Louis to reach North & South St. Louis County, respectively, but it went no further.
So please vote in the poll, located to the right, and share your thoughts in the comments below. I’ll share my views when I post the poll results on Wednesday July 3rd.
Q: Ald Bosley sent a letter to supporters asking for help paying the remaining $14,276 private college tuition for his daughter he couldn’t cover. Reaction:
Bosley has lost the public trust, he should resign 58 [42.03%]
Missouri legislature should tighten ethics laws 43 [31.16%]
If constituents are upset, they should start a recall campaign 23 [16.67%]
Meh, no big deal 11 [7.97%]
Unsure/no opinion 3 [2.17%]
Ok, “only” 42% said he should resign, not a majority. But I’m pretty sure many of the 31% who picked the answer about state ethics laws wouldn’t mind if Bosley resigned.
But he’s not going to do so. Why? He has no clue how out of touch he really is, the original letter is proof of that. Unfortunately, he’ll be in office until he’s dead or physically incapacitated.
Last month I posted how the St. Louis Hills Medical Center violates the ADA. In short, the building’s original design predated the ADA by a few decades and the 2008 renovations didn’t fix the problem. Here are a few photos from that post:
The original 1950s entrance wasn’t accessible to all.The route to a new entrance contains a flight of stairs, also not accessible to all.
Since that post I met with a representative of the building owner as well as Eddie Roth, Director of Operations in the mayor’s office.
A drawing on the building website shows what should’ve been built, the private sidewalk from the space next door was supposed to be continue in front of the original entry, eliminating the steps.Here’s the original entry again with the new sidewalk next door circled in red, the walk to the original entry is also newish concrete.Here’s the view next door looking toward the old entrance.
During the construction work a few years ago someone made a decision to not follow the architect’s design, resulting in lack of ADA-compliance.
The owner’s representative indicated the building remains vacant, and they aren’t interested in making changes. If only they’d followed the architect’s plans there would be no problems gaining access into the building from the public sidewalk.
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