Bike To Work Day Friday May 20th

As part of National Bike Month this week is Bike to Work Week and tomorrow is Bike to Work Day. Consider getting out that bike and riding to work tomorrow:

To celebrate National Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 20, join Trailnet for a free continental breakfast for bike commuters at various Refueling Stations around St. Louis. Breakfast will be served 6:30 – 9:00 a.m.

TRAILNET REFUELING STATION LOCATIONS INCLUDE:

Missouri History Museum: 5700 Lindell Boulevard

Creve Coeur: 12166 Conway Road

Missouri Botanical Gardens: 4344 Shaw Boulevard

Downtown St. Louis:1011 Locust

Delmar Loop: 6133 Delmar Boulevard

Central West End Station: West Pine at Euclid

Downtown Clayton: 7711 Bonhomme Avenue

Children’s Hospital: 1 Children’s Place

DeMun: 700 DeMun Avenue

Presented by: Great Rivers Greenway

In Partnership With: Bike St. Louis, Big Shark Bicycle Co., City of Creve Coeur, CIty of St. Louis, Companion Baking, Downtown Bicycle Station, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri History Museum, Moonrise Hotel, Pedal the Cause, and Urban Shark.

Being the critic I can’t help but notice the western bias of the fueling stations. The persons living in the Baden (north) or Carondelet (south) areas and heading to say midtown or downtown are basically out of luck.  When I lived in Dutchtown (south) I commuted by bike three days a week to I-70 & Union (north) in 1999. Come on, Children’s Hospital and Pine @ Euclid just blocks apart but nothing north and only the Botanical Gardens south.  Hopefully 2012 will see better coverage for these refueling stations.

– Steve Patterson

Readers OK With Cardinals 1966 Move Away From Sportsman’s Park

Last week readers weighed in on their thoughts on the 1966 relocation of the former Sportsman’s Park.  The single answer with the most responses goes along with my thought the Cardinals should have rebuilt rather than move downtown, but looking at all the answers it is clear readers support the move:

1. A great neighborhood ballpark, the Cardinals should have rebuilt at Dodier & Grand 23 [25%]
2. No opinion 15 [16.3%]
3. No choice but to move: the area was changing fast. 15 [16.3%]
4. Like people would have continued going to North St. Louis for a Cards game 14 [15.22%]
5. No choice but to move: too little parking and the streetcar line was replaced with buses in 1960. 10 [10.87%]
6. Other answer… 9 [9.78%]
7. A good neighborhood ballpark but it was no Wrigley Field 6 [6.52%]

It is the nine other answers provided by readers I find interesting:

1. How is this relevant to anyone?
2. A great ballpark that would’ve helped a great neighborhood evolve.
3. Cards set a popular trend moving downtown, too bad about Hop Alley though.
4. moving was part of a larger plan to destroy the northside
5. Looks like a great ballpark!
6. Best move ever, Busch II was a great stadium.
7. Why not look to the future? Use the space for something great for the city.
8. By buliding the new stadium downtown, really revitalized the downtown area.
9. Gave some definition to downtown – robbing NSTL to make the investment downtown.

Not sure where to start.  Relevant because the decision to relocate removed a source of revenue & jobs from one part of the city and placed it in another part that was bought and cleared via urban renewal.  We can’t undo the past but we can learn from our mistakes.

I don’t believe their was a plan to destroy the north side, that was just a casualty of the times. Busch Stadium II did not “revitalize” downtown, far from it.  A huge area was razed for the stadium, garages and other buildings.  The stadium did not create new development in that part of downtown.  MetroLink and renovations of nearby historic warehouses in Cupples Station a quarter center later helped offset the dead zone created in 1966.

– Steve Patterson

Cafe Tables Forcing Pedestrians Into Sidewalk Furnishing Zone

The steps of the Merchandise Mart building on Washington Ave between 10th & 11th create two points where the sidewalk gets restricted.  Otherwise there is room for pedestrians in the main part of the sidewalk with the outer “furnishing zone” left for bike racks and trees. Let’s look at how sidewalks are zoned:

Streetside Zones and Buffering

This chapter addresses the design of sidewalks and the buffers between sidewalks, moving traffic, parking and/or other traveled-way elements. The streetside consists of the following four distinct functional zones:

1. Edge zone—the area between the face of curb and the furnishing zone that provides the minimum necessary separation between objects and activities in the streetside and vehicles in the traveled way;

2. Furnishings zone—the area of the streetside that provides a buffer between pedestrians and vehicles, which contains landscaping, public street furniture, transit stops, public signage, utilities and so forth;

3. Throughway zone—the walking zone that must remain clear, both horizontally and vertically, for the movement of pedestrians. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) establishes a minimum width for the throughway zone; and

4. Frontage zone—the distance between the throughway and the building front or private property line that is used to buffer pedestrians from window shoppers, appurtenances and doorways. It contains private street furniture, private signage, merchandise displays and so forth and can also be used for street cafes. This zone is sometimes referred to as the “shy” zone.

The new restaurant Prime 1000 has changed the situation on the east end of the 1000 block of Washington Ave.

Tables and chairs now fill the sidewalk space, forcing pedestrians into the furnishing zone area.  If anyone were to use the bike racks the sidewalk would not be passable.

I’m a huge fan of sidewalk dining but this doesn’t work.  Perhaps one of the bike racks should be moved to the east of the steps to the restaurant, and the other just removed or relocated to another block or on 10th?

The other issue is the tables and chairs used  – they are too high for anyone seated in a wheelchair.  At least one regular height table should be available for disabled customers to be able to enjoy outside seating.  Lucas Park Grille & Flannery’s, both further west, also have high tables only.

– Steve Patterson

Where is Dogtown?

I know where Dogtown is in St. Louis, but that wasn’t always the case.

Looking at the city’s list of neighborhoods you won’t find a listing for “Dogtown”

Dogtown is generally the three areas known officially as Clayton Tamm, Ellendale and Franz Park.  Does anyone outside these three areas use these names? Doubtful.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Should Zoo-Museum Institutions Offer Discounts to City & County Residents?

Interesting story in the paper last week:

Property owners in St. Louis and St. Louis County paid more than $70 million last year for the region’s premier arts and culture attractions. But when it comes time to visit institutions funded through the zoo-museum tax district, they’re often treated the same as people who didn’t pay a dime.

Now, a member of the public board that supervises the 40-year-old tax district is asking whether that’s fair.

Gloria Wessels recently suggested that four of the five institutions funded by the zoo-museum district offer discounts on parking, concessions and special exhibits to visitors who live in the taxing district. If necessary, those discounts could be funded through price increases for visitors who live outside the district, she said. (STLToday)

Gloria Wessels is the wife of long 26-year alderman Fred Wessels (D-13). Should those of us who pay taxes to fund these attractions get a little something others don’t? The Missouri Botanical Garden already allows city & county resident in for free on Wednesday & Saturday mornings.  The article points out the logistical nightmare of trying to verify who would qualify for free parking.  Besides the last thing we need is to encourage is more cars trying to get to the zoo & museum.

During its thirty-seven years of operation the District’s annual tax revenue has increased from $3.9 million dollars in 1972 to more than $72 million dollars in 2009. In recent years, approximately 85% of the tax revenues come from the County taxpayers while City residents provide 15% of the District’s tax revenues.

The expansion of the number of Subdistricts from three to five is indicative of the success and vitality of the original concept of a tax supported cultural district. Today, the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District is, perhaps, the largest tax supported cultural district in this country. It is a model that other cities have often attempted to emulate. (mzdstl.org)

The five subdistricts are the Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Zoological Park, Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis Science Center and Missouri History Museum.

The poll this week asks you to weigh in on this issue. The poll is in the upper right of the blog.

– Steve Patterson