Coming Soon to Kingshighway & Delmar: More Low-Density Sprawl

The site of the former National/Schnucks at Kingshighway & Delmar, long vacant, has now been cleared for new development. I’ve viewed the site as an opportunity to build a dense urban project, ideally connected with a Delmar extension of the future Loop Trolley. But current plans may delay dense development of the 4+ acre site for at least the next 20-30 years.

But ALDI doesn’t need over 4 acres! Looking at city records online I see The Roberts Brothers has divided the site into three parcels, with ALDI buying one of the three.

The boundaries of the three parcels is intriguing, my guess is so all three can have automobile  entrances facing Kingshighway, or at least a Kingshighway address.  This new store will be part of three recently announced locations also including Creve Coeur & Des Peres (source).

My assumption is this Kingshighway & Delmar location will replace the ALDI less than a mile to the north at Kingshighway & Page (1315 Aubert).

Below is a look at a few ALDI locations in the area, showing size of parcel, year built, and the building size:

The most recently completed ALDI on the list above is the 7701 Olive location. I visited that ALDI in May 2006, shortly after it opened.

This is how ALDI builds US locations from coast to coast. For example, in late 2010 a blogger noted the design for a dense Washington DC neighborhood (see Terrible Aldi design shows need for new parking zoning). As with so many retailers, they’ll do the cheapest design they can, barely meeting minimum standards. If we want/expect better we must demand better — raising the minimum. Retailers will meet the improved standard as long as they can get sales & profit growth.     ALDI does have a few urban locations, but only in super-dense places like Queens, NY.

And before anyone says ALDI and Trader Joe’s are part of the same company let me clarify their relationship.

The [ALDI] chain is made up of two separate groups, Aldi Nord (North – operating as Aldi Markt), with its headquarters in Essen, and Aldi Süd (South – operating as Aldi Süd), with its headquarters in Mülheim an der Ruhr, which operate independently from each other within specific areas.

[snip]

Both Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd also operate in the United States; Aldi Nord is owner of the Trader Joe’s chain while Aldi Süd operates as Aldi. (Wikipedia)

Thus the ALDI we see in the US is NOT related to our Trader Joe’s stores. Another difference between our ALDI stores and our Trader Joe’s is the latter is willing to go compact in dense, walkable areas. For example, the Trader Joe’s I visited in 2009 located at 1700 E Madison St, Seattle, WA.  The store is located on the ground floor with sidewalk entrance, a level of structured parking over the store and four levels of housing over that.

Madison St. in Seattle still has low-density development, like the gas station across from the Trader Joe’s, but one property at a time it is getting more urban. As it gets more urban it attracts more people, increasing the need to be more urban.

Back in St. Louis, we do the opposite. We continue to build low-density sprawl, then scratch our heads wondering why more people don’t walk, use transit, or why our population declines. I’m not suggesting development patterns are the reason for our population decline in the past, but it is a factor today.

A single story ALDI surrounded by surface parking on this corner is totally inappropriate given the context to the east and south.

— Steve Patterson

Wheelchair Users Unable To Pay Parking Fee With Credit Card

Just weeks before Tishaura Jones was sworn into the office of St. Louis Treasurer I posted about a problem with a city-owned parking lot on Olive (see Wheelchair Users Unable To Pay Parking Fee In City Parking Lot). In that post I showed how disabled drivers that use wheelchairs would be unable to pay the central machine.

At the time the city said they planned for the two disabled spaces to be free of charge, so disabled users didn’t need ADA-compliant access to the machine. The other night I noticed the city installed two old fashioned parking meters between the two disabled spaces.

Problem solved, right? Wrong! This means those parking in the two disabled spots must carry coins to feed the parking meter while everyone else gets the option to pay by coin or credit card.

The city made an error and didn’t consider disabled users. Then in trying to fix their error on the cheap they created a problem of inequality.
— Steve Patterson

Poll: We Get The Infrastructure…

I got the idea for the poll this week from the comments on the post from last Monday: Former River Roads Mall Site Vacant, the Few New Buildings Aren’t Pedestrian Friendly. One person thinks we have what we want, if we didn’t we’d move somewhere else. 

I disagree, but I want to see how you feel about it. This week I ask that you select the sentence that comes closest to matching your view. Here are the options:

1. We get the infrastructure in our communities that most of us want and use.
2. We get the infrastructure that was commonplace years ago, but outdated today.
3. We get the infrastructure that makes developers the most money.
4. We get the infrastructure we want only if we fight for/demand better.
5. We get the infrastructure we get because most people don’t know other options exist.
6. Unsure/No Answer.

The poll, in right sidebar, will randomize the order in which these appear. Infrastructure in this context means the built environment: roads, sidewalks, parks, buildings, etc.

Discuss in the comments below.

— Steve Patterson

National Train Day In Two Weeks: Saturday May 11th

Like trains? Two weeks from today is National Train Day across the country with many events, the St. Louis event will be at the station in Kirkwood (map):

Station open house at the historic former Missouri Pacific depot adjacent to the busy Union Pacific main line with displays from the National Museum of Transport, Kirkwood Historical Society, Big Bend Model Railroad Club, Kirkwood Fire Dept., Union Pacific Railroad Special Agents and National Railway Historical Society among others. Rail safety information display by Missouri Operation Lifesaver. An operating model train layout will be on display along with a telegraph display and demonstration from the Morse Telegraph Club. Food will be available from the Kirkwood Optimist Club. Amtrak will have a drawing for tickets to Chicago or Kansas City. Live music will be performed after 10am. (Amtrak)

Sounds like a fun day!

— Steve Patterson

Metered Parking Space Ends Unclear To Some Drivers

It’s been 30+ years since I took driver’s ed in high school so I don’t recall what we learned about parallel parking. My guess is it focused on the mechanics of backing into a space between two cars. I do remember having to parallel park for my driver’s exam, we had to go to Will Rogers World Airport because no where else in south Oklahoma City had parallel parking.

It seems to me it isn’t common knowledge that spaces exist from meter to meter. When I took the above picture there were no other cars in front of or behind. I’ve seen people drive up and park this way simply because they don’t know any better. Not sure what they do in places like the 12xx-17xx blocks of Washington Ave where two meters are grouped to reduce the number of poles.

The Missouri license exam also focuses on the mechanics, but not identification of what is a space:

2. Park parallel to the curb, in a space 25 feet long and 7 feet wide. You will be tested for:

• The position of your vehicle before backing.
• Whether or not you bump into the space markers.
• Moving into the space smoothly and at the right speed. • Parking no more than 18” from the curb.
• Parking near the center of the space.
• Ability to park the vehicle within two minutes.
• Turning the wheels in the correct direction for parking.
• Checking traffic and signaling before you leave the parking space.

Testing to make sure you get in the center of the space, the driver above may think they nailed it.

The obvious fix is to do what Clayton does, paint lines on the pavement to indicate the space start and end. But that would require lots of labor since the city has thousands of metered spaces. My preference is to remove the individual meters and go to a pay and display system:

Pay and display systems differ from road-side parking meters in that one machine can service multiple vehicle spaces, resulting in lower set up costs. In addition, this system theoretically prevents drivers from taking advantage of parking meters that have time remaining; this factor alone has doubled parking revenues in cities that have switched to pay and display.(A driver may occasionally take advantage of remaining time should a departing parker give away a ticket with remaining time, however.)

Message reads “This machine will calculate the correct parking period for whatever value of coins you insert subject to a minimum charge of 40p and a maximum of £9.60”

In addition, pay and display machines can also accept a wider variety of coins, and many even accept credit cards, making it unnecessary for drivers to carry large amounts of change. The use of credit cards has another advantage – the machines do not have to be emptied of coins as often, and the costs of counting coin and possible pilfering by employees who empty the parking meters also reduces their overall costs. (Wikipedia)

With pay and display you don’t have designated spaces, sometimes allowing for more cars to fit into a given area. However, you can still end up with drivers that park too far from another vehicle, reducing the number of cars that’ll fit.

In the meantime, I’d like to see these motorists get a warning along with an educational piece explaining how to park at parking meters.

— Steve Patterson