In August I posted about An Infuriatingly Avoidable Accessibility Issue while trying to visit Art Saint Louis + Mississippi Mud, shared tenants at the Park Place building. Here are a couple of photos from that post:
April 2013. New door, new step, new sidewalk — all from 2011.August 2013: the tenant space finally leased but only yellow paint to highlight the glaring ADA issue
I’ve been checking to see any change and finally the other day something was different: a temporary ramp. I snapped the following photo and continued.
Temporary ramp first spotted on 12/17Two days later I returned with my digital level, the maximum slope is 8.3% (1:12) but this is 23.4% (100-76.6).
I was told by a tenant employee the building’s owner, The Lawrence Group, is “curing wood” to be used for their final solution. It’ll need to extend three times as far out to be ADA-compliant, the sides will also need to be sloped. This is necessary because the architects at The Lawrence Group forgot it was necessary to make this tenant space accessible as part of the $70 million dollar renovation of the building that opened in 2011.
Once I spot the next wood ramp in place I’ll check the slopes, take pics, and post again.
Not every crosswalk point in the city is marked with paint. Ninth Street at St. Charles St was such an example, a well-used point that was unmarked. Hotel guests cross here to reach the parking garage. But unmarked crossing points can inadvertently get blocked by motorists.
November 4th a VW Golf is parked blocking the ramp to cross 9th at St. Charles St.As seen from the opposite corner
The lane where the Golf is parked is has been marked as no parking for a long time, not sure why. On the morning of December 4th I met with traffic commissioner Steve Runde to discuss allowing parking on 9th, mentioning a crosswalk designation would be nice. The following morning it was already done!
By December 5th the crosswalk had been painted.
Should the crosswalk get blocked now it’ll be easier to get parking enforcement to issue a ticket. Once the parking meters get installed on 9th I’ll do another post.
Thanks to Steve Runde for listening and responding!
In the last couple of years the intersection of Clayton Rd & Clayton Ave, between the giant Amoco sign and Cheshire Inn, went on a much-needed road diet.
The dashed blue line shows the curb line that existed for decades. The new configuration puts these two perpendicular to each other, improving safety for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Click image to view map
The space gained from reducing the public right-of-way is now part of the Cheshire parking lot, see the related: Pedestrian Access Route to The Cheshire Easily Blocked. Finally there was a chance to improve this intersection and get it right. Well, it’s improved — no doubt about that. Unfortunately, it isn’t “right” given that it’s new construction.
Looking east across the new intersection. The ramps/detectable warnings point the user into traffic, not a straight line across.Looking west from the opposite side. Again, the detectable warnings are used to guide the visually-impaired. Wheelchair users need to approach ramps perpendicular.
In addition to the ramps/detectable warnings being poorly situated, there’s no crosswalk. Crosswalks help guide the visually-impaired and reinforce to motorists to look out for pedestrians crossing the street. Pedestrians have the right-of-way, motorists must yield to pedestrians.
The City of St. Louis either designed this, or approved the drawings of the contractor. Either way it’s pretty pathetic given how easy it would’ve been to do it right. What would be right? Just look at the nearly identical situation at Olive & Lindell.
The pedestrian is allowed to continue on a straight path with ramps, detectable warnings, and crosswalk that reinforce each other. Click image to see post from June 2012
I’m emailing this post to various officials, including 28th ward alderman Lyda Krewson, though it’s too late now without great expense.
The Cheshire on Clayton Road has been as we know it since the early 1960s. I hadn’t been to either the hotel or restaurant since either reopened in the last couple of years. I’d been to both a few times over my years in St. Louis, driving each time. I knew when I recently received the invite for an event at the Cheshire I’d take public transit and arrive as a pedestrian in my power chair. I also knew the current owner added a pedestrian route from the public sidewalk to the restaurant.
Before getting into the pedestrian access here’s a brief history:
In 1960, a man from another local family, Stephen J. Apted, bought the building and remodeled the restaurant into The Cheshire Inn, complete with authentic British art, antiques, furnishings and details. Hailing from a family of restaurateurs, Mr. Apted’s mother, Mrs. Florence Hulling, had started a comfortable cafeteria-style restaurant in the 1940?s called Miss Hulling’s which quickly grew and became a tradition in St. Louis.
Apted transformed The Cheshire Inn into one of the most popular and successful restaurants in St. Louis. A story in the St. Louis Globe Democrat on October 28, 1961 called it “the most unusual and inviting atmosphere in town.” Apted’s vision, though, was for something much larger. Legend has it that the entire Cheshire complex came from an idea developed when the Apteds visited an old tavern nestled in the back streets of London named Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Inspired, he chose to recreate the concept at the corner of Clayton Road and Skinker Boulevard for its proximity to Forest Park and easy highway access, a location that remains one of the property’s best attributes.
Four years after opening the new restaurant, Mr. Apted built The Cheshire Lodge and furnished it with antiques and collections from his world travels. British details were everywhere, from the long riding coats of the houseman to the English accents in the guestrooms. The glass enclosed, year-round pool/conservatory was the first of its kind in the city. The Cheshire’s horse-drawn carriage rides and double-decker bus became fixtures along the St. Louis streets. In the 1980’s the popular Fantasy Suites, including everything from the Safari Rainforest to the Treehouse at Sherwood Forest, were added to the experience. In its heyday, The Cheshire Inn & Lodge was the most popular restaurant and hotel in St. Louis.
In December 2010, the property was purchased by St. Louis-based Lodging Hospitality Management with the vision of restoring it to its former glory and updating it for today’s discriminating travelers. Over a period of seven months, the hotel underwent a multi-million dollar renovation reopening in August 2011. The result is stunning! In the fall of 2012, the historic restaurant building will re-open as well. The “new” Cheshire celebrates the great history of the hotel, preserving its charm and character while transforming it into a modern, luxury boutique hotel.
Like I said, I hadn’t been back since reopening, but I knew a pedestrian route existed. How did I know? In July a reader sent me a picture of a car blocking it!
I received this image of a Porsche squeezed into the unloading space between two disabled spots in July 2013, this is also part of the route to the public sidewalk, visible in background
I didn’t do a post using this picture because I hadn’t visited the site, I didn’t know the context. Last week I visited the Cheshire and ended up with a similar photo upon leaving. First let’s start with arrival.
The hotel on the west half of the site is an auto driveLooking toward the restaurant from the auto drive there’s no clear pedestrian pathHere’s the opening I was looking for!Looking toward the restaurant there’s now a clearly delineated pedestrian routeLooking back toward Clayton RdLooking back after crossing the drive right in front of the building
This was a great way to enter the property as a pedestrian, it also helps those walking to/from their vehicles — except when an “unruly” driver parks where they shouldn’t. Which brings me to when I was leaving…
A Mercedes C-Class managed to squeeze into the space left for the pedestrian routeA closer shot, maybe the driver just didn’t notice the crosswalk and opening in the fence? Not all drivers are very observant about their surroundings.I was observant enough to notice the two police-related items in the rear window!
I waited for about 10-15 minutes for the driver to come out, it was obvious to him at that point he shouldn’t have parked his car where he did. He was very apologetic, which immediately diffused my anger.
Some might say this is an enforcement issue but I say both examples of blocking the route could’ve been prevented. A bollard in the center at each point would physically prevent a car from being parked where it shouldn’t. I will make the owner, Lodging Hospitality Management, aware of the problem and my suggested solution. LHM is also the owners of Hilton St. Louis at the Ballparks, Union Station, Seven Gables in Clayton, and other hotels.
I applaud them for having a pedestrian route, now we just need to modify it so it remains useable.
In August 2010 a new Save-A-Lot grocery store opened in the St. Louis County municipality of Pagedale:
ST. LOUIS, August 5, 2010 – Save-A-Lot, a SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU) company, one of the nation’s leading hard discount carefully selected assortment grocery chains, has extended its commitment to a local neighborhood in need of access to fresh produce, dairy and meats with the opening of the first new grocery retailer in the Pagedale community in 40 years. The store is a result of a partnership with Beyond Housing, one of the St. Louis region’s leading providers of housing and support services for low-income families and homeowners.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of this new Save-A-Lot Food Store, which will serve thousands of families including hundreds in the Pagedale community,” says Chris Krehmeyer, president and CEO of Beyond Housing. “The opening of this store is another step toward our goal of providing families with access to necessities, such as groceries and bringing new jobs to the community.” (Save-A-Lot)
Pagedale is a low-income municipality that has long been ignored by for-profit developers.
The Save-A-Lot in 2010, set back from PageLooking from the front of the store out toward Page. Despite being very close there isn’t a safe accessible route.An ADA-compliant route does exist, but few will go the extra distance required to use it. The slope might be too steep to be ADA-compliant.The red line shows the accessible route from the bus stop to entry. Click image to view mapThe customer circled in red was headed west on Page, he took the shortest route.Looking west in 2010, the east end of the site was undevelopedLooking into the site in 2010, future development site on the left and Save-A-Lot parking on the rightIn this 2013 view you can now see the new development on the east end.
The new development includes a bank and senior apartments:
Mayor of Pagedale Mary Louise Carter looked on as Chris Krehmeyer, president and CEO of Beyond Housing, and Ron Barnes, Midwest BankCentre (MBC) chairman, recently unveiled the city’s first-ever full-service bank.
“This is a great day for the City of Pagedale,” Mayor Carter said. “This means convenience for our residents because they can now bank right in their own city at a financial institution with a long history of excellent service.” (St. Louis American)
Yes, a local bank branch can be very convenient.
Getting closer to the multi-story buildingGee, how do we get into the housing?Or into the bank? Clearly the drive-up window is more important than pedestrians getting to the entry.Senior housing as seen from Save-A-Lot’s entry. Can grandma navigate this using a walker?
I applaud Beyond Housing for investing in Pagedale, adding needed retail, banking, & housing. But the common “drive everywhere, walk nowhere” viewpoint is expressed in the design. As a result, I’m disappointed.
Numerous buildings were razed allowing them a clean slate. Nobody on the design team asked how a senior got from their apartment to the 1) bus, or 2) grocery store. Maybe they thought all low-income seniors have cars?
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