St. Louis’ Riverfront Reopening Next Week

We’re all invited to a riverfront picnic next week, Thursday June 2nd.  No blanket needed — a 2,016 foot-long table will be set up, chairs provided.

From the official press release:

Great Rivers Greenway, the City of St. Louis, CityArchRiver Foundation and other partners invite residents from across the region to join them in celebrating the transformation of the St. Louis riverfront on Thursday, June 2. The organizations will be hosting a “Picnic on the Riverfront” event from 5:00 to 8:45 p.m., which will feature St. Louis’ largest-ever community picnic – complete with a 2,016-foot-long table with chairs – to commemorate the opening of the new riverfront beneath the Gateway Arch.

The official ribbon cutting on June 2 will begin at 5 p.m. on the overlook stage along Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, with remarks from dignitaries and partners. Afterward, attendees can explore the nearby Mississippi Greenway, enjoy local music and educational activities for kids and purchase dinner from food trucks and other vendors. People are also welcome to bring their own picnic meal. An interfaith blessing will kick off dinner at 6:15 p.m., followed by an aerial photo of all the picnickers. The event will end with a brief fireworks display at 8:30 p.m.

“This new front door for our region celebrates the energy, adventure and awe of the mighty Mississippi and our iconic Gateway Arch,” said Susan Trautman, Executive Director of Great Rivers Greenway, the regional parks and trails district and lead agency on the project. “We invite people to bring their friends, family and neighbors from all parts of the region to celebrate.”

The renovation of the 1.5-mile stretch of riverfront includes the recently rebuilt Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard and extension of the Mississippi Greenway from the Biddle Street Trailhead south to Chouteau Avenue, with protected walking and biking paths. The entire riverfront was elevated an average of almost two feet to limit flooding, returning more days of the year back to the community for walking, riding bikes, sightseeing and special events. While the historic elements were preserved, such as the cobblestones lining the levee; new amenities such as benches, bike racks, lights, power outlets and a street-level stage will make the space more inviting for events and programs. The lineup for this summer and fall includes bike rides, walk/run events, the St. Louis Brewers Guild Heritage Festival, a free concert series with The Sheldon, swap meets and more.

Earlier this month, on May 8th, my husband and I decided to check on the progress from the Eads Bridge. First though, a photo from September 2015:

So bring food, buy from food trucks, or just show up on June 2nd. I’m looking forward to exploring from end to end. Access is best from Chouteau or Laclede’s Landing Blvd (under the King Bridge).

For more event information see:

• Great Rivers Greenway
• CityArchRiver

I’ll do a complete review after completion.

— Steve Patterson

Downtown>Hampton>IKEA>Downtown Part 2

Yesterday, in Part 1, I talked about the two different transit I’d taken (MetroLink, #90 & #32 MetroBus) and issues faced as a pedestrian trying to navigate in between.  I’d made it to IKEA for shopping, followed by lunch.

I checked the transit options, it would be a while before a MetroBus stopped out front. Plus, that would only get me to Lindell where I’d have to wait in the rain for the #10. The Grand MetroLink is closer than the CWE MetroLink, but Forest Park is the most direct route and I recall some access issues the last time. Plus, my transfer from earlier was now long expired.

No matter what I’d be in the rain, so I decided to just roll home — 2.9 miles. I’ve done it a few times before, though not in the rain. I’m still wearing a poncho to keep me and the controller on my chair dry. My shoes, however, get soaked.  North on Vandeventer to Lindell. I stayed on the West side of Vandeventer because I’m bot sure if the city ever got around to the huge gaps in front of the curb ramps on the NE corner of Vandeventer & Forest Park. At Lindell, I checked the schedule again — I can get home before the next bus would arrive.

Because of the rain I only took a few pictures. The following week I took the bus to Lindell & Spring to backtrack and take pictures of things I saw in the rain.

Used to be — but no curb ramp is missing for the nearly 3 mile trip. If I tried to use Locust there are many missing curb ramps.

I still fail to understand why all the cost of the buttons when they don’t need to be pushed in the East-West direction. And why have to press a button to get a walk signal when vehicles from side streets get a green light?  This is how we’ve spent money — building infrastructure that frustrates this pedestrian!

— Steve Patterson

Downtown>Hampton>IKEA>Downtown Part 1

The morning of April 6th I had a 9am appointment on Hampton Ave, between Columbia & Elizabeth. It was raining off and on that day. Today’s post is about the journey there & back.

I had originally planned to take MetroBus there, but I didn’t have any two-hour passes so I’d get a transfer for the 2nd bus. So I went to the Union Station MetroLink station, purchased a few passes, validated one, boarded a Westbound train to the Forest Park MetroLink station. Just before a Southbound #90 (Hampton) MetroBus arrived it began to sprinkle. I left home in a poncho to keep  and my wheelchair’s controller dry.

After taking care of business at two places on Hampton, I wanted to visit IKEA to shop and have lunch. The most direct route was a short ride on a Northbound #90 (Hampton) MetroBus, then take a #32 (Chouteau-Manchester) MetroBus to Vandeventer. But when I was ready to leave it was going to be a while before the next #90 arrived, I might as well just roll it.

I’ve gone up to Clayton Ave before, so I knew  I could manage — it was about 3/4 of a mile from my starting point to Lloyd Ave. where I’d go right to make my way down to Manchester (map).   As I turned off Hampton onto Lloyd I was pleasantly surprised a sidewalk existed — I wasn’t sure that would be the case. However, a the bottom of the hill there was no sidewalk along Sulphur. Well, there is along the East side, but because of curbs, I couldn’t get to it.

At this point I had two options:

1. Roll on the Sulphur Ave roadway, or
2. Go back up to Hampton, cross, reach Manchester on the other side.

Looking at the time I thought I’d miss the next #32 if I went with the safer #2 option. So, when there was no traffic I quickly rolled South to Manchester. Whew…

So the #32 MetroBus came right on time, my transfer was still valid, and it had stopped raining. I’d get off at Vandeventer Ave and roll North to IKEA — about a half a mile. So I got off at the last MetroBus stop before Vandeventer Ave., just had to cross one side street first.

Combined with public transit, I can cover miles as a pedestrian in my wheelchair — though our public rights-of-way are far from ideal. Looking at Google Maps it suggests using Sarah to reach IKEA instead of Vandeventer — no matter where you start from: Commerce, QuikTrip, Laclede Cab, even JJs Clubhouse! Yes, if you’re at Vandeventer & Market where you can see IKEA it suggests you cross Vandeventer and go West on Clayton Road to Sarah.

This isn’t a lack of money issue — it’s a lack of concern issue. Money is spent building infrastructure that doesn’t work for actual users. This mentality needs to change!

Tomorrow’s post will be about my trip back downtown from IKEA.

— Steve Patterson

An Open Letter To St. Louis’ Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, Jamie Wilson

Jamie,

This open letter is in response to your February email reply regarding my posts St. Louis Fails At Crosswalks, Part 1 and Part 2. You wrote:

Thanks for your input on the crosswalks. I’m working on improving our pedestrian facilities and we will get better. Please feel free to send me other locations you’ve noticed besides those mentioned. I’d also value any pics you may have from other cities in your travels that have different approaches.

Since you asked, I put together information on problems I’ve seen here in St. Louis, along with solutions I’ve seen in other cities. I’m making this open to increase public awareness and discussion. It does cause me concern that a “traffic engineer” is in charge of pedestrian & bike issues — it is traffic engineering that has made it such a liability to be a pedestrian or cyclist in this city & region. This is reflected in pedestrian deaths.

That said, I do know engineers can do good work — when they think like pedestrians instead of drivers! The Portland Pedestrian Design Guide, dated June 1998, is a great place for you to start your re-education. Yes, a document nearly two decades old shows how far behind St. Louis is when it comes to addressing the needs pedestrians.

Here’s my initial list — in no particular order:

1. Do not require pedestrians to press a button to get a WALK signal — except in very limited circumstances.
2. Make sure every leg of a signalized intersection includes a pedestrian signal — with countdown timer.
3. Allow pedestrians to cross at each leg of an intersection.
4. Give pedestrians a head start with a WALK signal a few seconds before the traffic light turns green.
5. Give pedestrians the walk before left-turning traffic, trailing left instead of leading left.
6. Time pedestrian signals consistently. Some say DON’T WALK while traffic still has 30-60 of a green light remaining.
7. Make sure sidewalks are level, not cracked. Sufficiently wide through path so pedestrians can meet/pass — not single file.
8. Ramps perpendicular to curb, not on the apex of the corner.
9. Use street trees and/or parked cars to separate pedestrians from vehicles
10. Mid-Block crossings should be marked in the middle — a center sign and/or overhead light/sign

I don’t have photos to illustrate all ten items, but here are some:

In their downtown the bulk of the crossings were automatic, no activation required. This is how it should be in places with higher pedestrian traffic. There were a couple of places where they need a button but that was only to activate audio signals for those visually-impaored — a sign was there to let the rest of us know it was an audio signal — we didn’t need to press it to get a WALK signal.

Cincinnati

Contrast this with the narrow crosswalks and curb ramp in/around Ballpark Village — which are undersized for game-day pedestrian volume. As I find more examples in my photo library I’ll do a new post(s). In the meantime, I’d like us to take a walk.Ideally, we’d arrange for a power wheelchair for you to use so we can cover more territory.

Additional reading:

• Pedestrian Transportation Plan for Madison, Wisconsin, September 1997
• Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index

And please take 20 minutes to watch Dan Burden:

— Steve Patterson

A Detailed Look at the Streets of St. Charles

Last month I posted about the Streets of St. Charles after driving through it, see Indulge In Urban Living’ At Streets of St. Charles. In that post I wrote:

To most residents of St. Charles County this is more urbanity than they ever thought they’d see on their side of the Missouri River.

A decade or more ago this site would’ve been developed as a big box with an even bigger parking lot. Smaller buildings would’ve dotted the perimeter. Visitors would’ve been expected to arrive via car and to drive to reach other buildings on the site.  From my brief observations, it appears the planners have made sure pedestrians can reach every building via a sidewalk.

While I’m not going to give up my downtown loft to live here, it’s an improvement over old-school development patterns.

I didn’t feel I could be too harsh based on just driving through. So, later in February, I returned in my power wheelchair so I could spend more time there —  to see how well it works…or doesn’t. Within the project boundaries it works fairly well, they’ve made a much better effort than most developments to make sure each business is accessible as a pedestrian. Attempting to reach adjacent & nearby developments proved difficult, though the blame for that isn’t necessarily the fault of this developer.

I arrived at just before 10am — in need of a bathroom. I knew the adjacent Quik Trip would be a good choice.  Just how to get to it.

The internal site issues are pretty easy to correct, including a direct connection toward QT. Other problems, beyond the site, are more complex. St. Charles City, St. Charles County, MoDOT, etc all need to play a role in better connecting this site to its surroundings.

— Steve Patterson