In December I showed a blatant ADA-violation at Fields Foods, no ramps where the pedestrian route crosses a driveway. Once we got a break in the weather they began busting out concrete to build it how they should’ve in the first place. A friend and I took the bus there on February 22nd, I was pleased:
You can see the mew ramp in the foregroundThis ramp is also new, as is the crosswalk paint. Pedestrians entering from 14th or from the east still aren’t considered.
I’ve suggested ways to connect to the East once the last part of the site is developed, and I’ve suggested the route, above, be connected to 14th — assuming the 14th St entrance remains open. The other topic I raised was that of conducting multiple buildings within the same development.
The ADA also requires a pedestrian route between buildings within the same development, which wasn’t considered here at all.
The other day we needed to get something from Walgreen’s & Fields Foods, I was able to see how easy it would be to connect these two. Of course, it would’ve been much easier if planned in advance.
We drove to Walgreen’s first. It was obvious connecting these two would be fairly simple by extending the Walgreen’s sidewalk until it reaches Fields Foods.We then drove the short distance to Fields Foods. Looking back we can see the direct route or connecting to the existing ramp at Walgreen’s. Planned in advance, a sidewalk connecting these two would’ve been easy and been an asset to the development.
Some might say this would result in the loss of two spaces. I’d argue if planned right from the start no spaces would have been placed in the way. The drive aisles are wide, asphalt is everywhere. Poor site planning isn’t an excuse for violating the ADA. Given the proximity and lack of obstacles, it can’t be argued as not readily achievable.
In the 1970s civic leaders were busy destroying large swaths of downtown in order to retain/attract workers/employers & residents. In 1977 the Cervantes Convention Center opened with largely blank exterior walls and occupying 4 formerly separate city blocks.
The following Spring, 36 years ago today, they continued in the same direction advocated by our first planner Harland Bartholomew decades earlier:
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen approved three bills that would set the stage to develop a proposed downtown shopping mall, with the only further step being the acquisition of federal funding. The headquarters of Stx, Baer, & Fuller, which would become Dillard’s just months before the mall’s completion, and Famous-Barr existed with one block separating them between Washington and Locust at 6th Street. The goal was to create an enclosed, urban shopping mall with these two companies as anchors, and the estimated budget was nearly $150 million. St. Louis Centre opened in 1985 as the largest shopping mall in America. It had over 150 stores and 20 restaurants, and was initially a great success. Challenges appeared in the 1990s however, as the Westroads Shopping Center was redeveloped into the St. Louis Galleria and stores began closing. St. Louis Centre closed in 2006, and since then has been redeveloped into a 750-car parking garage and retail center. (STL250 on Facebook)
Seven years later the internally-focused mall opened. The pedestrian realm in St. Louis was officially dead.
Looking west from 6th Street on May 22, 2010 as the pedestrian bridge over Washington Ave is being razed.
In the 1970s big indoor shopping malls were all the rage. We know now in an urban setting, like a central business district, turning blank exterior walls to the sidewalk and putting all retail activity indoors out of view to people passing by is a formula for disaster. In hindsight, it’s obvious. At the time few realized the magnitude of the mistake.
When the Cervantes Convention Center was expanded a block to the south in the early 1990s it was given a new more inviting facade, controversial at the time. St. Louis Centre was converted into a large parking garage in this decade, with retail spaces facing outward to the sidewalk. Slowly we’re relearning that a CBD can’t appeal to the suburban motorist. The urban core of any region should distinguish itself from the suburbs.
Suburbia can’t match old urban neighborhoods, usually failing when it tries. Conversely, older urban areas fail when trying to be like new suburbs. Most people chose suburbia, I get that. In the St. Louis region we have plenty of suburbia for those who prefer it, we need to double-down on making the City of St. Louis the pedestrian-froendly urban environment preferred by the rest of us. These can co-exist in the same region. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten to the point of having so little good urban area that those seeking an urban life have had no other choice but to leave the region.
A few urban block here and there won’t support an urban life, we need a city 100% committed to the urban dweller.
Everyone is likely familiar with what a crosswalk looks like, ramps on each side sloping down from the sidewalk level to the street level. Ever stop to wonder why the pedestrian must come down to street level then back up to sidewalk level on the other side of the street? With the raised crosswalk it is reversed:
Raised crosswalks are marked crosswalks that are raised to act simultaneously as a speed hump. Approach markings signal to drivers that the crosswalk is raised. Crosswalk markings or contrasting crosswalk materials (pictured) show this element is also a crosswalk. As both a marked crosswalk and a traffic calming element, raised crosswalks provide a superior safety advantage to pedestrians. Raised crosswalks are most appropriate on streets with only moderate traffic (<10,000 trips/day), such as a minor collector, or a residential street with a significant conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. This type of facility is particularly effective where heavily used trails cross a road. (Streets Wiki)
This is not a crosswalk you’d use across a busy aerial, like Kingshighway. It’s great in lower traffic areas where lower speeds are desired. Several crosswalks around the new Jazz at Walter Circle senior housing in East St. Louis are raised crosswalks:
Raised crosswalk on N. 15th in East St. Louis, the new Jazz at Walter Circle senior housing building in the backgroundAnother raised crosswalk on Walter St., bike parking is protected from weather and highly visibleA raised crosswalk brings the crosswalk up to the level of the sidewalk
The raised crosswalk makes the pedestrian network easier to plan & construct. My guess is the construction costs are probably a wash, but with greater benefits of increased pedestrian safety.
Related to the raised crosswalk is the raised intersection, I don’t know of a local example to show you.
Often I encounter annoying things as I make my way around the city, dismissing many as flukes. I took photos of a gate blocking the public sidewalk on November 28, 2012 and again on March 7, 2014.
Looking north, November 28, 2012 @11:10amLooking south, November 28, 1012Looking north, March 7, 2014 @ 1:50pmLooking south, March 7, 2014
This is the side gate for 2840 Locust St., owned by Barry Adelstein & Scott Gundolf. Years ago the renter of the property was Michael McMillan, former alderman, license collector, and cureently head of the Urban League of St. Louis. To my knowledge he still lives here. This property is directly north of the neglected Castle Ballroom.
Just what is the relationship between Michael McMillan, Barry Adelstein, and Scott Gundolf? McMillan’s close associate, Marlene Davis, became the 19th ward alderman when he was elected to the office of license collector. Adelstein was a partner with Marlene Davis in a failed midtown bar, Gene Lynn’s, which closed in 2008. Davis was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2010.
Did these associations help get officials to look the other way regarding maintenance of the Castle Ballroom building? And to a lessor degree, feel like it’s ok to block the public sidewalk with a private gate? But wait, there’s more!
The real estate deal in question involves the old Castle Ballroom at 2839 Olive, which Rainford says Reed bought and sold for a large profit, before helping the developer who bought it get a taxbreak. Reed’s campaign says sale was profitable, because it happened during the 2004 market peak; and the tax break was sought by the alderman in that ward, passed unanimously by the board, then signed by Mayor Slay. (KMOX)
A tax break? There’s much more to this, I suspect! Plus I don’t want the gate left open blocking the public sidewalk.
Late last year Chippewa got a road diet using paint, not concrete. Four traffic lanes were reduced to two with a center turn lane, and a bike lane was added in each direction. Under the railroad bridge between Gravois & Meramec was the part that confused me, with a wide lane to the right of the new bike lane. The other day I was finally in a place where I could get some photos.
Looking east you see the westbound bike lane to the right of the orange cones.Looking west toward Meramec
Because of the railroad tracks pedestrians haven’t been able to walk in an east-west direction along Chippewa. Up top the tracks are a barrier and the underpass was designed decades ago only for vehicles. Online I found Chippewa Bike Lanes: A Review:
The pedestrian lane under the viaduct seems like a creative and appropriate solution to the problem of pedestrian connectivity along aging infrastructure. It is important that the pedestrian lane be separated from automobile traffic, and the traffic cones are obviously a temporary fix. We look forward to seeing the permanent configuration, and will update this post as the project evolves.
Hopefully the traffic cones are just temporary, but replaced with what? The excellent images on the post Chippewa Bike Lanes: A Review show how lanes shift, with the risk of motorists ending up driving in the bike/pedestrian lanes.
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