Planning ahead
The Loop on Delmar is working its way East toward the MetroLink stop and beyond. In the process, millions have been spent on rebuilding much of the street between Skinker and Des Peres (MetroLInk). All in all, I love what they’ve done.
I have two major complaints. First is the lack of bike racks. How can millions be spent and not a single bike rack is installed? A simple inverted-U rack costs about $150 and can be set into the concrete sidewalk when poured. About $5,000 would have purchased over 30 racks for this area – allowing parking for 60 bikes. Either no one thought to install racks or they were cut due to budget overruns. Whatever the excuse, it is a shame a brand new streetscape doesn’t have such a simple amenity.
One of the key things to a pedestrian-friendly area is short blocks. The block just East of Skinker is quite long before you get to the next intersection at Rosedale. Having a pedestrian crossing mid-way makes sense right? Conveniently the Pageant is basically in the middle and gets quite a bit of traffic.
The above photo shows the crossing from the Pageant side of Delmar (North) crossing to the South. One thing is missing – the curb cut required by ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act). Those persons in wheelchairs do not have a way to cross in the middle of this very lengthy block. But, it gets better when you look across the street…
The VW Bug you see is legally parked. Yes, this striped cross walk leads directly to a parking space! Of course the opposite side doesn’t have the required ADA curb cut either. Clearly, the planners that designed this new and costly streetscape didn’t consider that people would want to cross in the middle of the block.
If they didn’t think people would want to cross the street then no wonder they didn’t think people would actually bicycle to the area rather than drive car. Sad, very sad.