Western Downtown Could Be More Pedestrian Friendly
This past week I worked with a couple looking to relocate from NYC to St. Louis. Being natives of Manhattan and life-long residents of the NYC area they are used to getting around by public transportation. As such, they took MetroLink from Lambert Airport to Union Station. They walked the short distance West along Market Street to the Courtyard by Marriott located just before Jefferson.
During the week they were in St. Louis I picked them up and dropped them off at the hotel numerous times. But they also walked back to Union Station often to get on MetroLink to transfer to the Grand bus. They also walked to dinner at Syberg’s in the Hampton Inn across the street and a bit to the East as well as places in Union Station.
Despite having a public sidewalk along both sides of Market the area is far from pedestrian friendly. Pedestrians are treated no differently than they are in the sprawl of suburbia. If you want to get from the public sidewalk to the front door of your destination you are expected to clime over shrubs, walk through planter beds or walk in the driveways for cars. Pedestrians are given no consideration.
Approaching the Marriott from Union Station to the East you can see the building behind an AG Edwards parking lot. If you ignore the “No Trespassing” sign and are willing to cross through the shrubs that divide this private parking lot from the hotel parking lot you’ve got a direct shot. Not ideal so we continue West on the sidewalk.
As we get in front of the hotel we encounter more intense plantings and no clear pedestrian entrance. The entrance sign, however, is visible.
Turning toward the hotel we can see the main entrance over a sea of cars. Once again no provisions have been made for pedestrians and our only choice is to clime through the landscaping. Dragging luggage this isn’t really an option.
So we are left with the auto entrance. No sidewalk along the drive. Just the drive itself. This auto drive is shared with the office building next door and is quite busy. It is also narrow with no room for pedestrians plus cars coming and going.
On a positive note the Marriott parking lot has more trees than most.
It is not hard to imagine a number of guests at the Marriott walk to Union Station and other downtown destinations even if they drove to the hotel. Even the most ardent suburbanite would see the folly of driving to Union Station from the Marriott.
With Harry’s restaurant a block away and Syberg’s in the Hampton Inn across the street guests are likely to walk to these places. The Metro Bus stop in front of the hotel likely brings hotel staff to and from work in addition to giving hotel guests a ride to other parts of the city.
The NYC couple said trying to cross Market Street to get to the Syberg’s was difficult. With six traffic lanes and a center turn lane it is one of the widest streets in the city and especially downtown. Unlike Tucker, no center median is provided as a place to help pedestrians make their way across the full distance. Pedestrian crossings are located West of the hotel at Jefferson and just before Union Station. A pedestrian crossing is needed at 23rd (West of the Hampton Inn) or 22nd (street to Harry’s & FBI).
We should expect better of developments. If not, we should demand better through our ordinances. If downtown isn’t friendly to pedestrians how do we expect to compete with cities such as Portland, OR which take such concerns more seriously?
– Steve
Thanks, Steve, for giving voice to the frustrations of two visitors trying to negotiate an environment (Market Street) in which people are an inconvenient afterthought–an environment that made us feel like automotive prey, just trying to cross the street.
And the Central West End wasn’t much better.
After waiting an eternity for the light to change so we could cross Forest Park Avenue on Euclid, we hadn’t even crossed the first of– what? four lanes? six?–before the light started flashing, forcing us to step lively and make way for our betters–namely, cars and the people who drive them.
In both cases, we felt like interlopers in an envirionment created for cars.
Yes, I fault the planners, the traffic engineers, and the other usual suspects. But I also fault people who tell us, “Nobody rides the bus.” Who, then, were all those people we sat with, who seemed as interested as the bus driver in making sure we got off at the right stop?
I fault a passionate MetroLink supporter I spoke to, who describes bus riders as “transit dependent,” meaning that they haven’t and probably won’t join the ranks of the “transit independent”–otherwise known as drivers. Count me, please, among them.
I can’t say what it would be like to be solely dependent on St. Louis mass transit. Nor can I say what it would be like to use mass transit to commute or to reach a series of different locations quickly and conveniently.
What I can say is that every time we waited for a bus, it appeared promptly. Every time we made a connection between MetroLink and MetroBus, it was practically seamless. The vehicles were clean and comfortable. The drivers were pleasant and helpful to two novices. And the cost was low.
If we’re serious about countering the effects of creeping suburbanization, more people will need to think seriously about spending more time on their feet, on the train and on the bus. I predict those who do–and who don’t ask mass transit to replicate precisely the advantages of private transport–are in for a big and positive surprise.
At least as we encountered it, St. Louis mass transit works.
The Sunday NY Times travel section for March 27 announced the 2005 list of the ten best cities for walking, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.
Arlington, Virginia-1
San Francisco-2
Seattle-3
Portland, Ore-4
Boston-5
Washington-6
New York-7
Eugene, Ore-8
Jersey City-9
Denver-10
Sadly, many suburbanites staying here would misperceive such design as safer than a more traditional downtown hotel, when the reverse is more likely true.
Auto-oriented environments create vast indefensible spaces for both walkers and cars.
I imagine car break-ins can regularly happen on this dead parking lot, in addition to the obvious vulnerability of the lone walker.
Eyes and 24/7 activity on a street not only keep our outdoor spaces safer for pedestrians, but likely, and ironically, even cars.