South Grand Improvements Miss the Mark in Areas
Last night I was biking along Grand where new improvements were made, including the designation of bike lanes. The main improvement to Grand was to reduce the amount of paving. To narrow the street to two lanes in each direction plus a striped bike lane. On-street parking remains in places and in others the room simply doesn’t exist.
At Arsenal the shops on the East side of the street facing Tower Grove Park gained a bit more “green” space between the sidewalk and curb line. Since no on-street parking exists in this area one might assume you don’t need any concrete between curb and sidewalk. But that would be a wrong assumption. I was on the bike lane and wanted to get to the sidewalk. My choices were either continue ahead to where parking is permitted and then double back or walk my bike through the planting area. At this point it is just mulch but eventually this will be planted.
Also, this is a pretty active corner. The hair salon, florist and corner restaurant are all popular. Auto parking is in the back of the building. Bike parking is non-existent. The one lamp post in the mulched area doesn’t give cyclists many choices for securing their bikes when visiting these businesses. I’d like to see two or three inverted-U racks added in this section.
Up the way is a pre-existing pedestrian crossing at not quite the mid-point of the park. The new median, logically, stops short of blocking the crossing. It would have been nice if the median was also to the right of the crosswalk to provide a safe place for pedestrians if they were caught in the middle between signals. Still, it is better than it was.
In the foreground is the parking lane, the bike lane and then the two traffic lanes. The parking lane should have been eliminated at the crosswalk since you can’t park there anyway. Not sure why this was done this way.
The same cross walk seen from another angle. The corner of the nearby intersection was built out to the bike lane. No car can fit in the space between the cross walk and the corner.
Again, the parking lane should have been eliminated at the cross walk section.
At Grand and Shenandoah the curb line was moved out which reduces the amount of street a pedestrian must cross. Less street equals more friendly to pedestrians.
Note the cyclist riding on the sidewalk across the street. He just passed a pedestrian.
Here is the same on-sidewalk cyclist on the next block. A clearly marked bike lane exists but he is on the sidewalk instead. This illustrates the need for education. The good thing is he is riding in the same direction as traffic. But…
Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is dangerous! Cyclists are much safer riding on the road than on the sidewalk. Motorists are not expecting bicycles in pedestrian cross walks. Only the smallest of children should ride on the sidewalk. Back to the streetscape….
At Shenandoah the traffic signal box is in the direct pedestrian line. Sure, pedestrians can easily walk around the massive stainless steel bikes but should we have to? This area is not exactly lacking for space.
Up the street at the Jack In the Box is the most absurd detail. Massive amount of concrete on the right but a tiny area between planting areas. A single wheelchair would occupy the entire space. More attention should have been paid to this area.
This bus shelter was existing – it is about 3-4 years old. See anything wrong? Here the shelter blocks the sidewalk. From the look of things most pedestrians are forced off the sidewalk behind the shelter, wearing out the grass in the process.
Pedestrians could walk in front of the shelter but my observations are that people who walk to get from point A to point B are not fond of extra steps. They will take the most direct path.
Same shelter seen from the other side. Not exactly inviting.
When substantial public funds are spent on such a project I’d like to see issues corrected and greater consideration for bike parking. Only two racks where installed in this mile-long stretch of Grand. Their location is questionable in my judgment.
I think the improvements look better than they function. And they look better by car than by bike or foot.
– Steve
Missouri statute (300.347) prohibits cyclists from riding on sidewalks in business districts. Even in non-commercial areas, cyclists are strongly discouraged from riding on sidewalks, since motorists will not see cyclists as clearly on sidewalks, especially if they are riding against traffic.
As for bike racks, I would encourage those interested in more racks to contact Susan Anderson, Executive Director, of the South Grand Commercial Improvement District. This special tax levy pays for security, lighting and street furniture, so bike racks should be their thing. Plus, those patronizing any business in this area by bike should encourage the business to install racks.
As for bus shelters within the pedestrian zone, this practice actually violates ADA if there is not a 3′ wide accessway clear of vertical obstruction. Granted, shelters can be close to the curb, but then additional sidewalk is then needed for passing behind the shelter. To report the problem of shelters limiting universal design (ADA compliance) of City sidewalks, you may consider contacting the Starkloff Institute or Paraquad as advocates for persons living with disabilities.
I’m a little too busy at work right now to do it myself, but if someone wants to email Susan Anderson about the bike rack situation you can reach her here: sgrandcid@sbcglobal.net or 314-772-5750
Wall, the company that put up all the new shelters free of charge to Metro has done that in more than one location. They don’t seem to have much regard for pedestrians, only to be sure that the ads can be seen. Another glaring example I can think of off the top of my head is in front of the Bank Of America at Hampton and Landsdowne. I wish the city would do something about it. At least the newer shelters look batter than the old ones.
In some places, though, the public right-of-way where the bus shelters needed to be located was probably not wide enough. Since ideally, there would be some kind of bus bay or at least a shoulder at most bus stops on major streets(this isn’t always the case, however) sometimes it’s hard to avoid blocking the sidewalk. It’s frustrating when you walk, but if you walk a lot, eventually you might need to use that bus stop, right? So, wouldn’t you really rather have the shelter than not? You need bus stops every two blocks or so, more in some places. Most don’t have bus shelters, anyway. When it’s raining, I’m really glad when I find a bus shelter.