Planning Commissioners Journal Editor/Publisher in St. Louis

Wayne Senville, the publisher & editor of the quarterly national publication, the Planning Commissioners Journal, is doing a 6-week road trip across the country along US Route 50 (see prior post). Today Senville was in St. Louis after spending yesterday in O’Fallon IL.

We spent about five hours today walking and talking about the state of planning, common issues faced by planning commissions and citizen planners. I gave Senville a good tour of St. Louis, focusing mostly on downtown but with lunch at Crown Candy Kitchen. I tried to balance out the good with the bad, and we have plenty of both.

Early this morning on the way to meet Senville I detoured from my normal Broadway route to take in the riverfront — I hadn’t been down there in like a year. Why go, I’ve seen the arch and I’ve seen the muddy river. I was surprised by the great selection of bikes to rent, including the 4-wheel pedal vehicles.

I really love some of the remaining warehouse buildings in the north riverfront area.

I checked out the new Pinnacle Casino under construction. Part of the building complex, straight ahead, seems to have made an attempt at giving a good face to the street — we’ll see how it turns out in the end, it looks like it may have a raised sidewalk about the normal street level. However, I simply cannot be sure at this stage.

I met Wayne at the Gelateria at Washington and 14th. I had given him directions from his hotel in O’Fallon via East St. Louis and Eads Bridge. His question to me way, “What was that big thing over the street?” That would be the St. Louis Centre bridge over Washington Ave that has yet to come down. We walked down that way to see the taxi cabs still parking on the public sidewalk, saw a number of parking garages (hard to avoid), including the new 9th street garage that DESCO built in place of the National Register listed Century Building — you know the one clad in marble (vent: f’ing bastards). At least some wealthy suburbanites want to give the gift of public art to the city, not more parking garages.

We, of course, had to take in the Gateway Mall as that is a timely planning discussion. Then it was time for lunch and what better place than Crown Candy?

After lunch we ran into Jane Smith, an Old North St. Louis resident and local group administrative assistant. Smith shared her thoughts on the neighborhood (a resident since the late 70s) and about the exciting plans to de-mall the mall. In the early 90’s I lived across the street from Jane and her husband Bruce on Sullivan. Bruce and Jane have since bought one of the new homes on North Market street. Jane is one of the organizers of the new Old North Farmer’s Market that started a couple of weeks ago. Jane indicated some of the final funding for the renovation of the buildings on and near the old mall came in last Friday. Funding for the actual streetscape is still in the works.

Wayne and I walked the 2-block mall and another 2 blocks down to North Market St. where the neighborhood group along with RHCDA have collaborated on renovations of existing buildings as well as new in-fill construction — a good example of how you don’t need to clear-cut an area entirely.

After Wayne dropped me back off downtown at my scooter I went over to City Grocers to get a few things before returning home. A woman had just parked her 125cc Yamaha Vino so we made that area of 10th Street an unofficial scooter zone.

And finally workers were installing a new sign for the J. Buck’s restaurant which opens next week. I had a great time meeting and talking with Wayne Senville. His journal does a great job of educating citizens interested in planning issues, such as those who get appointed to planning commissions.

Click here to see all 112 photos from today.