Sidewalks on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive are for show, not actual pedestrians
Dr. Martin Luther King Drive stretches from just North of downtown St. Louis out to the city’s municipal limits. It passes through areas best described as rough and others that have seen new investment and are on the way upward. In either case, where you have people you have pedestrians. Where you have low-income residents and public transportation you have more pedestrians than in higher income areas. All the more reason to ensure the public rights-of-way are designed for everyone: motorist, cyclist and pedestrian.
This is my sixth year writing about St. Louis’ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
About 6-8 years ago part of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive (Jefferson to Grand) got a makeover – new curbs and sidewalks. The width of the roadbed (curb to curb) was narrowed. A good thing? Yes and no. The entire stretch is poorly planned with respect to pedestrians. For those traveling parallel with MLK it is fine. But if you want to cross it can be a major challenge, only two proper crosswalks exist in the mile stretch.
So I want to show you this one mile stretch of roadway and the few places to cross. Above is our starting point at Jefferson Ave, (image at top, map). You see the single ADA curb ramp and crosswalk markings are directed East across Jefferson. For those seeking to cross MLK at Jefferson in a wheelchair the single ramp puts them dangerously close to passing cars.
A long block to the West of Jefferson is Beaumont St. intersecting with MLK from the South. Currently Beaumont’s sidewalks are a complete mess so nobody in a wheelchair would attempt to use them. One block away from this spot is where Lisi Bansen was struck by a car in 2005 as she wheeled in the street. Part of the idea behind new curbs, sidewalks and lighting is to make an infrastructure investment that results in increased development in the area. So while the total resident count in the immediate area is pretty low now my expectation is rebuilt streets be more than bling for passing motorists.
Continuing West we see more streets intersecting with MLK without provisions to cross the street:
Finally at Webster Ave. (map), on the West side of the intersection, we have a crosswalk. We are over a half mile from Jefferson Ave. Between these points we should have had 8-10 places to cross MLK.
One block further West we get the point where Compton meets MLK (map).  This intersection is big and complicated by three streets and angles. Pedestrians cannot cross MLK on this side.
On the West side they can cross. But note the places where a person going from one direction to the other is basically a sitting duck in the place where cars are turning. The point of bringing the curbs in to the center is to slow traffic and reduce the width required to cross the street. But for a pedestrian crossing in this crosswalk the width has not been reduced.
Continuing West:
At Francis St (above, map) we see Google Streetview managed to catch a person in the street in a wheelchair. My assumption is the person is waiting for a break in the traffic to cross MLK to the drive on the other side.
Grand is the street ahead. Pedestrians on the sidewalk to the right are just dumped out into a large & dangerous sea of asphalt.
This beauty of a street was outsourced by St. Louis’ Board of Public Service to the civil engineering firm of Kowelman Engineering, Inc. I’d give you a link to their website but they don’t have one. Their domain kowelman.com just takes you to a default temporary page. You can see their basic information on the city’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program website here. Regular readers know Kowelman’s work, they are best known here for Loughborough Commons.
Engineers are great at determining water flows in the gutter, turning radii for curbs but unless their client is passionate about pedestrian issues the results will be largely superficial. In a mile stretch only two places were provided to cross MLK. Two! And they are one block apart from each other! Ideally this street will continue to get new structures, residents and businesses. That means more pedestrians – both able-bodied and disabled.   Shameful that good tax payer money was spent on such a poorly designed project.
– Steve Patterson
Compared to other cities, St. Louis appears to spend much less on pavement markings, things like “stop” lines and crosswalks. I'm guessing it's directly budget related, that the need to repaint every year or two has been “value engineered” down to the current standards. Since I'm able bodied, as a pedestrian it's had little impact – like most people, I cross wherever I think it's safe, and like my parents taught me, I look both ways and watch out for traffic. (And, yes, I agree, it is more difficult for people with disabilities.) Plus, unlike California, where the culture is to actually yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, here, as in most of the rest of America, I would never trust that any vehicle would yield to me as a pedestrian, marked crosswalk or not!
As a motorist, the lack of pavement markings at intersections with stop signs creates a safety issue. A “stop” line (or a marked crosswalk) reinforces that a stop is, indeed, required; relying on a stop sign alone, especially on anything other than a quiet residential street, while technically legal, seems to be inadequate and confusing, especially to drivers from other areas.
Finally, responsibilty for the issues along MLK – agreed, the engineering firm has primary responsibility. However, I would also assign equal responsibility to the city's Streets Department. They're an educated client. They know, or should know, what is required, what the national standards are. They're certainly capable of reviewing and approving the engineers' work, both in plan form and during construction, and by accepting substandard work, they're simply not doing their job well . . .
Lines or not, the design of this mile puts cubs in the way preventing a wheelchair bound person from crossing. I drove the full length of MLK Dr on Saturday and saw two different persons using a wheelchair/mobility scooter in this section.
Was the client Streets or the Board of Public Service (BPS)?
beats me – it's a city project, I'd assume the appropriate city departments were involved.
As MLK I am fighting to erradicate obesity and illeteracy and child violence in the world. Please come to my blog http://ahrobert.blogspot.com and learn more about me and my non-profit organization “Live Healthy, Live Life”. For now vote for the healthiest food in my new Poll Section! Only 2 days left. Whatever you choose I'll cook!
great,very beautiful.
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