New St. Louis CBD Traffic Study
I love alleys, they serve a great purpose. On Friday this alley served the purpose of getting me quickly from 10th street to 9th street on my bike without having to deal with all of our one-way streets. I really hate one-way streets. But, this is a perfect lead in to the real point of this post.
Today “from the Mayor’s desk” comes an announcement about a new traffic study to be conducted in St. Louis’s CBD roughly bounded by Lucas, Memorial, Spruce, and Tucker.
Next week, Downtown Now staff will begin inviting downtown’s businesses, entertainment venues, residents, and other stakeholders to participate in the Traffic Circulation and Access Study being conducted by the City, in partnership with Downtown Now, the Downtown St. Louis Partnership, and the Office of the City Treasurer.
The study area includes Washington Avenue East of Tucker which I posted about on Friday. To read the Mayor’s full note on the parking study click here.
My requests are simple: Zero one-way streets and allow on-street parking everywhere. Make sure pedestrians can cross intersections at any corner — no having to walk to a different corner to cross the intersection. Pedestrian signals should be on every corner and should include a countdown timer that shows how many seconds are left.
What are your thoughts for traffic and signals in the CBD?
– Steve
Yes! Countdown timers for pedestrians is essential.
I don’t mind the one-way streets. I find them easier to cross as a pedestrian. As a driver, as long as they make sense ie alternating directions each block it’s not hard to figure out.
I would do two things to improve CBD traffic. First, make all the stoplights at non-major intersections blinking red’s or even just stop signs. There doesn’t seem to be a enough traffic to justify the lights. Second, I would increase the on-street parking on Wash. Ave and any other section that doesn’t currently have street parking.
I’m torn on pedestrian signals. Putting timers on would be a big improvement. Getting rid of them, especially if coupled with the stoplight suggestion above, might be a safer alternative. Pedestrian signals create a false sense of security. Signals make the area seem more pedestrian friendly, but pedestrians start to not pay attention to their traffic surroundings which could lead to horrible results.
About 4 months ago, Nightline had a series of stories on traffic. In one, a town in Europe eliminated all traffic signage and blurred the demarcation between street and pedestrian areas. The result was a more pedestrian friendly town. Drivers had to slow down because they didn’t have signs telling them what was ahead or that they had the absolute right of way. Not knowing where the street ended further slowed traffic because they didn’t want to hit pedestrians. While I don’t think this is a politically viable option, it does offer some lessons. For one, more information is not always a good thing.
I’m with Steve on the pedestrian signals–I think we need ’em!
At the least, I’d like to see ped signals or just traffic signals facing the “wrong way” on one-way streets. Sometimes when I’m walking against the flow of a one-way street in the CBD, I can’t always find a sign to tell me whether it’s safe to cross.
I agree with Steve emphatically on all points. Especially:
– Install meters on Washington Ave from Tucker east to Tenth. There is no reason to treat this part of Washington as a freeway. Day in and day out, the key use is retail/business (not giant sporting events) and it should be prioritized as such.
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