Chouteau Park Just Getting Started

Chouteau Park is the newest city park, created by ordinance in 2008, as compensation for the future loss of Hudlin Park to BJC. The fate of Hudlin Park was a hot issue in the Spring of 2006. This new 2.8 acre park is intended to replace the 12 acre Hudlin Park.

Chouteau Park is just largely a graded empty lot right now, awaiting funds to become a fully realized park space. The design was done by H3 studios in 2009.

Revised renderings from the H3 2009 design include a shaded promenade, adventure playground, spray fountain and park cafe.

Update January 1, 2014: the classic St. Louis park sign has been added and trees are being planted. (St. Louis w/design & revised design)

As you might expect, parks don’t happen overnight. Every park in the city was once newly created and not looking like much. Citygarden, opened in 2009, is a rare exception because it was privately funded. Construction on Chouteau Park began in the fall of 2011.

One sidewalk going up the hill just ended, I’m not sure of the future intent. A number of sewer inlets handle water runoff, hopefully in the future this water can be captured and refined onsite.

It’ll be fun to see this new park develop and mature over the years.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Will The St. Louis Rams Opt Out Of Dome Lease?

The last regular season game for the St. Louis Rams is December 28th, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. With a 1-4 record I don’t think we can expect to see the Rams in the post-season. At the end of this season the Rams need to decide if they’re going to opt out of the last 10 years of a 30 year lease at the Edward Jones Dome. They can opt out because the quasi-government entity that owns the Dome was unable to meet the contractual obligation to keep the facility within the top 25% of all NFL stadiums. If the Rams opt out of the last 10 years they’ll switch to a year to year lease.

The negotiating climate changes rapidly. I personally had positive feelings when they drafted Michael Sam. When they released him, understandably so, my feelings cooled immediately. With players in trouble for domestic & child abuse, this year hasn’t been the best for the NFL’s image.

The poll question this week asks what you think the Rams will do. Not what you’d like them to — what will they do? The phrasing is:

“At the end of the current NFL season the St. Louis Rams have the right to opt out of the last 10 years of their lease at the Edward Jones Dome. What’ll they do?”

The poll is in the right sidebar, mobile users will need to switch to the desktop layout to see the sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Some Positive Changes In The Last Ten Years

In the last decade of blogging I’ve posted about the positive change that’s taken place in our region, it was fun looking back at the headlines of thousands of posts.

For today I’ve selected a positive post from each calendar year of this blog:

• 2004: Urban Places in St. Louis I am Thankful for
• 2005: Discover the Potential of Ivanhoe Street
• 2006: Locust St. Now Two-Way West of 14th!
• 2007: Tower Grove Farmers’ Market Kickoff Celebration, May 12th
• 2008: Fountain Park Residents Come Together In Park
• 2009: New Dog Park Opens in South St. Louis Neighborhood
• 2010: North 14th Street Finally Reopened To Vehicle Traffic
• 2011: Leather Trades Brings Art & Life To 16th & Locust
• 2012: MX Rises From Former St. Louis Centre, Pi Now Open
• 2013: Old Gas Station, New Use
• 2014: Rehabbed Corner Storefront Now A Bright Spot In Fox Park Neighborhood

Here’s one example, the former St. Louis Centre mall:

Lots more great things happened in the city & region. Next Friday I’ll list some of the bad things from this same period.

— Steve Patterson

Central West End (CWE) MetroLink Station Poorly Connected To Taylor Ave

Our busiest MetroLink light rail station is the Central West End (CWE) station, but it’s also one of the worst when it comes to connecting to a public street. If you head up the stairs/elevator at the west end of the platform you’ll get to a plaza where Euclid Ave used to be, now part of the Washington University Medical School/BJC campus that’s decimated the street grid. Head east and the grid remains mostly intact, but getting to it isn’t easy.

The connection is narrow & winding, designed to get MetroBus rides to/from light rail. It isn’t designed for pedestrians to reach Taylor Ave. Why might someone want to go to Taylor Ave?  For one, various hospital related buildings are within a few blocks. The CWE is to the north, but one can use the former Euclid Ave to connect with Euclid Ave. To the south, however, is the Forest Park Southeast (FPSE neighborhood) and The Grove, accessed via Taylor Ave.

Expensive investments in mass transit infrastructure, such as light rail, needs to be designed to maximize use and thus, return on investment. If you didn’t see the train occasionally or the crossing gates, you’d never know a station as been just off Taylor Ave for more than two decades.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Not Interested In The Recorder Of Deeds Office

Few people were interested in the poll last week, boring policy stuff, I suppose. Still we must be engaged in mundane policy issues, not everything is a hot-button issue. A bill before the Board of Aldermen would ask voters if the Recorder of Deeds office should be appointed, rather than elected. Here are the poll results:

The Recorder of Deeds office should…

1. …change to an appointed position 30 [54.55%]
2. …continue as citywide elected position 14 [25.45%]
3. Unsure/no opinion 11 [20%]

I think this is reactionary given the scandals uncovered this summer in the office of Sharon Carpenter, herself originally appointed decades ago. It does appear throughout the country the Register/Recorder is an elected position. Changing the position to be appointed ny the mayor also potentially invites corruption. I like the legal recording of property deeds being removed from the mayor’s office — not this mayor, any mayor.

Limiting service to 3-4 terms is another way to deal with corruption that comes from 3 decades in office.

— Steve Patterson