Balloon Glow Tonight, Race Tomorrow

Tonight (9/14) hundreds (thousands?) will converge on Central Field in Forest Park for the annual Balloon Glow, a tradition the night before the Great Forest Park Balloon Race.

The Balloon Glow starts at 7pm and ends around 8:30pm:

The Balloon Glow offers spectators a breathtaking view of inflated balloons lighted by their burners. Get up close and walk around the balloons. Refreshments and Food are available. The event will conclude with the PNC Bank fireworks finale display beginning at approximately 9pm.

If you plan to attend I suggest you think about your route into the park because driving up to the event isn’t an option (a disabled drop-off location exists).  Last year I took the #10 MetroBus to the Central West End MetroBus Transit Center and crossed over kingshighway into the park. Many bus routes also end up at this transit center (adjacent to the CWE MetroLink station).

The “hare” balloon launches at 4:30pm on Saturday.

– Steve Patterson

WeCar Car Sharing In Downtown St. Louis

Whenever I pass by the designated WeCar (car sharing) parking spaces downtown (usually 10th @ Washington) I look to see if the WeCar is there or out being used. I don’t know the usage, but often the space is empty so the car is being used by a WeCar member.

Then last month I was almost home when I  stopped and snaped a picture of a couple unloading a WeCar from a shopping trip. I chatted with them briefly, they really enjoy having access to a car without having to own and pay for one 24/7/365. He was going to take up their purchases while she returned the car and walked back the 4/10th of a mile — six city blocks from 10th to 16th Street. They’d like to have a WeCar further west.

Per the WeCar downtown St. Louis page, six WeCars  are located near the following intersections:

• 6th and Olive
• 10th and Olive
• Olive and Broadway
• 9th and Olive
• 10th and Washington
• 7th and Olive

The farthest west are 10th & Olive and 10th & Washington. Along Olive there are five WeCars from Broadway (5th) to 10th — one per block. I’d think at least one between Tucker (12th) and 18th would do well. Perhaps WeCar looked at their membership and realized most live east of 10th, or those living west of Tucker don’t join because the WeCars are too far away?

A WeCar representative indicated via email they have adjusted car locations over the last four years based on customer feedback. Having one car per block along Olive works well, he said, but they’ll look again further west.

I’ve offered to help  find a suitable location west of Tucker. Since parking meters are tied to parking garage bonds it might get complicated but I know of space where metered parking can be added to make up for one WeCar space.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Have Two & One Person Households

The weekly polls conducted here aren’t scientific but nevertheless I often find the results interesting. The post introducing the poll last week contained information on the increasing trend toward single occupant households, I won’t rehash it again.

Here were the results:

Q: Including yourself, what is the size of your current household?

1. Two 42 [31.11%]
2. One 41 [30.37%]
3. Four 22 [16.3%]
4. Five+ 16 [11..85%]
5. Three 14 [10.37%]

More than sixty-percent live in a one or two person household. No major conclusions here, I just find this stuff interesting. The fact that more than twice as many indicated they have four+ vs three is interesting. I guess once a couple has one kid another one (or two) is likely to follow?

— Steve Patterson

9/11

I’ll never forget my first trip to New York, just over a month after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The destruction, the awful stench in the air.

I look forward to returning and seeing what has been built on the Ground Zero site.

— Steve Patterson

Walking To The “Flagship” Dierbergs & Schnucks Locations In Des Peres, MO

On September 15, 2009 Schnucks, the largest grocer in our region, opened a new “flagship” location:

DES PERES, Mo. – After 46 years of serving customers in its present location, Schnucks Des Peres will close at 9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, and reopen at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at its new location, 12332 Manchester Road (next to West County Mall). The relocation of this landmark facility marks the beginning of a new era for the family-owned grocery company.

At 74,000 square feet, this combination food and pharmacy store is like no other Schnucks store. Schnucks Chairman and CEO Scott Schnuck explained, “We promised our Des Peres community something special and that’s just what we will deliver. Des Peres will be a flagship store in our company because of the atypical offerings it will include.” (Source: Schnucks)

Not to be outdone, the region’s 2nd biggest grocer, Dierbergs, opened a new flagship store nearby on July 31st of this year:

The supermarket, located on the south side of Manchester Road, one mile east of I-270, is a free-standing 75,000-square-foot store. It sits on approximately 6.5 acres, occupying a full city block of Des Peres. HBD Construction is the general contractor for the project.

Dierbergs submitted its proposed site plans to the city in fall 2009. With plans for three levels, including a mezzanine dining area, it was evident from the beginning that this would be a different Dierbergs. (Source: Dierbergs) 

Two huge locally owned flagship grocery stores a short distance apart? This foodie had to see what each had to offer! On Saturday August 18th I caught the #30 MetroBus just two blocks from my downtown loft. At the Maplewood MetroLink station I transferred to the #57 MetroBus that goes all the way out to Wildwood. I got off at Manchester & Bopp Rd since the Dierbergs was the first location I came to arriving from the east.

Using public transit meant I was arriving as a pedestrian, not a motorist. Of course, no downtown resident is going to go all the way out to Des Peres to shop for groceries. But people living near these new stores may decide to walk, rather than drive, to shop on a nice day. This is a look at how Des Peres residents would walk to these two stores.

Dierbergs:

Located on the south side of Manchester, where Bopp Rd ends, this large building is highly visible to passing motorists.

This Dierbergs is a big box geared toward the driving public but they recognized the need to provide access for pedestrians from all possible directions.  A neighbor might send their 8 year old for a loaf of bread or an 80 year old neighbor might want to do their shopping and stay fit.

Let’s head west on Manchester now to check out the Schnucks flagship store.

Schnucks:

Part of a new shopping center called Des Peres Corners on the southeast corner of Manchester & Ballas Rd (map).

Final Thoughts:

These new “flagship” grocery stores are world’s apart when it comes to pedestrian access. Dierbergs is still largely auto-centric but it goes beyond the minimums required by the American’s with Disabilities Act of 1990. Those who planned the Dierbergs clearly made a decision in their process to provide a way for pedestrians to reach their store. These pedestrians include employees arriving for work on MetroBus, neighbors walking from nearby homes as well as residents of nearby suburbs also arriving on MetroBus. I’d give it a B+/A-

The Schnucks at Des Peres Corners is a total failure from a pedestrian perspective, a big F. Schnucks/Des Peres Corners makes no attempt to provide access to those from outside the development or even internally from one building to the next. The civil engineers responsible need to have their licensees taken away. They may know parking lot drainage and requirements for retaining walls but that are incompetent when it comes to pedestrians and the ADA. I hope someone with legal standing takes Schnucks and the developer to court to force them to come back and correct their mistakes — also known as a violation of my civil  rights as a disabled person.

Only after I got back home did I see that my friend Herbie Markwort pointed out the flaws at Des Peres Commons in July 2009, prior to Schnucks opening:

A quick look around the site, however, reveals that no thought was given to accommodating pedestrians. (Gateway Streets)

It’s appalling that such a bad development can get municipal approval and bank financing. Loughborough Commons doesn’t look quite so bad now.

If you live in Des Peres please don’t patronize Des Peres Corners until they’ve retrofitted the site with internal pedestrian connections as well as access from both Manchester & Ballas.

— Steve Pattersin