Culinaria Increasingly An Accessibility Nightmare

A year ago yesterday Culinaria, a Schnuck’s Market, opened in the ground floor of the 9th Street parking garage.  You know, the parking garage that replaced the historic Century Building.  The intersection of 9th & Olive was the last intersection in St. Louis’ CBD that still had it’s pre-WWII buildings on all four corners. More on the Century in a bit.

The store has been open a year now yet there is no door opener on either front door. Because of the settings on the door closer it is nearly impossible for me to enter without help from others.  I exit by pushing the door open with my wheelchair.

Inside the situation is getting worse.  The once attractive store has every bit of floor space occupied my an increasing number of display boxes.  They change based on what company is paying them.  Trying to access a freezer case was difficult the other day because a stack of product on the floor next to the door handle prevented me from getting in the right position.

A year ago I was impressed by the design of the store.  Today I use it as a convenience store, the bulk of my groceries comes from other grocery store and markets. I need to go once a month for my prescriptions but I try to avoid the place now.  It is hard to access and circulate, increasingly not worth the hassle.

I’ve asked before about a door opener.  “We are working on getting the state to pay for it.”  You see, Schnuck’s is a tenant in the state-owned parking garage. The garage wasn’t designed for a grocery store but the developer was DESCO which is owned by members of the Schnuck’s family.

Which brings us back to the 1896 Century Building. Local property owners & residents (and friends) Roger Plackemier & Marcia Behrendt had sued various entities prior to the destruction of the Century, questioning the legality of the process used in the garage project. In 2004 they were unable to raise the money to post a bond and the demolition of the Century began.

In April 2005 the developer and development agencies of the city & state sued Plackemeier & Behrendt for “malicious prosecution“, seeking $1,000,000 in damages. The trial has been scheduled several times and each time the plaintiffs request a delay. The trial was to begin on Monday of this week but once again they were granted a delay.

For over five years now two citizens have had a million dollar lawsuit against them and those suing them keep delaying the trial.  Talk about malicious prosecution!

– Steve Patterson

Readers Think The Tour Of Missouri Was A Good Use Of Tourism Dollars

Last week 181 people voted in the poll:

Q: The 2010 Tour of Missouri has been canceled due to zero funding from the state, which of the following best describes your thoughts:

1. The Tour of Missouri has been a great event, bringing money into the state economy each year — a good use of tax money 97 [53.59%]
2. The Tour of Missouri has been a victim of fighting between Republicans and Democrats 36 [19.89%]
3. The Tour of Missouri has been a money pit, costing more than it made — a good decision to cancel 22 [12.15%]
4. Other answer… 14 [7.73%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 12 [6.63%]

The (14) other answers were:

1. If it’s so successful, they should plan for it’s financial viability.
2. screw the bicyclists. when do I get my own lane to drive in?
3. Killed by Nixon for a petty political vendetta. Politics at its worst.
4. Sad…
5. Even the Tour de France commentators said its a shame it got canceled
6. What a shame. Where was the money spent instead? What was the return?
7. This happened MONTHS ago. Why are you only addressing it now?
8. Jay Nixon needs to go for this! What a joke!
9. B and C
10. Not sure why this can’t be privately funded, the state gave it a good start
11. The Tour of MO should be able to fund itself by corporate donations and sponsors
12. Tourism should have cut back to $500K or so.
13. Not necessarily the best way to spend state money.
14. When the economy is bad, nonessentials get cut.

– Steve Patterson

The (former) Pedestrian Malls of Illinois

A year ago. I was starting my Capstone (thesis) for a masters in urban planning & real estate development at Saint Louis University. My focus, I decided, would be on pedestrian malls – once open streets permanently closed to vehicular traffic.

Last fall I documented roughly 160 such malls built in North America between 1959-1984. Documenting the year removed, if so, proved far more difficult than I thought. The Capstone remains unfinished.

On Friday, while driving to Chicago, I realized I should narrow my focus to the ten former pedestrian malls in the state of Illinois. A manageable number where I could collect and examine data.

So far I’ve visited Chicago (State Street), Elgin, Freeport, Rockford, Danville, Champaign, and Decatur. Last night stayed in Springfield and I’m checking out their former pedestrian mall this morning. I skipped Oak Park (inner ring Chicago suburb) because I visited there l last year. That leaves only Centrallia left to visit after today.

In visiting each of these I was amazed at how different each town is today. Big & small, college & industrial, rich & poor. Besides the failed pedestrian mall experiment, each town looks to have been repeatedly raped by urban planners, civil engineers and architects.

– Steve Patterson

[Note: This post was written on my iPad with a photo from my iPhone. Not all editing features are easily available, but I hope to produce more posts this way.]

Twenty Years in Saint Louis

It was 20 years ago, August 1990, that I first arrived in St. Louis from Oklahoma City.  I was just out of college, 23 and optimistic about St. Louis’ future.  I drove up I-44 with a friend, she and I were going to be roommates in Washington D.C. Her mom lived in a renovated townhouse on Lemp in Benton Park, a block from Venice Cafe. We arrived on a Saturday and the next day her mom gave us a tour of the city.

I was immediately sold on St. Louis for my new place of residence, it felt right. Of course, earlier that year the Census had counted over 396,000 residents.  I put my stuff I had in her car and put it in her mom’s basement.  After my first visit to D.C., I took the train & bus back to Oklahoma City to get my car and more stuff.  I stayed with her mom for a week or so until I got a job and an apartment.

My first place was in The President on Lindell, next to Boatman’s Bank (now U.S. Bank).  It was an 8th floor studio with a view of the building to the east. The annual gay pride parade was on Euclid in those years so for me it was the place to be.  But in late 1990 I attended a seminar for developers at the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC).  At the time their offices were in the building bounded by Olive, 15th, Locust and 14th. At this seminar I met a woman living & rehabbing in Murphy-Blair; now known as Old North St. Louis.

At age 24 I moved to Old North from Lindell & Euclid.  My rent went from $425/month for the studio to $75/month.

In my first decade I saw the population drop over 48,000 people, my initial optimism was fading.  During the 1990s there were several times I considered moving. Seattle? Portland? East Coast? Sure, all were considered but ruled out for various reasons.  I’ve long stopped considering leaving, I like how St. Louis is shaping up.  Plus, I enjoy playing a role in the future of this city.

I’m sure I’ll see as much change in the coming 20 years as I did in the last 20 years. I’ll let you know in August 2030.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Regulating Noise From Motorcycles

In January one Illinois town took steps to keep the town quiet:

ALTON – A motorcycle rights and safety promotion group plans to pay for signs to “quiet” motorcycles in Alton, as city officials begin the process to strengthen the city’s anti-noise ordinance.

“We are going to be leaders in this,” said Alton Mayor Tom Hoechst, who campaigned on quieting down motorcycles traveling on city streets and loud car stereos. Telegraph

This week KMOV reporter noted “To date, police have issued 37 tickets to bikers in violation of the ordinance and 133 to motor vehicle drivers.”

The poll this week asks for your thoughts on enforcing noise ordinances.

– Steve Patterson