I still want urban buildings along the new Grand bridge

In January 2006 I posted the idea of urban buildings with retail next to a new Grand bridge (Grand Bridge Should Follow Columbus Ohio Example):

“St. Louis is planning to rebuild the existing Grand bridge by adding a landscaped median as well as wider sidewalks and bike lanes. The intent is to make it more pedestrian friendly so that St. Louis University to the north and their medical center campus to the south are better connected. You can dress up a bridge all you like but it is still hundreds of feet of dead space. No amount of median planting will make it pedestrian friendly.”

To prove my point I give you Exhibit A:

The new bridge/viaduct for Jefferson Ave (above) is what is proposed for Grand Ave, without question a huge improvement over the old crumbling bridge it replaced.  It is new and pretty but to the pedestrian on the wider sidewalk it is still a long dull stretch. The planted median is there to make the drive less boring for motorists. Buildings next to a bridge?  We’ve had this for decades along Tucker (formerly 12th):

Granted the Tucker bridge/tunnel is falling apart — it is roughly twice the age of the Grand bridge. The point is the Post-Dispatch, St. Patrick’s Center and Globe-Democrat buildings are all built on lower ground up against a bridge structure.  From the sidewalk you don’t realize that is the case.  Along with the Columbus Ohio recent example I cited in 2006 the idea is not far fetched at all.  But in 2006 some felt the idea wasn’t feasible.

Some, incorrectly, thought it was too impossible because of the amount of rail lines.

But as you can see above the width for the rail lines isn’t that wide, perhaps 20% of the total span.  See map.

Two city streets serve the properties on both sides of the bridge  — one north and one south of the tracks.

In the left of the above image you can see a single story structure next to the current bridge.  This structure actually continues under the bridge.

The plan is to redevelop both sides of grand for research facilities.  The #70 Grand bus in the busiest bus line in the region and the MetroLink light rail station is currently roughly in the middle of the pack for station traffic.  When this desolate area is remade transit will be key.

So here is my bridge concept:

• forget the planted center median
• plan railings that can be removed as buildings with storefront floors are built up to the sidewalks.
• Allow on-street parking along the bridge except at the transit station, which would be reserved for buses.
• The area at the station/over the tracks would be slightly wider and have room for a newsstand, food kiosks, seating, etc
• Each side would have a self-cleaning pay public restroom.
• the structures next to the two streets below could have elevators to get get pedestrians to/from the bridge level to the street level.
• the buildings could contain research offices on the lower levels, retail on the bridge level and residential above.
• with transit (bus and light rail) and a few car=sharing vehicles available for use by workers and residents the total parking count could be significantly reduced.
• The retail on the bridge would be the commercial center for all the offices and residential I envision along the bridge and in the surrounding blocks.

Unfortunately my idea won’t happen, the engineering for the new bridge is well under way.  Maybe in 20-30 years the bridge can be retrofitted and it can still happen?

– Steve Patterson

Poll: downtown on-street parking

Urban centers tend to be perceived as having too little parking, downtown St. Louis is no exception. The reality is downtown St. Louis has too much parking, not too little.  The poll this week focuses on street parking — rates, hours, etc.  The question is: On-street parking downtown is free after 7pm weeknights and all day Saturday & Sunday. Thoughts? Pick up to three answers: I’ve provided many answers and you can pick up to three.  You can also provide your own answer in the other spot.

– Steve Patterson

Public plazas part one: people sit where there are places to sit

I’ve been a huge fan of the late William H. Whyte since I bought his book City: Rediscovering the Center when it was published in 1988.  It would be many years later before I would read his 1980 book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces or see the companion film of the same name.  I had hoped to show you the film but the six YouTube videos that someone had posted have been removed due to copyright infringement.

The book and film are brilliant.  New York City had passed zoning changes that allowed developers to build taller buildings if they provided public plazas.  A decade later Whyte and his team meticulously studied numerous public plazas to determine why some were heavily used and others stood vacant. In the coming weeks and months I’m going to take a closer look plaza spaces here in St. Louis and use Whyte’s findings to see if they apply and how our plaza spaces might be improved.

One important finding was that “people sit where there are places to sit.”  Sounds obvious right? People would sit on steps and any place they could and not necessarily where the designers wanted them to sit.  “People attracted people” was also a finding, people watching is better when there are others to watch.

– Steve Patterson

St. Louis Walk of Fame old enough to drink

Twenty-one years ago the St. Louis Walk of Fame was dedicated.  Ten individuals with a connection to St. Louis were honored:

Chuck Berry

Katherine Dunham

James B. Eads

T.S. Eliot

Scott Joplin

Charles Lindbergh

Stan Musial

Vincent Price

Joseph Pulitzer

Tennessee Williams

Over 100 additional people have been inducted in the 21 years since the original 10.

– Steve Patterson

Five years since the Praxair explosion

Five years ago today the normally quiet Lafayette Square neighborhood was rocked by a massive explosion at the Praxair industrial gas facility on Chouteau:

ST. LOUIS – A blaze at an industrial plant sent huge fireballs shooting into the sky Friday afternoon, casting a towering cloud of black smoke over the area as traffic backed up and nearby residents evacuated their homes.

There were no injuries, St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George said. There also was no word on the cause of the rapid-fire series of spectacular explosions at Praxair Distribution, which processes propane and other gases for industrial use.  (Source)

Video from a nearby resident:

Today the building and site remain vacant.  The 4 acre site, located at 2210 Chouteau, is listed for $2,250,000.

Nearby residents started Praxair Watch to oppose the reopening of the facility.

The 2.105 acre site to the east is listed for $750,000.  Between the two sites is a former street, Mackay Place:

This former street is owned by the same limited liability corporation that owns the site to the east.

The Praxair explosion was featured on an episode of the History Channel’s Modern Marvels as an “engineering disaster.”

– Steve Patterson