Most Readers Keen On Sunken Public Spaces, But Many Not

Readers like the changes of level offered by sunken spaces, here are the results from last week’s poll:

Q: How do you feel about sunken public spaces like the May Amphitheater?

1. I like the change of levels. 62 [52.1%]
2. Not good, it is hard to see activity going on. 36 [30.25%]
3. Unsure/no opinion 12 [10.08%]
4. Other answer… 9 [7.56%]

The other answers were:

• I don’t care for them; they are just plain ulgy!
• Ok for certain uses, like an amphitheatre, but not really a good idea otherwise
• Not sure, this needs a refresh on its look.
• great for events like Macy’s Holiday Celebration
• Doesn’t work unless their is natural contours to work with
• Nice to have elevations as long as one elevation feeds to street level
• It depends on context
• It makes a great place to skateboard.
• Love em, they draw my attention right to em

So you can see people around the edge during an event but you have no clue how many are inside.

From the outside you can’t see the stage or get any sense of the activity happening within.  Some changes of level, such as at Citygarden, is good but  a hidden hole is bad.

– Steve Patterson

Readers Not Positive About Proposed Solutions For Connecting The City To The Arch

Last week readers voted on their thoughts on the winning proposal in the City+Arch+River competition. While the top individual answer shows support (with changes) the overall sentiment is negative:

Q: Now that you’ve had a chance to review the MVVA proposal (for City+Arch+River), what do you think?

1. With a few changes it will work 41 [29.5%]
2. Few elements aren’t bad but otherwise not impressed 39 [28.06%]
3. Very disappointed, my least favorite 24 [17.27%]
4. Doesn’t matter, very little will get built. 18 [12.95%]
5. Very excited, best of the five finalists 7 [5.04%]
6. Other answer… 4 [2.88%]
7. Don’t like or dislike it 3 [2.16%]
8. Unsure/no opinion 3 [2.16%]

The other responses were:

1. the arch is decaying, fix that first!
2. Will this really make the riverfront more vibrant and connected to the city?
3. Disappointed, this is the doable design, not the inspired vision design.
4. The only do-able option

Hopefully in five years we will be impressed by the final outcome.  Here is the MVVA video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArNdigN48Kg

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts On Sunken Public Spaces?

The poll this week seeks to find out how you feel about sunken public spaces.

I have some views but I’m going to save those for after the poll in finished.

– Steve Patterson

Top Six Posts From The Last Six Years

This month I’m celebrating six years of UrbanReviewSTL.com.  This post looks at the top six posts from those six years, sorta.  My current analytics go back to mid-January 2009 so it is possible an earlier post was more popular prior to then.  No matter the rankings of #2-#6 I know the #1 is the #1.

#6 Missourians Against Red Light Cameras, February 17th, 2009

#5 The History of Problems in North St. Louis, May 26th, 2009

#4 Flashing Lights Outside Walgreen’s, February 5th, 2009

#3 NorthSide Project Has Potential to Transform St. Louis, May 27th, 2009

#2 Can We Please Ban Smoking in the St. Louis Region? Missouri?, January 29th, 2009

#1 My Honda Metropolitan Scooter, Two Years and Six Thousand Miles Later, September 4th, 2007

I loved that little scooter and this post is ten times more popular than any of the others.

– Steve Patterson

Sidewalk Cafes vs. Bike Parking

I’ve posted before about St. Louis needing much more bike parking so that patrons don’t need to secure their bikes to parking meters, sign posts or railings. When I spotted this bike locked to the railing in front of Flannery’s Pub I thought, “wait a minute, this is one of the few areas where we do have bike parking!”  Did the racks get removed?  No, not quite, they are still there — somewhere.

Oh there is one, buried among Flannery’s cafe furniture and advertising.  Not exactly a usable bike rack, is it?  I’m a huge fan of sidewalk dining — I love the excitement it can bring to the sidewalk.  When I’m out I often see people I know dining outdoors, including at Flannery’s. But the restaurants must realize they don’t own the public sidewalk in front of their establishments. They must respect others using the sidewalk — including bicyclists trying to secure their bikes.

– Steve Patterson