Local traffic can avoid the depressed lanes of I-70

Tuesday’s post was about removing a mile section of interstate highway (currently marked as I-70) after the new Mississippi River Bridge opens in 2014.  The main objection many people have is the loss of a primary North-South route if the depressed lanes are removed.  For the benefit of own of town readers let me explain the depressing depressed lanes:

Just North of the above the highway comes up to create an above grade barrier.  We have the opportunity to connect what remains of the downtown street grid to the East until it hits either the Arch grounds or, North of Washington Ave, the grid of Laclede’s Landing.  East-West traffic following I-70 will cross the Mississippi River North of the Arch rather than the South currently. An example is driving from Louisville, KY to Kansas City, MO:

As you can see from the current map drivers do an extra little jog to the South to cross on the Poplar Street Bridge. The new span will correct this so their route is more direct.  Drivers going from Memphis, TN to Kansas City, MO can go via I-70 through downtown:

But the route through downtown is not the best route for through drivers.  The suggested route on Google Maps takes motorists around the edge of the metro area:

This route is shorter in both distance and time.  Through traffic will be handled via the new bridge and existing alternate routes. This leaves local traffic as primary users of the existing North-South route separating downtown from the Arch, Mississippi River and Laclede’s Landing.  More than those passing through, locals know alternate routes to take to avoid the depressed lanes downtown.

I looked at two scenarios: 1) driving from I-55 & Bates (map) to Lambert Airport and 2) from Lemay Ferry & Reavis Barracks Rd (map) to Lambert Airport.

Scenario #1: 55 & Bates to airport:

• I-70 through downtown: 20.2 miles,  21 minutes (30 in traffic)
• 44/Maplewood/I-170: 23.3 miles, 30 min (40 in traffic)
• 55/Truman/Market/Jefferson/70: 20.3 mi, about 31 mins
• River des Peres to I-170: 20.6 mi, about 34 mins

Scenerio #2: Lemay Ferry & Revis to airport:

• I-55 N and I-70 W: 25.3 mi, 26 mins (35 mins in traffic)
• I-55 S to 270 N to I-70: 27.1 mi, 32 mins (40 mins in traffic)

As we saw with two years of construction on I-64, motorists are resilient. Between a more friendly grade-level Memorial Drive, 4th, Broadway, Jefferson and a rebuilt Tucker (North of Washington) we will have numerous North-South routes to handle our local traffic.

– Steve Patterson

Highway 40 once fed into Market St

I-64 it didn’t always slice through the edge of downtown St. Louis.  Well, I-64 did but the original Highway 40 did not.  Motorists heading Eastbound on Highway 40 ended up on Market Street.

The highway just became Market Street.  No off ramp. The highway didn’t end, the pavement just continued and you were on a city street.  I had long suspected this based on the excessive width of Market Street but when looking at a 1958 aerial photograph of St. Louis.  To see the image go to historicaerials.com:  Enter 3200 Market in 63103 as the address, pan to the left and select 1958 from the available aerials.

Why does this matter?

Myself and others have advocated removing a mile of highway between downtown and the Mississippi River after the new river bridge opens in 2014.  I-70 will be routed across the new bridge leaving a stretch of the existing highway from Cass to the Poplar St Bridge unmarked.  The end point of I-44 is going to be extended so the mile stretch has a number. Highway officials know that without an assigned number it is hard to justify keeping the road. We have argued in favor of a grade-level boulevard to connect the mile stretch.

The point here is that a highway becoming a street is not unheard of in St. Louis. It is not uncommon elsewhere either.  I’ve been to Vancouver twice, both times by car from Seattle.  My first visit I was as a passenger, the second time I was driving.  Motorists leaving Seattle take I-5 to the Canadian border.  Once past customs you are on their 99.  Looks much the same except for speed limits and distances in metric.  As you approach the city you cross a river and the highway feeds into Oak Street (streetview).   Just like that.

Back in St. Louis, between 1958 and 1971 the stretch of Highway 40 (I-64) was built between Compton and the Poplar Street Bridge. The PSB opened in 1967 so that is likely when Highway 40 ceased being dumped into Market Street. We can do this again for the mile stretch downtown.  We must do this to reconnect our city to the river.

– Steve Patterson

Kunstler’s wrong, St. Louis’ new train/bus depot is not an eyesore

I’ve been a fan of James Howard Kunstler for years.  I heard him speak in St. Louis when The Geography of Nowhere first came out – he autographed my copy.  I frequently check out his “Eyesore of the Month.”  This month the eyesore is St. Louis’ Gateway Station.

The above was followed by:

Check out this monstrosity: the new St. Louis Amtrak station, an utterly bewildering piece-of-shit shoehorned under a bunch of freeway ramps behind a UPS depot parking lot. Where’s the Prozac dispenser?
Salutes to reader Laura Louzader out in Missouri who says of this monument: “It is a nasty pocket in the city’s neglected back yard, and the first things you see when you exit the station are the dark parking lot under the overpasses, weed-choked vacant lots, and abandoned, shacky little buildings.”

“What a wonderful introduction to St. Louis! There are only two platforms and four pockets for trains, which tells you how committed Amtrak and St. Louis are to passenger rail.”

Kunstler concludes with a picture of our magnificent Union Station from a similar perspective as this one I took last year:

So because Union Station is no longer used for rail transit our new station is a “piece-of-shit.”   The problem I have is not the criticism of the new station – a few are correct.  The problem is relying on an account/pictures from a visitor from Chicago.  I’m often critical of projects and places but I always visit in person to see for myself rather than be potentially misled by a reader.

Had Kunstler done his homework he would have known it has been more than thirty years since the last train backed out of Union Station.  From 1978-2008 St. Louis’ Amtrak station was in two different portable buildings (#1 1978-2004, #2 2004-2008).  It is not like we stopped using Union Station one day and the new station the next.

Our Gateway Station combines Amtrak and  Greyhound with our MetroLink light rail and MetroBus.  I’d say that is a good combination.  Utilizing  the space under the highway makes sense and bringing these services together in one spot can help visitors.

I spoke with Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari by phone to discuss the station.  His district covers 22 stations.

• Last five years in Union Station were “pretty awful.”  A pod under the shed served a couple of tracks. Trains had to back out.
• St. Louis is now the envy of many cities because of this combination of rail, bus and local transit.
• Original 1980s re-developer of Union Station wanted train nostalgia, not actual trains
• St. Louis is working on developing new structures around the station.
• Platform capacity at this new station is double what we’ve had for the past 30 years.
• Number of platforms can be increased as rail traffic increases.

The area where the station is located is not in the heart of our loft district (where I live) but is next to the highway and train tracks.  Locating a train station sorta requires it to be next to the tracks.

AI wrote about the development potential of this  area in July 2006, more than two years before the Amtrak/Greyhound station opened next to the existing MetroLink station:

Between the Civic Center Station (14th) and the Union Station Station (18th) is development nirvana. At the immediate corner of 14th & Clark we’ve got a nice grove of trees leading to the station platforms. I could see a new building design just to the west, facing Clark, that leaves this corner plaza intact. However, I’d get out the chainsaw for the right building(s) on the corner at 14th. The problem here is the big curve is closer to street grade than I’d like and lowering it might be too costly. But, from what was once 15th to 16th you’ve got a clean shot over the tracks. Same for 16th to 18th.

Concentrating more residences near 18th and Clark would create more daily users for Union Station (so it is not entirely dependent upon tourist traffic). Offering downtown residential units without included garage space might also offer affordability to those that want a car-free lifestyle but cannot currently afford to live near a MetroLink station. Of course, garage space could be built on the main and a few upper levels with retail along the street-face and office & residential over the parking. A mix of housing in numerous price ranges might be the best solution.

While I’d have no opposition to a mid or high-rise tower I don’t think it is necessary either, at least not from a design perspective. Clark and the adjacent numbered streets would have had 3-6 story buildings originally. This creates a nice friendly scale along the sidewalk for pedestrians. Even is part of the structures did get taller a shorter height at the sidewalk would still be best.

The cost-effectiveness of construction over a functioning transit line is the big problem with this plan. The cost of the required concrete tunnel may necessitate more floors just to help break even. The concept is certainly worth detailed analysis.

No question the buildings immediately across 15th look a bit shabby as does the numerous fenced parking lots.

– Steve Patterson

The route to St. Charles

More and more I rely on Google Maps on my iPhone.  Sometimes it is for directions but recently it was to let me know the time to drive from downtown to visit friends in St. Charles.

I knew the route but wasn’t sure of the time.  Thirty-five minutes isn’t too bad, certainly seems longer! Once I had my answer I was curious about the other two route options offered by Google Maps: transit and walking.

As expected the transit option (above) returned with the message, “Transit directions could not be found between these locations.”  No surprise since I was headed far into suburbia.  But what about walking?

Great, a walking route.  But the route is over 70% longer than driving (29.5 miles vs 44.5 miles).  I’m not sure what I expected but it wasn’t such an out of the way route.  Some use walking routes to help find cycling routes and this is not a viable alternative. It must relate to safe ways to cross the Missouri River.

– Steve Patterson

Great buildings have been built in the worst of economic times

Last week AIA St. Louis noted Radio City Music Hall opened this week during the Great Depression (Dec. 27, 1932). Like our current situation with the stalled Ballpark Village project, plans for the site were stalled due to the economic conditions.

When the stock market crashed in 1929, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. held a $91 million, 24-year lease on a piece of midtown Manhattan property properly known as “the speakeasy belt.” Plans to gentrify the neighborhood by building a new Metropolitan Opera House on the site were dashed by the failing economy and the business outlook was dim. Nevertheless, Rockefeller made a bold decision that would leave a lasting impact on the city’s architectural and cultural landscape. He decided to build an entire complex of buildings on the property-buildings so superior that they would attract commercial tenants even in a depressed city flooded with vacant rental space. The project would express the highest ideals of architecture and design and stand as a symbol of optimism and hope. (Source: Radio City Music Hall)

Rockefeller saw the need to react and devised a new development strategy.

St. Louis is lacking leaders with the courage to change direction in the face of adversity.   We need people to build lasting quality.  If the St. Louis Cardinals had political & financial pressure on them the Ballpark Village site would be platted for others to begin developing it piece by piece.

I’ve seen one show inside Radio City, the interior is stunning.

I simply don’t buy the argument Ballpark Village isn’t happening because of the 2009 economy.  The massive project was announced in the Fall of 2006.

12/1/2008: The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy.  (source; CNN Money)

The Cardinals & Cordish had a year before the downturn started to get the project off the ground.  It didn’t happen because the entertainment district concept is not a sound investment.  The economy is an excuse to cover for a failed development concept.

– Steve Patterson