The two blocks of Washington Ave from Tucker (12th) to 14th were designed to be special – low curbs, special paving and unique lighting in the center of the street.
The paving & lights were a symbolic zipper — a nod to the areas origins in garment manufacturing. But with numerous lights going out the zipper is disappearing. We build the stuff but then stop maintaining it. If we are not going to maintain it we shouldn’t build it.
– Steve Patterson
When downtown residents began planning a downtown dog run a couple of years ago it was known then that at least one potential member/user from an adjacent building uses a wheelchair.
So I was surprised when I heard last month the newly constructed dog run in Lucas Park had accessibility issues. The newly constructed sidewalk (above) ramps up to the gate. Like any door that you pull toward you there is a need for at least 18″ on the handle side of the gate to permit entry.
You can see they had only a few inches to the side. The paved area ends as well making wheelchair access a real challenge.
A few weeks later that previous entry sidewalk was ripped up and a proper sidewalk was in place. Because of grade changes this will allow access from the lower center section and the higher outside section. Access inside is now possible.
A small part of the interior has also been paved to permit wheelchair access. I’m continually baffled at both small and big projects that don’t take into considerations the needs of their users. I would have caught this mistake on paper but a year ago I got pushed out of the planning committee because I wanted an open chain of communications (Yahoo or Google Group). I had plenty of other items consuming my time so I didn’t fight to stay where I wasn’t wanted (but clearly needed).
– Steve Patterson
When Citygarden opened this past Summer it was an instant hit. Kids especially loved the various places to get wet.
The splash fountain was packed with kids. Adults lined the edges watching as the kids had fun.
Even adults got into the fountain and got wet, I couldn’t resist.
But when Fall arrived the fountains were turned off but they remain interesting. How can a turned-off fountain be interesting?
During the day you see a random arrangement of these white balls placed over some of the fountain heads. Interesting. But come back at night and it gets very interesting.
The lights that add interest to the fountain during the Summer illuminate the balls. But the color is not static. The two videos that follow are very brief but they give you an idea of how they change:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rueLAw1Jbw
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngOE3f9UcCY
The video doesn’t do it justice, it must be experienced in person. These two blocks continue to be interesting even during a time of the year an outdoor garden is not always so interesting.
– Steve Patterson
A year ago today the ribbon was cut on the Gateway Transportation Center in downtown St. Louis (view post).
This station includes both Greyhound bus and Amtrak train and is adjacent to a MetroLink light rail station and a regional bus hub (map link). It is a transportation mecca. Someone can use Greyhound to get to St. Louis where they can take MetroLink to the airport or Amtrak to Chicago. Or just stay in St. Louis using the light rail or bus service to explore the city and some of the region.
The interior is no Union Station but it also is a huge improvement over the “temporary” shacks that were used for 20 some years.
Security is better than other train & bus stations I’ve seen — only ticketed passengers can get to the train platform or the bus loading area. I’ve yet to take a train or bus in/out of this new station. I had used both the old stations.
Monday of this week a new long-term parking lot opened up. From the press release:
The secure 42-space parking area is paved, fenced, well-lit and monitored by security cameras. It is fully automated, only accepts credit or debit cards and offers the attractive rate is $6 for up to 24 hours and $6 for each succeeding 24-hour period.
For the 12 months ending September 30, 2009, Amtrak St. Louis ridership reached 278,778, an increase of nearly 2.5 percent (6,781 passengers) from the previous year.
If you have used the new station for bus or train service please share your thoughts below.
– Steve Patterson
I often get emails from people wanting me to bring attention a problem/dispute they are having.   Such was the case on November 7th:
I live in the Jack Thompson Lofts on the top floor above Club Lure. I live with my girlfriend and her [9 year-old] daughter and the smoke from the bar engulfs us every weekend. The condo assc. meet with the bar a couple of times and request smoke eaters. They agree to install them months ago but it never happened. Now they just ignore us.
“Engulfs?”Many people tend to exaggerate or twist facts to get the media on their side. I ended up emailing with both of them, learning more about their situation. I emailed some smoke-free friends that suggested they look here and here (pdf) for help. I was interested in sharing their story and I could have shared it just based on their accounts.From their descriptions I could tell their situation was real and they were not just playing me. But I knew it was best if I visited them in person to see for myself. Before I get to my visit let me explain the building.
The Jack Thompson Square building is located at the Southwest corner of Tucker & Washington Ave (map).
The ground floor is Lure Nightclub. Floors 2-4 are offices, mostly for Kwame Building Group, the developer of the building. You may recognize the name Kwame — they were part of the Cross County Collaborative that won a lawsuit with Metro over the extension of our MetroLink system. The club and the offices share the Washington Ave entrance.
The 5th floor contains four condos while the 6th floor has four 2-story units. The 8 residential condos have a separate entrance at the rear of the building facing narrow St. Charles St.
That first weekend we couldn’t find a time to meet. The problem, they explained, was worst between 1am and 8am. I knew I’d need to alter my schedule to verify their claim.
So last Friday night I went to their condo located at Tucker & Washington Ave at 1am (technically Saturday morning). I had never been in the residential part of this building. Like most, the lobby contains a mail center and an elevator. But this resident lobby contained something I’ve seen in no other: massive amounts of cigarette smoke.
This is basically the size of the lobby. The elevator is to the left and the mailboxes are just beyond that. Behind me to the right is a door to a hallway which leads to the back emergency exit for Lure Nightclub.
Typically in these buildings the commercial spaces are kept separate from the resident spaces. However, it is common to permit emergency egress through an otherwise resident-only space. The club’s exit door is at the end on the left in the above image.
We took the elevator up to the top — the 6th floor. I was so bothered by the lobby smoke their hall seemed refreshing. We peaked into the emergency staircase.
The stair leads up to the roof. The bedrooms/bathrooms for the four 6th floor units are located on the 7th floor. A former opening from the stairwell is adjacent to her daughter’s bathroom. Each Friday & Saturday night the smoke makes its way up the stairwell forcing them to run the exhaust fan in her bathroom.
This couple’s unit is in the middle of the floor. They said the neighbor with the entrance opposite the elevator (above) gets smoke through the elevator shaft.
From the shared hall I could see the intersection of Tucker (12th) and Washington Ave.
Their loft was very nice. I didn’t even attempt the spiral stair but we talked for about 15 minutes. Their windows which face West were closed but I could hear the music from the club below — we are on the 6th floor!
Heading back down the hall to the elevator I could now smell the smoke on their floor. Coming off the elevator into the lobby I was again confronted by the visible smoke. Just then a young man exited the club into the resident lobby to talk on his phone. I can’t imagine putting up with 1) this smoke and 2) having strangers in what should be secured space.
I emailed both Lure and Kwame Sunday morning requesting a response to the claim they are ignoring requests from loft owner’s to remedy the situation. This couple and her daughter moved in a year ago after she bought the condo.  Their first night in their new home a fight broke out in the club that spilled out into their lobby. I’vc never been to Lure but here is how they describe themselves:
Located in the heart of downtown, Lure nightclub is one of the most popular places in Saint Louis. Lure nightclub has become the place where the “A” list crowd goes to unwind, to dance, or just have a drink. Every night Lure attracts beautiful crowds by the sweet smell of sophistication, class and style. The beauty of this magnificent ultra lounge is supplemented by the house groves, European bottle service and party people. This chic ultra lounge keeps finger on the pulse of socialite demands with modern decor, sexy lighting, and DJs spinning the best in hip hop, top 40 and house.
As of January 2, 2011 Lure will be smoke-free but that is more than 13 months away. When the weather is warm the problem is not as bad because the club runs the air conditioning system. The couple tried a petition to revoke the club’s liquor license but they couldn’t even sign it themselves:
The Excise Division has a procedure wherein the property owners, registered voters and business owners within a 350 feet circular radius of the proposed premises can protest the issuance, renewal or continuation of a liquor license and seek administrative review.
Apparently the Excise Division has an unwritten rule limiting protesters to the first few floors of a building. Second floor residents of The Meridian building across Tucker can protest Lure’s license but none of the residents in the same structure can. That just doesn’t seem right.
Lure needs to contain the smoke within it’s space. The developer of the building, which owns the space Lure leases, needs to correct any deficiencies that allow the smoke from one space to enter another. The emergency exit at Lure needs a panic alarm so the door is used only in actual emergency situations. Club patrons should not have access to the resident portion of the building unless they are exiting the club in a true emergency.
Hopefully these parties can resolve this awful situation prior to the start of the indoor smoke-free law on January 2, 2011.
Addendum: as I wrote this piece over the weekend I sent out many emails. Monday morning at 9:15am I got a call from Kwame’s President/CEO Tony Thompson. He indicated he was unaware of the problem and would get his building management staff on the issue right away. But within the last year the condo association met with Lure’s manager and Tony’s brother Ty. We’ll see, hopefully a resolution is coming soon.
I also learned that 7th Ward Alderman Phyllis Young introduced BB240 on 11/13/09 that would revise the city’s excise ordinance. Language in this bill would still mean these residents have no say:
No portion of a building shall be considered to be within the petition circle other than the main or surface floor of such building, the two floors immediately above the main or surface floor, and the floor immediately below the main or surface floor.
That is fine for adjacent buildings within the 350ft radius, but not for the subject building.
UPDATE: 11/17/09 @ 12:15pm – I just received a phone call from Lure’s manager, Tony Tribiani. He said he and Kwame’s Ty Thompson have met with the association he says he can’t afford the equipment to eat the smoke. He says the couple shouldn’t have bought a condo located over a nightclub. Furthermore, what I saw, smelled and coughed on was not smoke — it was fog created by hazers that weekend. Yeah right I can tell the difference between fog and cigarette smoke..
– Steve Patterson