Lunch Al Fresco

According to the calendar it has been Spring for three weeks now, but it sure hasn’t felt like it. Finally, on Wednesday we began to warm up. That day I met friends for lunch…al fresco.  They’re from Springfield IL, they came in the day before for the Cardinals game, we met at Pi downtown, as it was near their hotel and they have a nice outdoor patio.

After lunch I had grocery shopping to do but they had two hours to sight see until they needed to be back at the Amtrak station. They hadn’t seen Citygarden yet, so I showed them. Culinaria was next, I stayed to shop while they continued on.  I’d suggested places a few places for them to see:

• Big Shark bike shop & adjacent bike station
• Central Library
• Soliders Memorial

I’m just very glad we’re above freezing. Now if we can get rain at night, but dry clear days.

— Steve Patterson

Readers OK With Ballpark Village Dress Code

Slightly more than half the readers who voted in the poll last week selected answers supportive on the dress codes at Ballpark Village venues, conversely just under half selected answers unsupportive.

Here are the results:

Q: The Dress Code at Ballpark Village Is…

1. a good thing 45 [28.85%]
2. no big deal 37 [23.72%]
3. a way to say “whites only” 27 [17.31%]
4. par for the Cordish course 15 [9.62%]
5. pointless 8 [5.13%]
6. offensive 7 [4.49%]
7. confusing 7 [4.49%]
8. Other: 7 [4.49%]
   1. lame
   2. A dress code is needed, but this one goes too far, after all it is called ballpa
   3. a way to filter who is allowed in
   4. The same as most clubs on Wash Ave.
   5. The dress code at Ballpark village is a clear example sexism.
   6. necessary evil
   7. all the dress codes seem to apply to men.
9. Unsure/no opinion 3 [1.92%]

The various dress codes are outlined in the original post. In short, TV’s Daisy Duke would be admitted, but St. Louis native Nelly, dressed as he was in the Hot in Herre video, would be turned away.  On Washington Ave I’ve seen young women wearing skirts so short any shorter they’d be flashing everyone. Presumably, that’s ok. We’ll probably check out a few of the venues but I don’t see any becoming a regular hangout.

— Steve Patterson

Culinaria Responds To Competition From Fields Foods, Improves Produce Department

When Fields Foods opened in January on the near south side, just south of downtown, those of us who’ve regularly shopped at Culinaria at 9th & Olive were envious of the produce selection. Culinaria also noticed, prompting changes in their produce department.

The selection is still lacking compared to Fields Foods, but greatly improved over what it has been.  Glad to see management is willing to change when a tiny upstart opens not far away. It’ll be interesting to see how both respond when Whole Foods opens in the CWE late next year.

— Steve Patterson

Washington Ave Sidewalk Reopened

The last part of filling in the old railroad tunnel under Tucker was the NW corner of Tucker & Washington Ave. In January I posted the Last Remaining Corner of Tucker Project, at that time, 

The basement of the Bogen lofts extends under the Tucker & Washington sidewalks, requiring more work to to create the concrete top over the basement vaults. Up top the Washington Ave sidewalk looks the same as it did before, the bricks were reset on top of the concrete. I’m glad I can finally use the north side of Washington.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Zoning Needs Maximum Parking Requirements Instead of Minimums

A few months ago a reader sent me an article about a trend toward new residential buildings constructed without parking:

A wave of new residential construction projects in places like Seattle, Boston, and Miami are showing that, yes, modern American cities can build housing without any car parking on site. (Real Estate Trend: Parking-Free Apartment Buildings)

It wasn’t surprising to me to see this in cities that value the pedestrian and support public transit by actually using it. Here only a few of us value pedestrians, use public transit. Bankers wanted condos/apartments to have more than one parking space per unit, requiring a minimum of a 1:1 ratio. For example, a 100-unit project couldn’t have 80-90 spaces, it needed at least 100 to get financing.

In Dcember Boston approved a new project with zero resident parking, raising eyebrows even there:

Recall that in September developer Related Beal asked for the BRA to approve a revised plan for the residential component of Lovejoy Wharf: 175 condos instead of a few hundred apartments; and, please, let us eliminate the 315-space garage. The developers’ logic? There’s so much public transit nearby and the project’s smackdab in one of the nation’s most walkable (and bikable) cities that it’s sheer cloud cuckoo land to follow the Boston regs of at least one parking spot for every two housing units. (No Parking: Boston Green-Lights Car-Less Condo)

One space for every two units? St. Louis doesn’t have any parking requirements downtown, but lenders mandate one space per unit. Outside of downtown at least one space per unit is required. What we need to do in places like downtown, around near light rail stations & bus transfer centers, is have maximum parking requirements, rather than minimums. I’d set the maximum pretty high initially, like 0.8/0.9 spaces per unit.  It could be set to automatically lower over the next 20-25 years, ending up at say one parking space for every two units.

Currently when most people rent an apartment, or buy a condo, they get a parking space included. Of course, parking isn’t free, but the cost isn’t clear to the consumer when it is bundled. Just the act of charging a separate fee will cause the end user to begin to evaluate/question car ownership. Instead of $800/month the apartment might be $750/mo with parking at $50/mo.

A few downtown buildings do this, one just reopened. CityParc is one of six 1950s buildings originally part of the urban renewal project called Plaza Square.

This is the only one of the six with garage parking, but even that isn’t enough for one space per unit. Public policy has an impact on outcomes, require minimum parking you’ll get more than necessary and fewer pedestrians.

— Steve Patterson