Last Remaining Corner of Tucker Project

The rebuilt of Tucker from Washington to Cass is nearly complete, traffic in both directions has been open for a while now. However, crews are still working to finish the last bit of work — the NW corner of Tucker & Washington.

Both sidewalks are being replaced as part of the project. But these sidewalks are far more complicated because of how the building was built in 1901. Like a number of other buildings downtown, the basement was allowed to extend past the property line, under the public sidewalk.  This comlicates matters greatly when replacing sidewalks. Sidewalks usually rest on compacted dirt but here people park their cars under the sidewalk.

It looks like this corner will be done and the barriers removed just before the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge opens to vehicular traffic on Sunday February 9th.

Here’s a couple of prior posts on the Tucker project:

• May 2012: Tucker Tunnel Not Quite Gone
• December 2012: Tucker Tunnel Now Completely Opened Up

— Steve Patterson

Crossing Tucker at Olive

I’ve written before that Tucker south of Washington Ave needs to be redone. Here’s a reason why: the ADA ramps are incomplete putting pedestrians like me in harms way.

Tucker is excessively wide so crossing it is bad enough, but when there’s no ramp you have to wait for traffic to break so you can use the north-south ramp. A ramp could be added here but this part of Tucker needs curb bulbs like the revolt stretch north of Washington Ave.

Of course bad situations exist all over the city.  As I go to various places in the city I encounter similar problems. I’m not sure how the city prioritizes which streets get new streetscapes, and when. It may take a while…

— Steve Patterson

Downtown YMCA Partially Reopened After Pipe Burst

The downtown YMCA partially reopened on Monday the 20th after being closed for 10 days. A couple of postings on their Facebook page explains: 

January 10th: 

The Downtown Y is closed until further notice due to a water main break. We are assessing the situation and will be able to update with details today. We apologize for the inconvenience. Other local YMCAs will welcome you during this time. We will be rescheduling more Fitness On Demand Orientations next week.

January 16th:

The facility is undergoing emergency cleanup due to a fire sprinkler system break that occurred as a result of last week’s subzero temperatures. Generators are currently being used to power equipment that is helping the cleanup happen quickly and safely. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our neighbors and assure the community that we are working through this process as quickly as possible, with as little disturbance as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we work through this unavoidable issue.

It was the generators on 16th Street that got my attention:

Presumably the 7 upper floors with 100 apartments, vacant since 2007, have been winterized. If so, the burst pipe was in one of the 3 floors of the YMCA.

— Steve Patterson

Cordish & Cardinals Correcting ADA Mistakes At Ballpark Village

Last September I wrote how Cordish & Cardinals Failed To Plan for Pedestrians at Ballpark Village. I had immediately informed city officials after I spotted some violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July, they were unaware of the issues until I pointed them out.

On January 19th I noticed this corner looks a bit different:

I’m not sure who screwed up originally but the fixes aren’t cheap. This is just another example of pedestrian work done poorly/incorrectly in St. Louis, with almost no oversight.

Eventually I hope the owners, contractors, architects, and engineers on these projects will learn how to do things right, or at least hire someone that does, to make sure they’ve got it right before the concrete is poured.

— Steve Patterson

Vikings Metrodome Demolition Got Me Thinking About The St. Louis Rams & The Edward Jones Dome

This past weekend you no doubt saw video of the Minnesota Vikings’ 1982 Metrodome roof being deflated to make way for a replacement stadium. This got me thinking about our own St. Louis Rams and the Edward Jones Dome. The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) rejected the last Rams proposal, then lost in arbitration:

By declining to carry out that proposal, the commission granted the Rams stadium free agency starting in 2015.

Owner Stan Kroenke has the leverage to start negotiating a new stadium deal here or elsewhere. The Rams could operate amid uncertainty for years to come. (stltoday)

I have no doubt in my mind that Kroenke will opt out of the lease and begin trying to fund a build a new home for the team. He’ll extend his hand locally to see if it gets filled with money, or gets slapped down. He’ll threaten to relocate if we don’t help fund the new stadium, standard operating procedure in the NFL:

In Minnesota, the Vikings wanted a new stadium, and were vaguely threatening to decamp to another state if they didn’t get it. The Minnesota legislature, facing a $1.1 billion budget deficit, extracted $506 million from taxpayers as a gift to the team, covering roughly half the cost of the new facility. Some legislators argued that the Vikings should reveal their finances: privately held, the team is not required to disclose operating data, despite the public subsidies it receives. In the end, the Minnesota legislature folded, giving away public money without the Vikings’ disclosing information in return. The team’s principal owner, Zygmunt Wilf, had a 2011 net worth estimated at $322 million; with the new stadium deal, the Vikings’ value rose about $200 million, by Forbes’s estimate, further enriching Wilf and his family. They will make a token annual payment of $13 million to use the stadium, keeping the lion’s share of all NFL ticket, concession, parking, and, most important, television revenues. (How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers)

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: if we continue to have an NFL team, a new stadium should be in a more spacious area.  One site continues to come to mind:

In fact, a new stadium would only need part of the site.

The biggest thing after funding any project is where you are going to place your new giant building. Every city has ideal sites for these over-65-acre—or three million square feet—stadiums.

There is no correct answer for the best place to put one of these bad boys. Honestly, it’s easiest to work with the city and figure out the most cost-effective site. Using Dallas as an example, they went through three different municipalities before they finally decided on a site in Arlington.

The idea behind picking a site is making sure it will be big enough for a new stadium. That means over 80 acres of undisturbed and non-requisitioned land—meaning no wetlands, no rivers, no easements, and no eminent domain issues.

The Cowboys decided on a site that is in that 80-acre range, and they finally got their stadium finished after over a decade of issues. They likely had to fight easements and eminent domain issues while they created the site.

Sometimes roads even have to be moved in the middle of a city and, in some cases, historic landmarks may be threatened. It’s definitely an issue the Falcons are facing with their site selection, as they may have to buy out a pair of churches that have been in Atlanta for years. (Designing the Perfect NFL Stadium)

With 280 acres available there’d be plenty of room for hotels, restaurants, retail, etc to be constructed. Being adjacent to I-44 these other businesses could hopefully survive off-season. I think local taxpayers will end up paying part of the cost of a new stadium, I just hope our leaders don’t get taken to the cleaners.

I see the Rams playing at the Edward Jones Dome through at least the 2018 season.

— Steve Patterson