City Equipment Blocks Sidewalk Near SLU Campus

Yesterday, while driving home from the doctor, I spotted this equipment sitting on the sidewalk along Olive at Compton (map link):

In the background is a corner of the Saint Louis University campus.  Behind me, to the East, is several restaurants that cater to SLU students. Between the two is equipment used in monitoring traffic counts.  Someone had to make the decision it was OK to place this device on the sidewalk, in the way of pedestrians.  Able bodied students can walk around but the more our pedestrian spaces are compromised the less likely we are to walk from place to place.

– Steve Patterson

Midtown Sidewalk No Longer Blocked

On February 11, 2009 I highlighted an abandoned platform for a long-removed construction elevator blocking the sidewalk on Olive at Grand:

Last week, on the way to class at Saint Louis University, I stopped to take a picture of the now open sidewalk:

Two days ago reader John M. beat me to the punch with the following comment on the original post:

The eyesore has been removed and the sidewalk is back to the way it was. In addition, the one way  on the half of Olive down to Theresa will be reinstated back to a two way street in April after the signs are removed ( one way ) and the block re-striped yellow in the center line.

This is very good for FOX traffic congestion as they can take that right into ample parking.

Yes, Olive is back to two-way traffic.  The picture above was taken when it was still one-way Westbound.  I emailed everyone at City Hall I could think of as well as the bank that owns the property.  Clearly someone got the job done and removed the obstacle that had been left behind for roughly 9 months after the construction elevator was removed.

One day, hopefully soon, the building will sell and will undergo renovations.  The sidewalk may get blocked again when that time comes.  I’m more tolerant when work is ongoing.

Abandoned Construction Elevator Platform Blocks Midtown Sidewalk

In November of 2004 the ball started rolling to renovate the  Metropolitan building located at Grand & Olive in Midtown St. Louis:

At least six developers are interested in two Grand Center sites up for redevelopment.

A joint pre-bid conference on the properties, which include a vacant site owned by Saint Louis University on the northeast corner of Grand and Lindell and the Metropolitan Building on the northeast corner of Grand and Olive owned by Grand Center Inc., drew several developers or teams of developers. (source)

Pyramid Construction was one of those developers and they succeeded in getting the Metropolitan building by 2006.  Today, however, the building remains vacant and the wooden base from the long-removed construction elevator blocks the sidewalk.

Last April I broke the story that Pyramid had collapsed and was in the process of shutting down.  By June of 2008 most of their vast real estate holdings were either sold to others or taken back by creditors.  Such was the case with the Metropolitan:

Centrue Bank, the first mortgage holder on a loan to Pyramid Cos. for a planned redevelopment of the building, has assumed ownership of the building at 500 N. Grand. Pyramid bought the vacant, seven-story building for $2 million in 2006. The company planned to open a Hyatt Place hotel on the upper floors with retail on the ground floor. The total development cost was estimated at $30 million.  (source)

The owner of the construction elevator at the site removed the elevator following Pyramid’s collapse in April.  Since then the platform has continued to block the sidewalk and several on-street parking spaces.  The city is losing revenue by not having these spaces open for vehicles.  Pedestrians walking back and forth from various businesses & restaurants in the area must go into the street or walk over the platform.

Centrue unfortunately got stuck having to foreclose on the property.  Based on tax records, they remain the owner. I’m sure all they want is to be the former owner.

I will be sending the bank, 19th Ward Alderwoman Marlene Davis, and the City’s Director of Streets  an email asking for this to be removed so the sidewalk is once again open for use.

Hopefully we will once again see construction activity at this location but in the meantime the sidewalk needs to remain free of obstructions.  With newly renovated buildings and several new restaurants in the immediate area the last thing we need is an abandoned platform reminding us of Pyramid’s failure.

I’m on Google Streetview

If you love Google maps then you probably love streetview — the ability to see what an actual street looks like.

Friends of mine, planning students from St. Louis living in New Orleans, recently blogged about spotting me on my former Honda Metropolitan scooter in a streetview at Washington & Grand (link).

Thankfully I wasn’t over the stop line!  Thank you to Matt Mourning and Michael Powers!  I’ll be back on a scooter by Spring 2010.

New Arby’s has Required ADA Access Route

For a couple of years now I’ve showed project after project lacking a federally mandated ADA-compliant access route. The biggest culprits are often fast food joints with drive-throughs taking priority over the pedestrian (see post on recent Starbuck’s locations). Shopping centers are no exception and it wasn’t until I began highlighting the flaws at Loughborough Commons did they make changes to the original access plans. To date there is still not proper access to the Lowe’s. Granted a person in a wheelchair doesn’t come off the street to take home drywall but smaller items like light bulbs are still in need when you are disable.
I think the city’s former commissioner on the disabled used to just count the number of disabled parking spaces and give projects an OK if it met the required number. But I can assure you that not everyone arrives by car which means if they are not bicycling they are walking or using a wheelchair. And the ADA access route provides equally good access for those who are able bodied and those that are not. Those who are out pushing a baby stroller will appreciate the provisions as much as the person in a wheelchair.

So when the Arby’s on Lindell was rebuilt following the fire at the construction project next door (see post) I was not optimistic about what sort of pedestrian access they would provide. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the final outcome:

As you can see above it doesn’t take much — just a way to get from the public sidewalk to the main accessible entrance. Clearly here the pedestrian was given due consideration.

Given the urbanity of the apartment project next door it would have been nice to see the Arby’s be less suburban in nature — closer to the street, fewer auto drives, etc but at least they got the pedestrian access right. So if we are going to continue to build more suburban structures in the city, such as this Arby’s, we need to ensure they all have pedestrian access to the public sidewalk as this does.  Anything less is unacceptable.