Feasibility Of A Streetcar From Downtown To The Loop

The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis wants to connect to the city’s central corridor to the west. On Friday it issued a Request for Qualifications (link) to hire a consulting firm to study the feasibility to connect to midtown, the central west end and the planned Loop Trolley. From the RFQ:

The proposed streetcar will strengthen the region’s transit system by feeding into current and proposed MetroLink and MetroBus lines; solidifying existing and spurring additional economic investments. With the streetcar line’s frequent stops along the central east-west corridor, the line will complement and serve intersecting MetroLink and MetroBus routes. With the efforts for the Loop Trolley, the ability to connect the two lines would benefit both efforts and enable riders to go from Downtown to University City by streetcar. A preliminary analysis of connecting the two lines should be included. The feasibility study will build the foundation for additional environmental and engineering work, the tools necessary for the basic environmental work to position this project for additional funding opportunities in the future. 

Post-Dispatch writer Tim Bryant made his route suggestion on the Building Blocks blog:

Begin with a single-track loop around the Old Post Office downtown. Close Eighth Street between Olive and Locust to traffic and convert that block to a streetcar terminal connected directly to an expanded 8th & Pine MetroLink station below.

From the Old Post Office, a double-track line could head west on Locust past the Central Library, through the growing Downtown West area and Midtown Alley to near SLU, where the line could jog over to Olive Street and continue west through Grand Center to the CWE.At Walton Avenue, the line could head south then west again at McPherson Avenue next to the apartment building where a young Tennessee Williams lived with his family. (The family’s apartment is believed by some to have provided Williams the inspiration to write “The Glass Menagerie.”)

After passing through a CWE business area, the streetcar line could turn south on Kingshighway then west on Waterman to Union, to Pershing and, finally, to DeBaliviere Avenue, where the streetcar could end with another connection to MetroLink and the planned Loop Trolley. (STLtoday.com w/map)

I’ll admit the idea of a streetcar line running on Locust directly in front of my building is mighty appealing, but that’s main problem with Bryant’s route — it goes where development’s already happened. Thus little would be gained from the significant upfront capital costs.  To spur “additional economic investments” the route needs to go where that’s actually possible.

Currently two bus lines connect downtown to parts west: the #10 on Olive/Lindell and the #97 on Washington and Delmar west of Compton. Simply replacing one or the other with a streetcar line isn’t feasible. Well you could replace the #10 on Olive/Lindell but  you’d not want to keep going west of Kingshighway with Forest Park on one side and mansions on the other.

I’ve suggested a route before, from November 2008:

An example, that I’ve articulated before, would be Olive heading West from downtown, jumping North to Delmar at Vandeventer or Sarah and then continuing West on Delmar to the loop. (post)

My thinking is unchanged, the opportunities to build new density along the route and within a few blocks in each direction are excellent.

East of Tucker a single loop would be made through the central business district, passing no further than one block from the 8th & Pine MetroLink station.  West of Tucker a track on either side of a center median. Passengers would board from points along the median. This is important to keep costs down since St. Louis streetcars originally ran in the center so manhole covers and other access points are on the outer edges and the center is relatively free of obstructions.

Like Bryant’s route I want the line to be on Olive west of Grand. The Olive-Lindell split has been reworked (post) since I last suggested a streetcar follow this old route but the intersection could be redone again. Staying on Olive is important at this point because of potential development sites between Grand and Vandeventer. At Vandeventer I’d make right and go north one block to Delmar. From there follow Delmar and join the Loop Trolley.

How do you justify such a massive capital expenditure when the area is currently served by bus routes. If our zoning remains unchanged along the route the expense can’t possibly be justified at all. I love streetcars and to have a line within a block of my loft would be wonderful. But as we’ve seen with MetroLink light rail, without government setting development goals through the use of it’s police power a streetcar line won’t spur new investment and density along the line. Sure, some would happen, but as much as if required. The highest density should be on the blocks facing the route with a drop on each of the next two blocks.

I’m glad to see the Partnership taking this first step. Next would be dropping the idea of north & south light rail lines, building streetcar lines instead to connect north & south city into downtown.

– Steve Patterson

What Is Normal? A Small College Town In Central Illinois

Normal is & isn’t many things, but it’s definitely a town in Illinois. The old downtown of Normal IL is undergoing a transformation and rebranding into Uptown Normal, which is the reason for this post. First, some background:

Normal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,497. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area, and the seventh-most populous community in Illinois, outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The mayor of Normal is Chris Koos.

The town was laid out with the name North Bloomington on June 7, 1854 by Joseph Parkinson. From its founding it was generally recognized that Jesse W. Fell was the force behind the creation of the town. Fell had arranged for the new railroad, which would soon become the Gulf Mobile and Ohio, to pass west of Bloomington and then curve to cross the Illinois Central Railroad at a point where he owned or controlled land. Most of the Original Town lays south of the tracks, with Beaufort Street as its northern limit, and some blocks west of the Illinois Central and north of the tracks. Fell, his brothers, and associates quickly laid out many additions to the Original Town.

The town was renamed as Normal in February 1865 and officially incorporated in 1867. The name was taken from Illinois State Normal University, a normal school (teacher-training institution) located there. The school has since been renamed Illinois State University after becoming a general four year university. Normal is adjacent to Bloomington, Illinois, and when mentioned together they are known as the “Twin Cities”, “Bloomington-Normal”, “B-N”, or “Blo-No.” (Wikipedia)

Bloomington’s 2010 population was 76,610 for a combined total of 129,107 with a 40/60 split between the two municipalities. Why Normal?

Last month I attended a LEED-ND workshop sponsored by the USGBC Missouri Gateway Chapter.

 The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design. LEED for Neighborhood Development is a collaboration among USGBC, Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Source)

The facilitator was architect/planner Doug Farr.  Of the numerous examples presented one was in Normal IL, with a traffic circle with the center as a destination spot. The circle includes water features using filtered storm water.  I was intrigued. A few hours later I had my train ticket and hotel reservations for the Friday and Saturday night before Memorial Day.

Many of the old buildings were razed, new parking garages built, and street patterns were changed.  From Farr & Associate’s website:

Despite being home to Illinois State University and having a population of 22,000, downtown Normal has been in a prolonged state of decline, marked by reduced retail choices and deferred building maintenance. Farr Associates prepared a redevelopment master plan to revitalize the downtown. The preliminary $211 million redevelopment plan is anchored by a new traffic circle and stormwater-treating fountain, an Amtrak multi-modal high speed rail facility, a new children’s museum, beautiful streetscaping, and new retail and mixed-use buildings.  (Source)

The railroad line runs behind the buildings on the right in the picture above. Currently passenger service is on the far side of the tracks, away from the new development  in Uptown.

With Illinois State University within walking distance students use Amtrak often. Students returning in the fall will get off the train near the Uptown Circle.

The new station will be in the building on the left. Also in the building and garage will be the Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System, the bus service operated independently of the two municipalities. The top two floors will become the new Normal City Hall. The existing city hall near the existing Amtrak station will be full with other departments, including more room for the police department.

I met with Mayor Chris Koos at his bike shop to discuss the goals and process of this dramatic change. Koos has been mayor since 2003, their elections are non-partisan. I asked if people questioned all the bike racks in Uptown since he sells bikes for a living. “All the time” he said, adding “My response to then is ‘Would you question the street resurfacing budget  if I owned a car dealership?'” I was quite surprised by the number of pedestrians and cyclists I saw — more bikes than I’d see in all of downtown St. Louis!

One area has so much demand for bike parking that an automobile space on the street has been converted to bike parking.

Really? Normal can get an urban CVS while we get typical suburban stand alone stores in a sea of parking? Other retail spaces in the building aren’t yet leased, the apartments above are off campus housing managed by ISU. Nice to see a university involved in new high-density urban development! Someone get Biondi a train ticket to Normal IL.

I’ll return for another visit once the new Amtrak station is open and more new buildings have been finished. It would be nice to visit during the school year to see how active Uptown is or isn’t. On the train trip I noticed evidence of track work to reduce delays.

– Steve Patterson

Save A Lot To Anchor Jefferson Commons

Last week details become public for the development to be known as Jefferson Commons. You may know it by the last grocery occupant, Foodland. The development is located at Jefferson & Lafayette (Google Maps). From the developer:

Green Street and partners purchased the vacant 1601 S. Jefferson property in late 2011. Since closing on the property we have been diligently working on redevelopment plans to create a sustainable multi-tenant retail property that will provide goods and services to the community. Our anchor tenant will be Save A Lot who will occupy the 17,600 SF Suite A. In addition to Save A Lot we are in final negotiations with a nationally recognized fitness center and a nationally recognized sandwich shop. We do have additional space available at the site and we are currently talking to other prospective retailers who will be a good fit for the neighborhood. (Jefferson Commons page)

The grocery store was built originally as a Kroeger.

I did a 3-part series last year on this site: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. The owner of the main site, Green Street Properties, presented their redevelopment to the community a week ago.

The following drawings are preliminary concepts:

Save-A-Lot grocery would occupy “Suite A” at the south end of the building.  At the meeting residents expressed both support and disappointment in Save-A-Lot.  Those supporting the grocery chain said they were tired of this being vacant and they wanted a market within walking distance. Those disappointed mentioned a preference for a store with better food, such as organic, as would be the case with a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s. The site is in the 6th ward (Triplett) but 19th ward Ald Marlene Davis correctly pointed out that Dierberg’s, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s aren’t coming to the city.  However, I was told that Whole Foods “had an LOI in place on a urban style store in the CWE. They backed out when their pedestrian traffic counts didn’t hold up.”  Pedestrian traffic  counts, not vehicular traffic counts!

Other tenants in the building would include a fitness center and possibly a hardware store. Green Street doesn’t own the small strip center to the north but they are trying to acquire it. A new building would be added within the main parking lot, it includes a drive-thru.

I’m happy to see pedestrian access being added but I suggested a few points via email to the architect as they finalize the site plan:

1. Provide an access route to the park to the left of the upper left corner, residents currently use an opening in the fence to have direct access
2. Provide an access route to the neighboring property along Hennrieta Pl so residents of that street have direct access to the site.
3. Make the access route from Lafayette  Ave to the main building a straight shot rather than attempting to divert pedestrians to the east.
4. Provide an access route to the hotel at the south edge of the site so hotel guests can easily walk over to buy snacks or have dinner at a new restaurant.
5. Distribute bike parking rather than cluster all in front of Suite B.

At the meeting two individuals said they wished the building had red brick to fit in. Both times I cringed, why must we wrap everything  in the same red brick? A century ago the materials used and colors were vast.

I like the modern exterior that’s proposed, a good reuse of the existing structure.  Now’s your chance, share your thoughts in the comments below.

– Steve Patterson

Tucker Tunnel Not Quite Gone

The former commuter railroad tunnel under Tucker (12th) isn’t fully gone, but it’s a lot shorter now.

This project fascinates me, I wished at some point I’d seen the tunnel.  I’m looking forward to being able to use Tucker to get further north as a pedestrian. I still question the quality of any new development we’ll see along this corridor given the city’s lack of leadership on good urban planning.

– Steve Patterson

Redeveloping Natural Bridge & The UMSL South MetroLink Station

Considerable attention is being given to redeveloping Natural Bridge and the UMSL South MetroLink Station.

On Friday, [UMSL Chancellor] George announced that Normandy collaborators hit their $14 million goal last week to transform a portion of Natural Bridge Road between Lucas and Hunt Road and the inner belt of I-170 into a more pedestrian-friendly street.

The plan is part of the St. Louis Great Streets Initiative, a program through the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, designed to encourage community leaders to use their streets to enhance economic development and social activities in their communities. (St. Louis American)

The initial phase would be between Florissant and Hanley.  In the middle is the UMSL campus and the UMSL South MetroLink station just to the south of Natural Bridge.

CMT in partnership with Metro charged a group of local experts from the ULI St. Louis Chapter called a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) to look at the possibilities for development at the UMSL South Station. This is the second TAP that CMT and Metro have commissioned – the first at the Belleville MetroLink Station. Thanks to the AGC St. Louis for underwriting this event.

One idea presented was the possibility of rebranding the area around the station as a retail/commercial/event space as Plank Street Station. There would be a new access road that would run from Natural Bridge to the Station. The City of Normandy is willing to move their City Hall location to another area within this possible development or a different area all together. The panel suggested that Metro’s role could include building a pedestrian bridge as well as additional parking structure on the west side of the station to feed both the system and the development. (CMT-STL)

With all this interest I needed to see the area again to be able evaluate the proposals. The easiest way would’ve been to drive down Natural Bridge, but I no longer have a car. Besides, evaluating an area for a walkable district by driving is like evaluating a restaurant’s food based on internet pictures.

So on May 10th I caught the #4 (Natural Bridge) MetroBus on 18th at Clark and got off at Lucas and Hunt (aerial). I then “walked” in my power chair west along the north side of Natural Bridge to Hanley, crossed to the south side and returned. It was a 3.4 mile “walk” per Google Maps. I added a bit more distance by dropping down to the south UMSL MetroLink Station along the way.

During my four hour trip  (end to end, with lunch) I took 382 photos, I’ll share just some here.

Amazingly I was able to travel more than 3 miles with only a few barriers along the way. A lack of barriers for the disabled is a good start but this is a long way from being “pedestrian-friendly” corridor. One article I read said the goal was to be more like the Delmar Loop. My guess that was more about the writer’s ignorance on the subject than a stated goal. You can make a suburban corridor attractive to pedestrians but that’s not the same as a dense commercial district.

A detailed look at Natural Bridge was done as part of the East-West Gateway’s Great Streets Initiative, see the report here. It prescribes different treatments for different areas of the corridor. The Urban Land Institute, working with Citizens for Modern Transit, took a detailed look at the existing UMSL South MetroLink station and immediate surroundings, see that report here.

I’m not yet sure the proposed ideas are the best solutions but I do know the pedestrian experience can, and should, be improved.

– Steve Patterson