Speed Bump Bill Hits a Bump in the Political Road

Recently the humble speed bump was elevated to a political issue, from MayorSlay.com:

“Today, I vetoed an odd little bill that would have paid for the installation of speed bumps in one of the city’s 105 parks. The bill’s sponsor ignored the testimony of the Streets Department that there were better and more effective ways to slow traffic and the opinion of the city counselor that such constructions are legally questionable under state and Federal law.

At my direction, the city’s operations director will work with the directors of the Parks and Streets Departments, the city’s chief engineer, the park’s users, and the bill’s sponsor to find appropriate, effective, and legal measures to calm traffic along that stretch of park road. If the issue is safety, not aldermanic courtesy, that will solve the problem.”

The sponsor was 21st ward alderman, Antonio French, a personal friend of many years. The bill was BB43.

I visited O’Fallon Park to check out the places where French wanted speed bumps, namely two points where the newish jogging trail crossing the main internal road in the park. I can certainly see why he wanted something to slow traffic, neither crossing point is marked other than two faint crosswalk lines.

The phrase “speed bump” doesn’t really apply in the case of O’Fallon Park, speed hump is better:

Speed humps are rounded raised areas placed across the roadway. They are generally 10 to 14 feet long (in the direction of travel), making them distinct from the shorter “speed bumps” found in many parking lots, and are 3 to 4 inches high. The profile of a speed hump can be circular, parabolic, or sinusoidal. They are often tapered as they reach the curb on each end to allow unimpeded drainage.

They are both inexpensive and effective.  But the mayor questioned the legality in his blog post on the veto:

The mayor is referring to the recommendation he received from the city counselor’s office, which told him in a statement, “since speed bumps are not explicitly permitted in [Missouri Statutes section] 304.120, they logically fall under the category of prohibited obstructions in [section] 229.030.” The counselor’s office goes on to state that the speed bumps would create additional legal liability for the City. (RFT)

At the request of the Post-Dispatch, the local [MoDOT] office researched state law on the issue, and found no reference whatsoever to speed “bumps,” which are in parking lots, or “humps,” which are in streets, said Traffic Operations Engineer Brian Umfleet.

And the law, Umfleet said today, typically spells out what is illegal. Roundabouts, for instance, aren’t in state law either. Nor are some of the newer, fancier traffic-control methods, such as the “Diverging Diamond,” at Dorsett Road and Interstate 270 – yet MoDOT builds those, too. (STLtoday.com)

How could these crossings have only two narrow crosswalk lines and no signs at all? I wondered if this was the norm so at first I visited O’Fallon’s south side counterpart, Carondelet Park.

The crosswalks in Carondelet Park are significantly more visible than the standard crosswalk markings in O’Fallon Park.

I personally prefer the Zebra or Ladder styles of crosswalk markings.

It would appear the city skimped on pedestrian safety when the jogging path was completed in O’Fallon Park, relative to Carondelet Park at least.  Forest Park uses textured pavement near such crossings to slow traffic, in addition to warning signs. It amazes me French had to introduce a bill and have the mayor veto the bill over something that should have been included with the original installation of the jogging path.

– Steve Patterson

Midtown’s Sun Theater is So Appealing

Few vacant buildings in St. Louis are as captivating to me as midtown’s Sun Theater. Why is that? The massing & detailing is pleasant but not extraordinary. The materials used compliment each other nicely. But what if the neon sign were gone? See a nighttime photo of the sign at Cinema Treasures.

Michael Allen successfully argues the appeal is not the sign, but the facade:

The Sun’s main attraction is its gorgeous neoclassical front elevation, articulated by glazed cream terra cotta, a projecting cornice and striking framed brick panels. The terra cotta includes theatrical grotesques over the arched windows at center and in the cornice’s upper garland course. These grotesques and other pieces are accented with a brilliant blue glaze. Two fluted pilasters with ionic capitals at the center bay over the entrance project a sense of gravitas contrasting with the more Baroque sensibilities of the rest of ornament.

Landmark’s Association placed the Sun on their Most Endangered List in 2007:

Putting the *Sun Theater at 3627-31 Grandel Square on our endangered list is merely an early warning. The pedestrian-friendly Renaissance Revival theater, built by the German Theater Society in 1913 from plans by Widmann & Walsh, is graced by an elaborately decorated front elevation complete with grotesque theatrical masks and heavy garlands. Inside, the $120,000 playhouse originally featured an 1800-seat, first-floor theater for German-speaking stock companies; a lecture hall was located on the second floor. The 1915 City Directory documents the two original names in use at the same time: The Victoria Theatre and The German Theatre.

With World War I came a national backlash against Germans and the theatre closed. Reopened after the war under new management as The Liberty, the building (with seating reduced to 1000) has since housed movies, vaudeville, burlesque, a night club and an evangelical church. (Later name changes included the World, the Sun and the Lyn.) LANDMARKS’ Midtown National Register nomination from 1978 described the remains of the interior as follows: “Bits of maroon, red and gold are faintly visible through the gloom of an interior picked by scavengers.” Vacant since 1981 and now owned by the city’s Land Reutilization Authority (LRA), the exterior (sporting volunteer trees and a cheerful “Sun” sign installed and maintained by Grand Center) is starting to show alarming signs of deferred maintenance. Recent hopeful rumors suggest that a media-related reuse is under consideration.

Apparently the Grand Center Arts Academy plans to renovate the building as an expansion of their newly renovated space next door, to the east. Let’s hope they, or anyone, renovates and occupies the structure soon.

– Steve Patterson

New Hyde Park Homes Never Occupied

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I made the connection: tacky faux-historic new house in ruins with numerous ties to realtor & developer Mary “One” Johnson.

St. Louis is littered with half-finished developments started by one of Johnson’s numerous companies.  Johnson is also the vice chair of St. Louis’ Preservation Board.

Hopefully the economy has stopped the proliferation of these sad little boxes. We have enough nice buildings that are vacant & boarded, we don’t need these adding to the problem.

– Steve Patterson

Delayed Reduction of Lanes on Manchester Delayed Safety Benefits of Road Diet

The official ribbon cutting for the new Manchester Rd. streetscape in The Grove Commercial District was held back on May 19th, 2011. I was there for the event, arriving via the MetroBus shown below.

After reading of the status of the streetscape on April 27th I thought it would be very complete:

From the new pedestrian street lights to the widened sidewalks, the Manchester streetscape is shaping up nicely and quickly becoming a modern, attractive pedestrian-oriented street. The older style “Cobra” street lights will be removed soon, and the trash cans, bike racks, modern planters, and other street furniture will be all that is left to install. (source)

Upon arrival, I was disappointed the crosswalks and new lane configuration had not yet been repainted. I talked to several people that morning about the danger this posed. Later that day I got an email from Neighborhood Development Specialist, Chris Colizza, of Park Central Development (The Development Corporation for the 17th ward).  He wrote:

We met this morning at the Manchester streetscape ribbon-cutting. I confirmed with the Board of Public Service that restriping is scheduled for the week of May 30th, and the restriping will place crosswalks in line with the curb ramps, moving traffic farther from the center of intersections. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I was waiting to blog about my impressions of the changes until after the pavement markings had been completed. June began without any changes.  Waiting.  Then June was gone and July was here, still waiting.  And then tragedy on the 4th:

Police say John Foster Courtney was standing outside the St. Louis bar [Novak’s] when Justin Kramarczyk, 24, hit him in a Hyundai Sante Fe. Kramarczyk then allegedly sped away from the scene.

Courtney died that evening. The very next afternoon the following was posted on the 17th Ward blog:

Attention Manchester Residents and Business Owners,

Restriping of Manchester will occur on Wednesday July 6 and Thursday July 7, weather permitting. Cars parked on the street between 6 a.m. 6 p.m. will be towed.

Restriping Manchester is a critical component of making the street more attractive to businesses and residents. Traffic lanes will be reduced, leading to slower traffic and more pedestrian activity, as well as becoming safer for all users. Some parking will be lost to accommodate such changes, but following the restriping, the City will be eliminating some of the “No Parking” signs to help alleviate some unnecessary “No Parking” areas. (link)

It’s impossible to say if Foster Courtney would be alive today if the “critical component” had been completed after all the construction cones & signs had been removed?  It certainly looks to me like the city had an “oh shit” moment and quickly got on to the work that should have been done by the end of May. But any liability will be up to a jury as was the case with Elizabeth Bansen and Susie Stephens.

I never met Foster Courtney, or the suspect in the hit-and-run, Justin Kramarczyk. I have eight and seven mutual friends, respectively, with each on Facebook. Some are very close to one or the other.

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis LGBT community is reeling following a tragic accident in the early morning hours of July 4th which has left one community member dead and another’s life in ruin.

John Foster Courtney, 29, of St. Louis was struck at about 12:30 a.m. Monday as he crossed Manchester Avenue outside of Novak’s in the heart of The Grove. He succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital at about 11:30 p.m. that night.

Charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident is Justin Kramarczyk, 24, also of the city. Kramarczyk was observed drinking prior to the incident, according to a probable cause statement from police investigators. Additional charges are expected in the case. (The Vital Voice)

Alcohol can impair the judgement and reaction time of drivers, as well as pedestrians. I was not there and have no knowledge of alcohol consumption by either. My thing is planning & design and the more I thought about it the more angry I got.

The new lane configuration from four to two lanes shouldn’t have been done the week of May 30th, the reduction in speed and the number of lanes should have been done before the start of the construction on the $2.8 million road diet project. Waiting until after a fatality was negligence on the part of the city.

It also doesn’t take a genius to know that when you have more than one gay bar in an area that patrons will hop from one to the other. Not placing a direct crosswalk means people will jaywalk late at night after they, and others, have been drinking.  Motorists are naturally more likely to see pedestrians when they are in places where we expect them to be, crosswalks.

Two days after Courtney was struck, another accident happened:

A second wreck happened near the site of a deadly hit and run in the Grove neighborhood on July 4.

The latest crash happened around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday [July 6]. A vehicle was heading eastbound on Manchester when it clipped the back of a cab. The vehicle then hit a parked car and went up onto the sidewalk. (source)

Courtney’s rugby teammates, the St. Louis Crusaders, are selling $20 memorial t-shirts “with all proceeds going to the Courtney Scholarship at Culver-Stockton College.”

Foster gave us many gifts when he was here, including his humor, warmth, kindness, and athletic ability. His final gift was as an organ donor.

Contributions can also be made to Mid-America Transplant Services.  My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the loss of Foster Courtney.

– Steve Patterson

When Paved Sidewalks Were a Big Deal

A few weeks ago I noticed the above marker on an old sidewalk on the north side of  Olive at Ewing.  This old sidewalk is a “Granitoid” sidewalk, once a commonplace replacement for brick pavers. The blog Exploring St. Louis noted this same marker in January 2010 with a post called St. Louis Sidewalk Company (recommended reading).

– Steve Patterson