Maryland Heights residents to discuss redesign of two highway interchanges

Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth, is hosting a public event with MoDOT and the City of Maryland Heights on the reconstruction of the I-270 interchanges at Dorsett Road and Page Avenue, which begin this month.

Wednesday – February 17, 2010
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Presentation and Q&A with MoDOT and City of Maryland Heights Public Works
7:00 -8:00 p.m. – Open Forum with Community

Maryland Heights Community Centre – Auditorium
2344 McKelvey Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043

This is the first public forum with specific details and time lines on this two-year construction project. The project will start on I-270 and Dorsett Road the first year, then move to Page Avenue interchange in 2011. The project is expected to take two years. MoDOT will also be showing the public the animated driving sequences on the “divergent diamond” design on Dorsett at the I-270 interchange.

180,000 cars a day travel on I-270 through Maryland Heights every day and this is going to cause big disruptions for both local traffic in Maryland Heights, Westport and Creve Couer as well as those who are just traveling through the area on I-270 from Page Ave. to I-70. There will be lane detours and reduced lanes as they completely rebuild the bridges/interchanges.

There will also be a major, parallel Maryland Heights city project moving Prospect Parkway away from the rebuilt Dorsett interchange which will place the finished road further east on Dorsett. It will relocate the road on the north side of Dorsett past Syberg’s and cross to the south-side of Dorsett just east of the Drury Inn. The south-side construction will feature a “jug-handle” design and is designed to assist with traffic congestion from the newly expanded Edward Jones campus as well as funnel traffic in and out of the Westport area.

Maryland Heights Residents is a relatively new organization that originally formed in 2008 in response to development proposals for the Howard Bend area. In general, there seemed to be no community information or engagement with residents of Maryland Heights. Only the business and property owners were routinely notified of public meetings and asked to participate in community development discussions. The residents realized we needed to step up as citizens and inject ourselves into the process.

The organization has developed since then into a group dedicated to making Maryland Heights a better place to live and giving residents a voice in community development. Our four main goals are:

• Preserve Howard Bend green space
• Revitalize our neighborhoods
• Protect our environment
• Promote public engagement

You can get more information on Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth at www.marylandheightsresidents.com.

Full disclosure: I am one of the organizing partners for Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth.

– Deborah Moulton

TO EXIT: depress red button and push door simultaneously

Leaving a parking garage recently I encountered a security measure I hadn’t faced since my stroke.

But there was the sign, just push the button and the door at the same time.   My left hand isn’t too useful and in my right is my cane.  I often hold the cane with the left while I do things with my right hand.  I ended up leaning against the door handle then pressing the red button with my right to exit onto the sidewalk.  So much in society assumes all are able bodied.

– Steve Patterson

Crown Food Mart on Jefferson has an ADA access route thanks to me

Like so many new buildings in the city/region, the new Crown Food Mart at Jefferson & Clark was being constructed without any connection to the public sidewalk network.  This was the construction site in late September 2009:

The lack of an ADA route is no different than most of their other recent stations. But rather than wait until complete to complain, I decided to see if I could make a difference to change the construction.  I contacted the city’s ADA commissioner and 6th ward Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett.  Ald. Triplett was the first to respond and it wasn’t long before she forwarded me a revised drawing the owner had sent her.

As I had suggested, the solution was to include a ramp at the end of the sidewalk at the front of the station and a bit of concrete between the parking lot and sidewalk.  None of the concrete work had been started so the change was minor.

Is this ideal? Hardly.  Ideally the building would be at the corner of the property so pedestrians could easily enter.  The gas islands would be located behind the building, rather than out front.

As you can the building has zero relationship to the street it faces, Jefferson.  The ADA route is to the left of the building connecting pedestrians along Clark.  But anyone approaching the building on foot from Jefferson will face this vast expanse of pavement between them and the business.  Those of foot might be employees at UPS or guests at the hotel across Jefferson & I-64.

I had suggested a sidewalk be run down this side of the parking area and then have it connected to the building’s front walk as done on the other side.  Clearly that didn’t happen.  I got the minimum — by asking beforehand.  I do think if the city asked developers to include a minimum ADA access route so those in wheelchairs have a way to access a business from the public sidewalk they’d do it.  Before the concrete is poured it is no big deal.

I want to have our city codes embrace walkability.  They should require such a route from each street the property borders.  In this case, they would be required to have a sidewalk connecting to Jefferson. Eventually they will realize if the building is closer to both streets the sidewalk is either much shorter or completely unnecessary because the building entrance is directly on the public sidewalk.

– Steve Patterson

Building from 1987 as blighted than those from 1887

The term “blight” is often used when referring to old buildings, generally applied to the kind many of us see revitalized as part of a repopulated inner city.  Most would consider the area at Page & Goodfellow (map) blighted.  To me the source of the blight is not the earth 20th century buildings on a 19th century street grid.  No, the blight comes from late 20th century failures:

This gas station is from 1987.  Someone probably argued a shiny new gas station would revitalize the neighborhood. It didn’t and now it is bringing down the neighborhood.

City records show applications to construct a new station on the site: one in February 2008 and one in October 2009.  Both applications are listed as “canceled.”  Cheap auto-centric development in the city is about short-term profit, not a long term revitalization strategy.  Gas station, strip shopping center, drive-thru restaurant, etc. are not going to help in the long term.  In the short term they provide a way for politicians to talk about all the investment happening.

Cheap structures such as this can’t sustain themselves for more than two decades.  They are quickly dated and there is almost always a newer version down the street.

– Steve Patterson

Parks and recreation in St. Louis

Neighborhood parks were very important to St. Louis’ long-time planner (1916-1950), Harland Bartholomew.  From the Parks & Recreation section of the 1947 City Plan:

Large parks are very useful but they supply only one part of the city’s recreation requirements. There is a surprising deficiency in neighborhood parks, playfields, and playgrounds. It is always difficult to provide ample park and recreation areas after development has taken place but that is not justification for neglect of an extremely important public facility. If stability and improved environment in the various residential areas of St. Louis is to be assured, it is imperative that adequate local recreational areas be acquired.

Each of the 82 residential neighborhoods in the city should have a neighborhood park, and playground. Each should have a large playfield in reasonably close proximity. These requirements are in addition to such overall facilities as large parks and parkways. (continue reading)

While I have disagreed with Bartholomew’s thinking numerous times (multiple airports to fly around the region!?!) I wonder how the idea of places for kids to play applies in 2010?  Playground design is different.  The playgrounds of 1947 and earlier would be deemed too unsafe by today’s standards. Few parents today would even let their children out of sight anyway.

From what I’ve seen kids seem to enjoy new playground equipment. The water features at Citygarden were a big hit last year.  Thoughts anyone?  What works? What doesn’t?

Thanks to Matt Rankin for the donation of archives from his late grandparents, Lou & Georgia Buckowitz.

– Steve Patterson