Making the Transition to an Accessible Community

It has been nearly 20 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law.  Much work remains.  Nobody expected every place to magically become accessible overnight.  Private buildings, especially those built since 1990, are pretty good.   A big chunk of the work to be done is in the public right-of-way and government buildings.  Part of the ADA requires units of government (cities, school districts. etc) to create and maintain a Transition Plan.

One important way to ensure that Title II’s requirements are being met in cities of all sizes is through self-evaluation, which is required by the ADA regulations. Self-evaluation enables local governments to pinpoint the facilities, programs and services that must be modified or relocated to ensure that local governments are complying with the ADA.

This document contains a sampling of common problems shared by city governments of all sizes that have been identified through the Department of Justice’s ongoing enforcement efforts. The document provides examples of common deficiencies and explains how these problems affect persons with disabilities. The document is not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive.

The Department of Justice is finding governments are not doing the self-evaluation.   The are taking some to court!  To assist government in understanding the importance of and how to do a self evaluation, I’ve been serving on a committee with the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.  Together (mostly others) we’ve put together an excellent 1-day workshop: Tuesday October 20, 2009:

ADA Transition Plan: Do You Have One?

The American Institute of Architects St. Louis Chapter and the City of St. Louis Office on the Disabled present a one-day seminar on the components of a Transition Plan and its enforcement elements. Speakers from the National Access Board and the Department of Justice will prepare you for your Transition Plan.

The American with Disabilities Title II requires that all municipalities and public institutions have a Transition Plan on file for review with regular updates.

The major purpose of a Transition Plan, as it relates to buildings and facilities owned and operated by a public entity, is to document the barriers to persons with disabilities. The purpose of the Transition Plan is to propose the structural modifications that will be undertaken to provide program accessibility.

The speakers we have coming into town are excellent, they include:

Lois L. Thibault, Coordinator of Research, U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the Access Board)

After a decade’s work in the private practice of architecture and six years at The American Institute of Architects, Ms. Thibault joined the US Access Board in 1992 to direct its training activities, taking on the Board’s research program in 1998. She also assists in agency rulemaking, currently working on Public Rights-of-Way and Classroom Acoustics; develops advisory material on ADAAG provisions; provides technical assistance to public and private entities; and conducts training. In 1999 she authored ‘Accessible Rights-of-Way’, a design guide for pedestrian facility accessibility. Lois also serves on the board of The Washington Ear, a radio reading service for persons with visual impairments.

Bill Hecker:

Bill Hecker, AIA is an architect and accessibility consultant at Hecker Design, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama. He has been involved in a number of landmark ADA lawsuits.  He splits his expert witness services generally between ADA Title III for plaintiffs and ADA Title II facility compliance issues for state and local government defendants. Since 1994 he has been an expert witness/consultant for the Department of Justice on ADA and Fair Housing Act cases.  He has been retained by DOJ to assist with the development of the Project Civic Access “Tool Kit” checklists for state and local government entities.  He has been involved with the development of ADA transition plans for: Charlotte, NC; Birmingham, AL; Jefferson County, AL; University of Florida; Auburn University; Towson University; Oakland University; Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources; Teton County, Montana, ADA County, Montana; Jackson, Mississippi; San Francisco, California; Maui County; Hawaii County; and, the City & County of Honolulu.

Others include Dana Jackson from the Department of Justice, local Architect Gina Hilberry and David Newburger representing the City of St. Louis.  It is great having Newburger on the city staff to address this.  But with hundreds of units of government in our region and thousands within a few hours away, he only represents a tiny fraction of the region.  It is safe to say that most of the units of government in our region out out of compliance by lacking a transition plan.

Interestingly cities from Illinois have outpaced cities from Missouri in early registration.  Some seats remain, the fee is $75 (includes lunch).  The registration form can be found here and once filled out can be faxed to AIA St. Louis at (314) 621-3489.

If you are with a local unit of government ask yourself is it worth the risk to not have a transition plan?  Do you like addressing access piecemeal? If you answered no to these then you need to attend this seminar on Tuesday.  I’ll be doing live tweets from the event, follow me at Twitter.com/UrbanReviewSTL.

– Steve Patterson

Too Much Open Space Just as Bad as Too Litttle

In the early 20th Century St. Louis, like many cities, was a crowded place.  Nearly every foot of land had a structure.  The public street (sidewalk + road) was packed with pedestrians, streetcars, horses, buses, trucks, bikes, and cars.  Around the edges you could find relief in parks such as O’Fallon & Forest.  Downtown had only the Lucas Gardens (now Lucas Park).

Demolition began in the blocks West of Tucker and North of Market for the Soldier’s Memorial and Aloe Plaza across Market from Union Station.  As the city’s population thinned, smoke ordinances cut air pollution, and jobs went to the suburbs the destruction continued as if it was still 1917.

The image above is looking South from AT&T.   The Western block of Citygarden is at the bottom.  Market street runs left to right with 10th Street top to bottom.

We’ve got open space for a city of a million people but we have 350,000. An excess of open space just feels lifeless.  Put 20 people on 20 acres and it will be boring.  Put the same 20 people on 20 square yards and now you’ve got urban open space where you might have some interaction.

The Arch grounds are not going away and the city is committed to the Gateway Mall (5th to 20th) so we need to reduce the amount of other open space to bring the total in line with our population.  The block next to Bank of America was planned for a future building — lets get that built.  Beyond that is a seldom used space across from the federal courthouse.  Build that out as well.

Even on the blocks of the Gateway Mall adding structures for food service (restaurants/kiosks) and restrooms is a good idea.  We need to have less green space but better green space.  That is what makes the two block Citygarden work so well — it is quality space for all ages.  People are drawn to it and as more people fill the space the more you are drawn in.  People attract people.  Empty spaces repel.  Recently I saw two wedding parties having pictures taken in Citygarden. Much of our open space has never seen a single wedding party in decades.

Of course it is not just open green space we need to reduce.  We have lots of open gray space — surface parking lots. We’ve got to fill in the numerous gaps in our downtown and neighborhoods.  The economy today isn’t going to permit the breaking of ground on lots of new construction but now is the perfect time to articulate the vision for when the economy does improve.

– Steve Patterson

Where Is Your Third Place?

There is one thing cities provide in much greater abundance than suburbs: the essential “third places” in our lives that provide respite and relaxation for us outside our homes or workplaces.

Third places are defined as one of three places that meet fundamental human needs: home, a first place; work, a second place; and a third place, where we go to find community, relaxation, and simply “be” when we aren’t at home or working.

For all the people who work from home offices, the line between the first and second places, home and work space, may have blurred, but it makes the third place even more important. We all need a common place to hang out, see friends, find conversation, or simply watch the world go by. We seek a place that is separate from our homes or workplaces and all their attendant comforts and irritations.

Third places are very individual. In a family of four, there could be four different third places: church, coffeehouse, club or park. They are where you go to get away from your immediate responsibilities and expectations. You don’t have to do housework or laundry; you don’t have to finish that project or spar with your partner. You are (temporarily) free to indulge your own thoughts, talk or not talk, do or not do anything.

In the city of St. Louis there are many good third-places: local coffeehouses like The Hartford, Shaw Coffee or even the London Tea Room. There are neighborhood bars and cafes where they get to know you and you can stay as long as you like. There are libraries, drop-in centers and parks. There are churches and clubs, both social and athletic. There are museums and entertainment districts like The Loop on Delmar or Washington Avenue downtown. And there are intentional places like Left Bank Books with book groups, author readings and community events. These third places are close at hand, across the street or down the block, most of them within walking distance.

The suburbs of St. Louis are trickier, especially in second-ring suburbs. Newer, more affluent suburbs like Chesterfield and Wildwood have been built with more modern sensibilities about community gathering spots and the intentional communities created by mixed-use construction. You may be more likely to hang out at commercially sponsored third places like Starbucks or the mall, but they exist and are well used.

The second-ring suburbs are in a tougher spot. They belong to an earlier time, before we realized how much we would miss the communal third places that are so abundant in the city. Like the outer-ring suburbs, they may have some commercially-sponsored places like Starbucks, McDonalds or Dennys, but there may be only one or two in a municipality and they are rarely within walking distance. There is a real dearth of small, local businesses like independent coffeehouses, casual cafes or bookstores. Which pretty much leaves the bar, gym or possibly church and almost all of them require driving in your car.

There is a misplaced attempt to fulfill this need for third places in the construction of suburban great rooms, finished basements and fully-equipped media rooms, but all of these fall short. A third place requires distance from home and family. It also requires diversity and randomness in the people you might observe or start a conversation with.
When I lived in Seattle, I could easily walk a few blocks to any of six coffeehouses, each with its own ambience and crowd of regulars. There were bookstores with cafes where you could hang out from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. When I lived in the South Grand area, I had my choice of places to hang out.

In Maryland Heights, I’m stumped. I occasionally get in the car and drive to Starbucks at Westport or I go farther afield to Creve Couer or Chesterfield. More and more, I drive farther to Main Street in St. Charles or into the city to find a third place, but none of them are my third place.

City planners take note: vibrant cities or suburbs don’t exist without a multitude of viable third places. And if you want to attract the young, the creative, the socially engaged, that advice is doubly important.

What I’d like to know, especially if you’re a suburbanite, is where is your third place? Where do you regularly go to hang out, read a book, see friends, or just escape home and work responsibilities? What makes a place your third space? I look forward to what you have to say.

-Deborah Moulton

Riverport Area Should Be Walkable (Updated)

For the first time in my 19 years in St. Louis, I went to the suburban Riverport area last weekend (map) .  I went to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (formerly known as the Riverport Amphitheater) for Farm Aid.

But this post is about the amphitheater (bottom above) as it is about the entire area along the loop road known as Riverport Drive.  This compact area contains offices, hotels and restaurants – all within easy walking distance of each other.  Sure, nobody is going to walk to Riverport but people should be able to walk within Riverport.

The #34 bus stops at Riverport Drive.  Then what?  Walk in the street to get to your destination?  Are sidewalks and a pedestrian network just too much to ask?

The area includes several hotels.  I know I’ve had long days before driving in a car for hours and after checking into a hotel the last thing I want to do is have to get back in the car to drive to dinner.  Walking should be an option in addition to driving.  As designed, the only option is driving.

I’m not asking for a recreation of a downtown, just tie it all together with sidewalks.

Update 10/9/09 @ 10am:

I looked up the directions to get to Riverport from my place downtown.  It is very easy but it is that last bit that makes it unpleasant.

I love the caution about missing sidewalks.

– Steve Patterson

Chicken or the Egg? Business or the home?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  People with too much time on their hands have laid out a detailed argument here. For this post I am more interested in a question similar in nature.  Which came first, the home or the business?

The reason I pose the query is because a recent news story on my favorite radio station once again mentioned “job centers” with regards to the NorthSide development.  From what I have heard and read, McKee and associates plan on concentrating on job centers to begin the massive project and work on residential in the future.   I do not understand why.  If their goal is truly to redevelop north city, I do not believe job centers are where to begin.  Residential is where they should start, because to answer my own question, I believe the home came first.

I base my view on what I have observed spending a lifetime in suburbia.  A look back at the history of the region sees that the homes almost always come before businesses.  North county grew in the post war years due to massive amounts of housing developments.  The businesses moved in after.  Just compare north Lindbergh between now and twenty years ago. The migration of the suburbanites to St Charles county preceded the explosion in retail.  To understand what I am talking about, try driving down Highway K, which was a two lane road fifteen years ago.  West County filled in with soccer moms and SUVs before Target and Best Buy decided they needed stores in a flood plain.

There is easy explanation for why businesses will always follow homes.  In the words of Mr. Gekko, “Greed is good.”  Businesses are for all intent and purposes greedy entities.  They are only open of the pursuit of money.  Otherwise they are called non-profits.  Stores want to be where the people are located so they can make as much money as possible.  Which is they Home Depot has a store on Highway K and not Cass ave.  Businesses do not need tax incentives to open in locations where there is significant money to be taken from consumers.  Entrepreneurs know that if they don’t open a store in prime locations, their competitors will.

A perfect example of my theory in work in an urban environment is downtown.  Union Station and St Louis Center are illustrations of business development of the past that failed to revitalize the area.  They lead to no growth in the city.  On the other hand, the Washington Loft district exemplifies how businesses move in once there is a critical residential mass.  Downtown even has a grocery store for the first time in decades.  (author’s note:  I know of the now defunct City Grocers.  Just rubbing some loft residents.)

This view of the world leads me to conclude that the starting point for the NorthSide needs to be massive residential development.  I am well aware that homes currently exist in the area.  Obviously these are not homes a majority of people want to live in.  If they were, they would have premium pricing, not rock bottom.  However, an immense fill-in of new family housing would be impossible for greedy businessmen to ignore.  Job/retail centers would be easy to develop without much government assistance when Trader Joe’s wants a store in the area.   Set those areas aside for future development when it is needed.

I assume that the residential development would be an urban style and walkable, but those details are moot.  What is important is the size.  Repeat the example set forth by the suburban subdivisions and build hundreds of homes at once in an urban setting.  View it as a giant planned community.  Few people want to be the first on the street staring at overgrown lots with a promise of more to come.  Seeing homes being built all around would ease some of those fears.  This would only help the existing residents as they see their home values rise.  (In my world it is done the right way, without taking peoples homes, but rather building around them.)  An example of this done on a small scale with success can be seen in the West End just north of Delmar on Enright and accompanying streets.  Now I don’t agree with some of the design choices that were made, but a group of new homes were built and sold for a premium price.  This demonstrates that there is some demand for new housing in the city.

I am aware that the planned job centers are intended to have mixed residential sprinkled in the plans.  However, from everything I have heard and read I get the feeling that the mixed use areas are not Paul’s prime concern at the outset.  Lets just ignore that city schools are currently a hindrance to any residential growth and concentrate on whether McKee should spend time building job centers or homes.

– Kevin McGuire