Sidewalk Dining, Keeping a Clear Pathway

Friday night a friend and I decided to meet for dinner not far from my place.

We decided upon beso, downtown’s newest restaurant. How new? Friday night was opening night. This is the narrow place a couple of doors West of the burned-out Copia, in a space that was the short lived-restaurant, Red. beso had a few minor glitches as you might expect but overall it is a welcome addition to the scene. We sat outside and the tables were arranged so as to keep a clear path open on the sidewalk. Across the street at Bridge & Tunnel Pizza the tables were also arranged so as to respect the pedestrian passing by.

Above, at beso, diners enjoy dinner while a pathway was kept clear for pedestrians — those walking, those of us using wheelchair and those pushing baby strollers. Even without Copia this block seems destined to have valet parking. While we were eating the valet had only a small space and frankly nobody seemed to use it.

Flannery’s down the street has larger tables and chairs arranged in a single row. Here I was able to take the path near the buildings and get by just fine — even with people seated. It wasn’t generous near the entry but it was doable.

Unacceptable was the situation at Solace and Sugar (formerly KYO) at 14th and Washington, shown above. All pedestrians were forced to the outer edge of the sidewalk. A man pushing a baby stroller followed right behind me just trying to get through as well.

Sidewalk dining is one those things that makes living in an urban setting so great. However it needs to be respectful of the needs of all pedestrians using the same space. Clearly it is possible for some establishments to have sidewalk service without forcing pedestrians to hug the curb.

The city must have some sort of guidelines for those establishments that obtain cafe permits. But who is left to enforce the rules. Like the numerous valet stands that basically raise a middle finger to the idea of fairly sharing the public right of way, nobody seems to exist at city hall to monitor the situation.

As a property owner in the downtown community improvement district I pay additional taxes for increased services. Helping monitor the increasing number of sidewalk cafes and valet stands would certainly be an improvement. Perhaps this is already being done which would help explain why most of the cafes I encountered left sufficient space. Or simply that the operators of those establishments are more considerate than others.  The problem likely exists in other parts of the city with sidewalk dining.

Navigating the sidewalks in a wheelchair

Today, my first full day back from physical rehab, I attended a Society of Professional Journalists luncheon down the street.  So I ventured out in the power chair from my place at 16th & Locust over to Lucas Park Grille at 13th and Washington.

Not a huge distance but one that would have been pretty difficult in a manual chair.  Curb ramps were in place on all the corners except one.  The ones that did exist, however, were often broken or had a huge edge at the point of approach.  Again the power chair was able to handle the situation but not everyone has such a chair.  Also I have to say that using a manual chair vs a power one can be rewarding — like riding a bike vs driving a car — one requires physical exertion but with that you get a sense of accomplishment.  You seem more connected to your environment.

At a casual glance we look around and see curb ramps and thus assume the environment is accessible to the physically disabled.   The real question we need to ask is how functional is the environment?  Poorly installed or damaged curb ramps reduces functionality, at times to zero.  Cities all over the country pay a small fortune to upgrade their intersections with curb ramps but when they don’t work as intended it simply becomes another waste of taxpayer money.

On the other side, when curbs and such are done right, disabled members of the community can lead independent lives rather than wasting away in costly nursing homes.    In that context, investing in accessible
infrastructure is very cost effective.

A fellow patient from MRC also returned to his home near South County Mall yesterday.  Despite being close to both a good number of employment and shopping choices his options for getting there are very limited.  His neighborhood of single family detached dwellings has plenty of paving for driveways but not sidewalks.  Getting to a point where he could catch a bus is nearly impossible.  He’ll need an expensive van with a lift to be mobile not because of his inability to push his wheelchair but because of the poor pedestrian nature of where he lives.   So while I may have issues with a ramp here or there at least we have sidewalks!

We all make choices about where we live and I must say I am very pleased with mine.

Positive Developments in St. Louis

Some out there may get the impression I’m against all development. Well that is just not the case. Still I can be pretty negative at times so here is a list of some of the things I see as positive development in the city – the things that get me excited about the future of Saint Louis:

Continued rehabilitation, adaption and reuse of existing buildings:

All over the city we are seeing everything from existing shotgun cottages to old schools to large warehouse buildings being reconfigured internally to meet today’s lifestyles. This work is being done by individuals and large developers alike. We have the state historic rehab tax credit to thank for aiding in much of this, especially on the larger projects. After decades of writing off so many great old structures it is great to see their qualities be appreciated. By renovating these structures, many once vacant, we are adding density and thus strengthening multiple neighborhoods. We are also showing that building types once thought to be obsolete can again be functional. Creativity is winning out over demolition in many areas.

The East Loop area

Even just five years ago, it would have been easy for many to justify more suburban new construction East of Skinker. People would have pointed to the gas station and Church’s Chicken on the corners and count the area a lost cause to the automobile. Joe Edwards saw a continued pedestrian-friendly environment and he has worked toward that goal. Metro narrowed the street from four lanes to just two — widening the sidewalks in the process.

So many of our streets were widened in the first half of the 20th century when our population was significantly greater — widening sidewalks and narrowing streets is certainly a positive.

Old North St Louis:

Today the neighborhood is vastly different than when I moved there in 1991. The 1970’s mistake, a pedestrian mall, is finally being removed and 14th street is being reopened again. Buildings, some barely still standing, are being renovated — again by individuals and through large development deals. If not for the hard work of many individuals on smaller projects (single buildings) would we see the larger efforts today. The work of one person renovating a single small structure should never be discounted — For more than 30 years now individuals have been bringing back the neighborhood.

Mass Transit:

The continued development of our mass transit choices is exciting to me. Sure Metro has screwed up before and they will do so again but we must keep our sights on the goal of being able to navigate our region both through the use of public transit and the private bicycle. As someone who is only recently disabled, our mass transit system will play an important role in my having mobility.

New urban infill development

Many get excited by proposed new high-rise towers. Me? Not so much. I prefer more modest structures in the 2-8 story range. The building on the NE corner of Sarah & Laclede, known as 6 North, is just such an example (see my review from three years ago). New infill construction along Park in the Lafayette Square neighborhood helps define an urban public street. The modern loft apartments on Forest Park Parkway at Euclid (with the Bread Co) is another good example of new urban infill.

Just having new construction isn’t enough for me — they have new construction out in O’Fallon but that doesn’t mean it creates the environment I want to be surrounded with.

Dogs in the city

I’ve always been a cat person but in the city it is the urban dog that rules. The owner walks the dog to an outdoor cafe where strangers now begin conversations about the dog’s breed and so on. Dog parks have formed that bring people together in new ways. It is hard to walk around many neighborhoods without seeing a person out walking their dog. Each and every one is an encouraging symbol.

Conclusion

So while others get excited about proposals for a particular high-rise, another casino or even a “district” like the 3-block Ballpark Village concept or the Bottleworks proposal, I’m more content with modest examples of urbanity. Slick marketing and hype turns me off. Simple urbanity, on the other hand, gets me stirred up. A good form-based zoning code is totally sexy. Laws that encourage an active street life (making it easier for street performers, street vendors and such) would be so cool.

I will continue to point out design flaws when big ticket projects that, for example, fail to include proper pedestrian pathways get built with or without public subsity. I will continue to point out how our elected leaders repeat mistakes of the past and how they focus on the short term (ground breakings, ribbon cuttings) while not always considering the long-term sustainability of the project. This doesn’t make me anti-development or a naysayer, it’s just me being vocal about my expectations and how they were not met.  We need many more people standing up and articulating what it is they want and expect from their surroundings.

As they come along I will try harder to highlight what I see as positive contributions to our build environment because they are out there.

Pyramid sold former Sears site last year

For much of 2006 Pyramid was trying to swap the former S, Grand Sears site with McDonalds, but strong opposition from those that would be directly impacted by having a drive-thru closer to their homes raised a fuss — I helped too.    In the end the McDonalds closed.

The senior housing center Pyramid wanted to build on the site of the old McDonalds at Grand and Chippewa was then planned for the old Sears site across the street that they already owned. Owned as in past tense.

Property records indicate Pyramid sold that property (3708 S. Grand) and others on Oct 12th last year for $361,869. The properties are now titled with Pyramid’s name as well as “c/o Grand Future Realty LLC.” Grand Future Realty LLC is the owner of the adjacent building at 3722 S, Grand, which it purchased on 6/28/06 for $275,000. The registered agent and both organizers are from St Charles.
With Pyramid’s shut down last Friday it raises questions about the future of this project and others.  The property transfer raises questions about who all is involved in the project and who we might look to for its completion.

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market Has Good Acess Route

Regular readers know I am not a fan of Wal-Mart. Over the last few years they’ve completely changed the grocery market in my original hometown of Oklahoma City by opening numerous “neighborhood markets” These stores are grocery and pharmacy only and are small in size relative to a new Schnuck’s or Dierberg’s store. The stores, however, are bigger than Aldi’s although just as basic.

One thing I have noticed is they actually have done a decent job connecting these stores to local sidewalks, where they exist. That is about as close to a compliment of Wal-Mart as you are going to get out of me.

Above is the accessible route from the public sidewalk to the entrance of one such neighborhood market in South Oklahoma City. The store is located on a major corner but only one of the two streets has any public sidewalk at all.

Heading out the door to the one street that does have a sidewalk we can see a clear path for the pedestrian — they are not forced to simply walk through the parking lot. Those people leaving the pharmacy drive-thru can clearly see the pedestrian crossing although part is missing.

Out at the intersection on the main corner we see the real problem — an incomplete sidewalk network. You can take the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street and then manage to cross but if you are in a wheelchair, as I am now, you are stuck in the street and in the path of cars. In some cases OKC has added ramps on these corners but the streets still lack sidewalks. This corner has a fairly new Taco Bell on it — perhaps they should have been required to include the public sidewalks in their build-out? Ot should that fall 100% on the municipality? Or are sidewalks in such a highly suburban area optional? You know my answer — we need a good public sidewalk network everywhere and each business abutting the sidewalk needs to connect to it with an ADA-compliant access route. Wal-Mart did their part in the above example but OKC is way behind the curve.
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