Traffic Backup at Noon

ABOVE: Traffic backed up to Washington Ave at 11:45am

Friday the 15th I observed an unusual sight, traffic backing up on Washington Ave at 11:45am. At the moment some cars were sitting on Washington Ave waiting to turn onto  16th Street. Obviously some big event at City Museum was attracting lots of people, and their cars.

Other than before and after events, downtown has no traffic to speak of.  It would be nice if more people would use transit or at least not try to park in front of the door of their destination. Most of these people probably ended up parking a block or two away anyway. I see the same thing at other venues all the time, drivers on 18th street waiting to turn onto Clark Ave to reach Scottrade Center. Really? What are they thinking?

If you are driving to a major event downtown please don’t try driving to the exact spot where the event is held, target a block or two in any direction. Better yet, take a bus or train.

- Steve Patterson

Speed Bump Bill Hits a Bump in the Political Road

ABOVE: Speed bump in Tower Grove Park

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.

ABOVE: Jogging trail crosses road at the widest point from green barrel to barrel.

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)

ABOVE: Skid marks where someone did donuts at one point where the jogging path crosses the road

ABOVE: The 2nd point the jogging path crosses road is diagonally from the sign on the left to in front of the dark SUV on the right.

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.

ABOVE: Continental-style crosswalk in carondelet park

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

ABOVE: Crosswalk pavement marking variants per the U.S. FHWA. (Click to view Wikipedia article)

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

ABOVE: Another point where the jogging path crosses the road in Carondelet Park. The "continental" crosswalk markings become visible a bit closer and the sign is visible from a great distance.

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

ABOVE: Sun Theater at 3627 Grandel Square

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.

ABOVE: Three homes at 3314-18-22 Blair built in 2006 were never sold

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

ABOVE: Mayor Slay cuts the ribbon on the unfinished Manchester Rd on May 19, 2011

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.

ABOVE: Widened sidewalk at Manchester & Sarah MetroBus stop

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)

ABOVE: Crosswalk Location at Manchester & Boyle not yet marked on May 19, 2011. Four travel lanes are still marked even though, in places, there is insufficient room.

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.

ABOVE: On the Grove Facebook page the restriping was announced before a note of sympathy.

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.

ABOVE: Concrete curb is chipped and marked from drivers that hit it before stripping. Note the old dashed line between lanes now covered.Photo date July 7th.

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.

ABOVE: View of Novac's from Just John's after restripping

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

Really!?! with Steve and Steve

Really Marlene Davis? You had no idea the developer wants to raze the existing 1960s flying saucer building? Really?

Really, you told me on the phone Wednesday nobody has mentioned demolition to you? Really!?!

Really, you introduce a board bill last week with the sentence “Demolition of the existing building in the Area is necessary and desirable to allow for redevelopment of the Area in accordance with the Plan” and then email me saying “the bill I presented today was for tax abatement”? Really!?!

Really, haven’t you heard of this thing called the internet?  You didn’t know people can easily fact check and compare notes? Really!?!

Wow! Really!?!

My apologies to Seth  & Amy.

Further reading:

• Del Taco to Close Tomorrow; But Board Bill May Actually Save Building
• Aldermen advance blighting, and tax abatement, of Del Taco
  
• That Googie on Grand and the fabric of a city

- Steve Patterson

Stastny: Grand Center Needs to be a Community, not a District

ABOVE: Grand Center open house on the stage at Powell Hall, June 23, 2011

Last week I attended the Grand Center Master Plan Public Forum held at Powell Hall. Rather than email in my feedback I thought I’d post it here and email the committee a link to this post.

Background

Here are a few paragraphs from a recent press release to introduce you to the topic:

Top executives of Grand Center’s major institutions have taken a significant next step in the district’s redevelopment process by launching an initiative to create a master plan for the Grand Center District. The plan will address such areas as recommendations regarding land use, zoning possibilities and design guidelines.

At the request of Grand Center Inc. and several key executives of district institutions, Mayor Francis G. Slay has asked 30 institutional, business and community leaders to serve on a Planning Committee to create a common vision for the next phase of development in Grand Center. To achieve that goal, a Steering Committee made up of 14 members of the Planning Committee agreed to engage Donald Stastny, the Portland, Ore.-based, award-winning architect and urban designer, to lead the creation of an overall vision and implementation plan.

The goal of the initiative is to develop a long-range vision for the Grand Center District that is commonly created, enabling a shared ownership. The plan will be based on the input of the cultural institutions, community organizations, businesses, residents and patrons who visit the district as well as interested citizens throughout the region.

Stastny is not new to St. Louis. Last year, he and his team led the process that resulted in the selection of lead designer Michael Van Valkenburg and museum planner and architect Scott Newman to create a new master plan for the Gateway Arch grounds. Visit www.stastnybrun.com for more information about the firm.

The planning process is expected to wrap up over the summer with a presentation of the final master plan in the fall.

ABOVE: Map of Grand Center (click to download full PDF with numbered key)

Selected Institutions/Venues

• Fox Theater
• Saint Louis University
• Jazz St. Louis
• St. Louis Symphony
• Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
• Scottish Rite
• Moto Museum
• St. Louis Public Radio
• Nine Network of Public Media
• Grand Center Arts Academy
• Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri
• Cardinal Ritter College Prep
• The Black Repertory Company
• Third Baptist Church
• KDHX Community Media
• Craft Alliance
• The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
• St. Louis VA Medical Center – John Cochran Division
• The Sheldon

Presentation

Donald Stastny began by contradicting the very people that hired him! He said Grand Center should be viewed as a community, not a district. Grand Center’s marketing of late has been all about making the area a district.  Stastny said his work is not to produce a master plan with a “pretty picture” but a framework for the community to evolve.  I agree with this approach, our long held notions of master plan is you build what the pretty pictures show, no matter how many years or decades later. Thinking instead, about desired outcomes and processes that allow an area to grow and evolve organically. Cities, including St. Louis, didn’t start with a pretty picture. They slowly evolved over time.

Stastny took several jabs at the amount of parking already in the area as well as local views on needing more parking, free especially. Hopefully he will be able to get institutions to share parking and to “connect the dots” by reducing the visual impact of the numerous large surface parking lots.

Stastny said the center point is Grand & Washington, showing a circle with a radius of 1/4 mile, the distance pedestrians are generally willing to walk. With that he said focusing attention to the public realm on Grand from Olive to Delmar and three east-west transects (Delmar, Washington & Delmar) made sense.

My bullet points

ok, here are my thoughts.

• Drop the name Grand Center, go back to Midtown.
• If you go a 1/4 mile from each of the individual institutions that someone may visit you get a much larger area (see map below). This is too large to do detailed streetscape drawings but typical street sections can be suggested that could be used for the entire area. Areas outside the planning area will never get any planning attention.
• Talk about the key elements needed to connect the dots so these can be applied to the larger area: wider sidewalks, building walls serving as walls to the outdoor room, etc. With that in place we can work to improve Grand north to Page and south to MetroLink on the new viaduct.
• Transit will be a key to reducing the massive parking lots. MetroLink at the south edge of my map (below) and four bus lines (#10, #70, #94, #97) serve the area. If the #70 and an east-west line became enhanced routes, with fewer stops & greater frequency, more people will use transit rather than drive their vehicles.
• Despite the neatly cut grass, walking along Grand through SLU is dull.  Sidewalks with no street trees to separate the pedestrian from passing vehicles and block after block of fencing that screams “keep out.”
• Breaking up the long blocks west of Grand makes sense but but eyes need to watch these pedestrian connector routes.
• Not crazy about using alleys for pedestrian circulation. The alley is a great asset for services such as the collection of recycling and trash.
• Also not crazy about having the ability to close Grand from Olive to Delmar too easily.  Doing so creates havoc for transit riders and motorists.

ABOVE: My suggested focus area to connect the dots with the surrounding community

Okay readers, add your thoughts below so the committee and professionals from Stastny’s office can read them.

- Steve Patterson

Pros & Cons of Saving the 1960s Flying Saucer at Grand & Forest Park

ABOVE: Drive-thru lane at the former filling station, now Del Taco

Uh oh, the modern preservationists are gearing up to try to save another interesting, but highly anti-pedestrian, building.  Yes, the fight is on the save a gas station turned drive-thru taco stand at 212 S. Grand.  With a few exceptions, commercial modernism translates to brutal and outright hostile to pedestrians but lovingly embracing all in single occupant vehicles.

Developer Rick Yackey plans to demolish the distinctive flying-saucer-shaped Del Taco at N. Grand and Forest Park Parkway, near St. Louis University, and replace it with new retail buildings, a city development official said Tuesday.

The St. Louis Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority approved a blighting and redevelopment plan for the building, which was built to be a Phillips 66 gas station. The plan, said LCRA staffer Dale Ruthsatz, is to knock down the Del Taco replace it with a more pedestrian-oriented retail building of 3,500 to 7,000 square feet. (STLtoday.com)

The Del Taco at the SE corner of Grand & Forest Park, is not one of the few exceptions.

ABOVE: 1958 aerial of Grand & Forest Park before highway 40. Click image to see a larger view

You can see from the above photo that razing of buildings in the Mill Creek Valley began at Grand Ave & Forest Park by 1958. Grand Ave had the #70 streetcar starting in 1895 so the length from North to South was very active and designed for pedestrians.  It was the modernists that actively destroyed the pedestrian-friendly city to usher in the auto-friendly city. Why do people want to save that which destroyed the city?

Granted, I love many modern buildings.  Their simple forms, the absence of applied decoration, the use of materials other than red brick, all make forms often pleasing to my eye.  My favorite architect is Bruce Goff (1904-1982), but thankfully the bulk of his work was on private residences. Like his contemporaries, his (unbuilt) commercial projects were an assault on the pedestrian: non-active walls, large setbacks, etc.

When I read  developer Rick Yackey wants to construct “a more pedestrian-oriented retail building” I thought of several things:

1. More pedestrian-friendly anything is needed around the Saint Louis University campus. You’d think the university has only been around 5 years judging by the adjacent activity level.
2. It doesn’t take much to be more pedestrian-friendly than the existing Del Taco.
3. The developer had the opportunity to make the adjacent Council Plaza building more pedestrian-friendly during a recent renovation project but instead the situation is worse, something I didn’t think was possible.

ABOVE: recently added fence cuts off the two east towers to Grand, forces pedestrian residents into long auto driveway to reach Grand

Based on the developer’s record with Council Plaza I have little confidence any replacement would be pedestrian-friendly. Before removing a highly unique building I’d like to see controls in place to ensure the 9 acre site becomes pedestrian-friendly.  Saying a project will be pedestrian-friendly and actually delivering a pedestrian-friendly completed project are

ABOVE: A disabled resident uses driveway because fence and lack of curb ramps in new concrete prevent him from using the safer sidewalk

I like the Del Taco building, it makes me smile when I’m in my car driving by or even at the drive-thru window but the entire nine acre Council Plaza site makes me furious as a pedestrian.  It should be noted that the unfriendly site planning that exists can change without altering the historic composition of buildings. We can improve the walkability and accessibility while leaving the buildings intact.

I won’t lose any sleep if the Del Taco is razed but I will be mad as hell if some generic anti-pedestrian strip mall is built in it’s place. We do have a unique collection of five buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

ABOVE: All retail space at Plaza Council remains vacant, the Del Taco is visible in the background

But hey the developer needs retail space, that’s important too, right? But if the demand is so great why is every retail space in the renovated Plaza Council building vacant?

ABOVE: North facing retail space at Plaza Council is entirely vacant.

I can picture the Del Taco structure gone, replaced with a high-design modernist structure to compliment the other buildings. But I don’t think that’s what we’ll get.  Instead I picture a generic strip mall not connected to the public sidewalk on Grand or to other buildings on the site. The loss of such a great building can only be offset with a great building. Show me the designs, with proof it will be pedestrian-friendly, and I’m willing to listen. Until then not a chance!

If I were developing this site I’d use the Del Taco building as a draw. Renovate the building and accenting it with great lighting, new pedestrian-friendly site design connecting to a new structure to the east on the existing surface parking lot. I can see the building not as a fast food joint but as a pub with a focus on great outdoor patio seating. This could become THE corner where SLU students hang out.

ABOVE: Former entry/exit to below ground parking

Most developers would kill to have such a widely known building to attract customers to their development!  Certainly the 24 hour drive-thru is nice after you leave the bar but let’s face it, the use of the building can easily change.  Thousands on Facebook want to save the building, although some want to also save the fast food chain currently operating within the building. An online petition has been started as well to save the building.

Razing this building makes zero sense no matter how you try to look at it, believe me I tried!  Board Bill 188 (redevelopment bill) has been assigned to the Housing, Urban Development & Zoning committee. I’m sure all 12 committee members would love to hear from citizens via email, fax, text, twitter or phone prior to the hearing at 10am Wednesday morning.

- Steve Patterson

Guest Opinion: Champaign-Urbana Transit Employing Useful Technology

Contributed by Matt Heil

When it comes to planning and this blog, in particular, public transit is a hot topic. In case you were unaware, transit funding is extremely different between the two states of Illinois and Missouri. I’m originally from the St. Louis area but spent the past few years living in Champaign, IL, going to school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Even though the Champaign-Urbana region (pop.120,000) is significantly smaller than St. Louis, their public transit agency, Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD), is much more organized, runs more frequently and has embraced many new technologies in public transit.

Some of their technologies include: GPS tracking, hybrid buses, a multi-modal transportation hub and elongated buses.

ABOVE: Illini Union Hub, along Green St in Urbana, IL. Photo by Matt Heil

Their GPS tracking was extremely useful and, during my stint in Champaign, I used this feature almost daily but at least two-three times a week. Every bus is equipped with GPS receivers that forward real-time arrival and departure information to MTD’s website, which is accessible via-smartphone; their texting service, which every bus stop has a specific code you can text to MTD; and also high volume bus stops, which are all equipped with LED signs that post the arrival times of the next buses.

Hybrid buses were added within the last two years and incorporating hybrid technology into urban buses make quite a bit of sense. Buses mostly operate at lower speeds and make frequent stops, which are both, important for the regeneration of battery power.

Another great part of Champaign’s transit system was that the system integrated multiple hubs within the network. Most of these hubs were in and around the University of Illinois’ campus but two other important ones included Downtown Urbana and the largest one in Downtown Champaign. Illinois Terminal, located at the southeast portion of Champaign’s downtown, was built in 1999. At the time, it was a state of the art facility and continues that legacy today. Like the new Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center (Amtrak and Greyhound Station), finished in 2008; Illinois Terminal integrates intercity bus service (Greyhound and MegaBus), intracity bus (MTD=Metro) and Amtrak, all into one location and was designed as a multi-modal (intermodal) transportation hub.

ABOVE: Teal bus loading on Green St Urbana, IL. Photo by Matt Heil

As mentioned earlier, Champaign is significantly smaller than St. Louis yet their public transit works extremely better than St. Louis’. This is because Champaign’s main employer (13,000employees) and destination is the University. Additionally, the population living within a 2-mile radius of campus is quite dense. Both density and a central employment/destination hub are very crucial for maximizing public transit’s efficiency. MTD has much higher ridership on some of their routes, compared to St. Louis. To cope with higher ridership, some of the busiest routes use elongated or extended buses, which aren’t even seen on St. Louis’ busiest line: the #70 Grand Bus.

Champaign might be a sleepy college town and surrounded by cornfields but, when it comes to their public transit, Champaign can compete with some of the largest cities in the country. Some have even referred to the Champaign-Urbana area as a micro-urban area. Compared to St. Louis, Champaign built their multi-modal transportation hub almost an entire decade before St. Louis. So, we should probably expect Metro to incorporate other technologies like, extended buses and GPS tracking within the next decade too, but still lagging behind areas with less than 10% of our regional population.

- Matt Heil

Matt Heil is a native of Edwardsville, IL and current resident of St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

Readers Split on New Urbanist Village at Nearly Dead Jamestown Mall

ABOVE: Two of four anchors remain open at Jamestown Mall; Macy's & JC Penny

As I expected, there was no consensus among readers on the poll last week:

Q: Thoughts on the Plan to Raze Jamestown Mall and build a New Urbanist Village?

1. The sooner we rebuild auto-centric suburbs into walkable communities the better 23 [21.7%]
2. Nice concept but will probably require too much public subsidy 18 [16.98%]
3. Huge waste of time, money and energy to try to make the suburbs walkable 16 [15.09%]
4. The mall is privately owned, St. Louis County shouldn’t be involved at all 14 [13.21%]
5. New Urbanism is artificial urbanism 13 [12.26%]
6. Other answer… 11 [10.38%]
7. Government must change the zoning to do anything different with the site. 6 [5.66%]
8. unsure/no opinion 4 [3.77%]
9. Jamestown Mall should not be razed 1 [0.94%]

For a while the huge waste of time answer was in the top spot, glad to see it drop to #3.  The reason St. Louis County is involved is the property is located in unincorporated St. Louis County.  The county is taking a proactive step in figuring out what is best for the area so that zoning and other land-use laws can be modified to ensure what happens at the site is what the community wants.

1. the development area is in a far corner of NoCo, right idea, wrong place
2. Seems too far removed from major pop. to be worth the money.
3. The plans formulated today will someday fail just as those of our forefathers.
4. They should build an Ikea there instead
5. Return it to greenspace
6. Wrong location, location, location.
7. If we don’t redevelope, we’ll soon be a community of empty shopping ce
8. Turn it into something different.
9. Downzone to agriculture/mix. Anything but this dumb idea!
10. Location, location, location!
11. Work with the active business owners to create a revitalization plan

To me the site is the ideal location for such a retrofit. I visited the mall before my original post, arriving on a MetroBus from the Hanley MetroLink station.  I was impressed how busy the bus was all along Lindbergh. I’ve visited the area again during the poll, this time I drove up 367 from North St. Louis and then south on Lindbergh (67) when I left. Google Maps is a great resource but it is no substitute for seeing a place first hand.

ABOVE: The area north of Lindbergh Rd is still pretty rural

To many living in a new home where they can walk to shops and be surrounded by a green ring is idea, very English.

ABOVE: New home under construction less than 3/4 of a mile west of Jamestown Mall

And new homes are being constructed very close to the mall, mostly along Lindbergh Blvd.  The above example is on Misty Crossing Ct, in the Misty Hollow subdivision.

Pure economics dictate the mall site will never be agriculture or green space ever again, the four concepts for the site included one that was pretty green.

ABOVE: The "Garden Suburb" is one of four concepts for the site. Click image for PDF report

The “Garden Suburb Plan” is the most green of the four, although most leave the SW tip undeveloped. Note the existing houses immediately to the south and west of the site (aerial view). Two dead end streets for the existing Fox Manor subdivision would be connected to the redeveloped site in this plan and two others. Currently the adjacent Fox Manor subdivision has only one way in or out – directly onto Lindbergh Blvd. These existing homes would now be connected to other homes and businesses.

The comments on the post were interesting but often way off base like these poll answers.

- Steve Patterson