Shrewsbury: MetroLink to City Hall

I love rail transit, but a problem with our MetroLink light rail system is getting from the stations to your destination. Last week I attended a meeting hosted by Trailnet at Shrewsbury City Hall, a mile from the station. I could’ve caught a bus that would’ve dropped me off at Murdoch & Shrewsbury Ave but I still would’ve had 4/10ths of a mile to reach city hall. It was decent out and my power chair had a full charge so I decided to “walk” the mile.

But first a little background information.

The Shrewsbury MetroLink station is located in the City of St. Louis, but the Shrewsbury city limits is the western edge of the commuter parking lot. The station has been open neatly 7 years now so there’s been time to better connect the surrounding neighborhoods to transit.

Okay, let’s head to Shrewsbury City Hall located one mile away at 5200 Shrewsbury Ave.

Given the substantial capital investment made in the MetroLink expansion and the commitment of sales taxes to help fund Metro I find it unacceptable that nothing has been done in nearly 7 years. Well, the sidewalk along one side of St. Vincent looks like it was done in that time frame, but nothing else looks different. Employees & customers should be able to walk from the MetroLink station to the businesses along Murdoch & Murdock Cut-Off. Shrewsbury residents living within a 1/4 mile of the station should have a easy walk, but they don’t.

I suggest the following action steps:

1. Metro, St. Louis, Shrewsbury, Trailnet, etc. begin to examine ways to improve the pedestrian experience to/from the Shrewsbury MetroLink/MetroBus station.
2. Shrewsbury begin to evaluate multiple routes from the station to destinations with Shrewsbury, starting with a walking audit. I’d be happy to participate. Dan Burden from the Walkable & Livable Communities Institute would be an outstanding facilitator.
3. Shrewsbury work to add an ADA-compliant accessible route to the main accessible entrance of the Shrewsbury City Center complex.

I’m emailing various officials at Shrewsbury & St. Louis this morning to try to raise awareness and get some action.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: How Should St. Louis County Reduce Traffic Congestion Between Mid & South County?

St. Louis County is still trying to make it easier to get from Hanley to Watson Rd., now through what’s being called the South County Connector. Various schemes have been around for decades:

A plan for an improved connection from south St. Louis County to central St. Louis County has existed since the late 1950s. The original concept was for a freeway “inner belt expressway” to provide better north-south access through the St. Louis suburbs. This freeway concept became Interstate 170 north of Interstate 64/U.S. Route 40. Originally, Interstate 170 was supposed to continue south into the southern part of St. Louis County to provide improved access between Interstates 44, 64 and 55. After much deliberation, area leaders decided in the 1990s not to pursue a southward extension of Interstate 170 due to public concerns. Although this option was abandoned, St. Louis County, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), and other local agencies continued planning efforts to identify potential options for north-south access improvements in south St. Louis County. (source)

Here’s a summary of the current proposal:

John Hicks, the county’s Transportation Development Analyst, says the county is now presenting two alternatives to the public, but both roughly follow a route from River Des Peres Boulevard at Watson Road, through a portion of the Shrewsbury MetroLink parking lot, across I-44, into Big Bend Industrial Court, crossing Deer Creek Center and ending at Hanley Road near Flora Avenue. (KMOV)

A good portion would be elevated roadway.

Proponents say the project is needed to address projected increases in traffic, critics say the focus should be on transit, biking, and walking solutions.  They also say the widened/high-speed intersections would be dangerous to bikers and pedestrians.

I want to know what you think about it, the weekly poll is in the right sidebar. Cast your vote and share your thoughts below.

— Steve Patterson

Former River Roads Mall Site Vacant, the Few New Buildings Aren’t Pedestrian Friendly

River Roads Mall was located in the north St. Louis County municipality of Jennings, MO:

Opened in 1962, the mall originally featured St. Louis-based Stix, Baer & Fuller as its main anchor store, as well as a Kroger supermarket and a Woolworth dime store. Walgreens operated a store in the mall as well. A 1970s expansion brought JCPenney as a second anchor store. Dillard’s bought the Stix, Baer & Fuller chain in 1984, converting all Stix, Baer & Fuller stores to the Dillard’s name. However, the River Roads Mall store was closed not long afterward in 1986 at the end of the lease. JCPenney converted its store to a JCPenney outlet in 1984. Woolworth closed the River Roads location (along with locations at West County Mall and in South St. Louis City) in early 1991 during one of the chain’s earliest rounds of store closures. By the early 1990s, the mall was briefly renamed St. Louis Consumer Center. (Wikipedia)

Two decades after opening it was already in decline. The surrounding residential neighborhoods remain a decent place to grow up.

I love that sidewalks were provided, those didn’t exist in the 1960s subdivision where I grew up, but they’re meaningless because the sidewalks didn’t lead anyone to nearby retail. You see in the 1960s America thought driving everywhere was the future. Cart the kids around until they get a license then they can drive themselves.

But we know better now, right? We need to design places to accommodate multiple modes of mobility: car, bike and foot. So you’d think the few new buildings that have been constructed in the last 5-6 years on the edge of the site have improved things for area residents. Well, you may not think so but I expected to see an improvement.

Boy was I disappointed on my first visit in 6+ years.

River Roads Manor was a Pyramid Properties project, completed prior to the collapse of the company on April 18, 2008 (see Five Years Since Pyramid Properties Ceased Operations). The McDonald’s & Neighbors Credit Union were started.  So John Steffen’s Pyramid Properties is to blame for not raising the bar in this area.

I just hope  Stacy Hastie of Environmental Operations, the entity that now owns the mall site, will take pedestrian access into consideration in the future. I also hope Jennings will realize their residents do walk places and that new construction should include provisions for them as well as for motorists.

Some of you will say nobody walks, everyone drives. Why then is the area serviced by MetroBus is everyone drives?  All we have to do is take a look at Google Street View to spot pedestrians.

Massive efforts go into accommodating motorists, from municipal codes to vast amounts of paving and land. I just want a pedestrian connection to adjacent streets, I think that’s fair.

— Steve Patterson

County Voters Approved Proposition A For Transit Three Years Ago

It was three years ago today that St. Louis County voters approved Proposition A, activating a sales tax previously approved by voters in St. Louis City.

Proposition A, a ½-cent sales tax in St. Louis County, passed on April 6! It will provide revenue needed for continued operation and expansion of the transit system including MetroLink, Metrobus and Call-A-Ride services for the disabled. The County tax will raise approximately $75 million annually – and now triggers a matching quarter cent sales tax that was passed in the City of St. Louis in 1997 which will add an additional $8 million a year to the program. (source)

In the last three years Metro has been able to restore MetroBus service to areas where it had been cut due to lack of funding. St. Louis County is holding back some of the tax revenue generated  each year, to use for local match for an expansion of MetroLink light rail.

But where?

• South from the Shrewsbury end?
• North along I-170?
• Out to Westport Plaza?

I haven’t kept up with the long range planning so perhaps the next route has been selected already, anyone know?

— Steve Patterson

Lack Of Crosswalks May Have Contributed To Death Of Boy

On the evening of Friday October 5th a tragedy happened:

A boy has died and another is in critical condition after a pickup truck hit them and left the scene in Pagedale Friday evening.

The incident happened at about 7:30 p.m. in the 7300 block of St. Charles Rock Road in Pagedale at Salerno Drive, just east of Pennsylvania Avenue. (stltoday.com)

His 10 year-old brother survived, with serious injuries. Earlier this month I visited the accident site, well I got as close as I could.

I couldn’t reach the convenience store or cross the street in my wheelchair due to a lack of sidewalks and crosswalks.  The distance between signalized crossings is more than a quarter mile, as a result pedestrians regularly cross the street where it is convenient to do so.

Media reports focussed solely on the driver’s record:

In the last 30 years, he has been arrested about 150 times, almost always while driving in north St. Louis County. Six of his 11 DWI arrests resulted in convictions: four times on misdemeanors and two on felonies. He has served fewer than two years total in prison on the DWI charges. (He also has served time in prison on gun charges.) (stltoday.com)

Yes, those who drink & drive are a problem, but only part of it. The other part of the problem is this area, just a short distance from the Rock Road MetroBus/MetroLink center isn’t designed for use by pedestrians.

My sympathies to the families of all involved.

— Steve Patterson