The Next Eastbound Train Will Be Arriving In Thirty Seconds

Riders of our light rail system, MetroLink, are used to hearing a number of platform announcements, including:

“Attention passengers, the next eastbound [or westbound] train will be arriving in thirty seconds.”

I’m sure the visually-impaired passengers find this announcement very helpful.  To the rest of us it is rather humorous.  At the Forest Park station the announcement usually doesn’t start until the train is already pulling into the station.

It would be nice to know if the next train is nine or five minutes away.  When heading westbound before Forest Park it would be nice to know if the next train is headed to the Airport or Shrewsbury. This shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish but it would be helpful information.

– Steve Patterson

Thurman Ave Needs To Be Reopened

Exciting things are happening in neighborhoods like Shaw.  For example, Shasha’s on Shaw at Shaw Blvd & Thurman Ave is a great wine bar.  Suppose you live just to the north a couple of blocks  among the recently built homes in Botanical Heights (formerly McRee Town) and you wanted dinner and a glass of wine, walking to Sasha’s would be ideal. Except…

Walking the short distance via the most direct route takes you along Thurman Ave, long closed to vehicles and looking rather abandoned and unsafe.

Neither end is accessible so pushing that baby stroller will require effort to get over the high curb.  Not sure exactly when or why Thurman Ave was closed to traffic, it has been closed for at least 20 years.  My guess is it was done to contain crime in the area to the north of I-44.

More important than walking to a wine bar is access to transit.  Two bus lines run on Shaw Blvd (08 & 80). The 80 bus also runs on 39th so residents living near that street can catch that line there.

Now that investment is happening on both sides of the highway keeping Thurman Ave closed just doesn’t make sense. Tower Grove Ave to the west and 39th to the east are both open but the distance between them is more than a half mile. This stretch of Thurman Ave between DeTonty St and Lafayette Ave is entirely within the 17th Ward, which ends at Shaw Blvd.  I saw Ald Joe Roddy last Friday but I didn’t get a chance to discuss this issue with him, he might support opening the street for all I know.

Tomorrow’s post will be about more investment just north of I-44.

– Steve Patterson

Railings on ADA Ramps Aren’t Bike Racks

I’m not upset with the owner of this bike, they had nowhere else to safely secure their vehicle.  It is the lack of bike parking at the Chase Park Plaza that upsets me.

Most likely a “dish drainer” bike rack is stuffed in a dark corner of the parking garage, completely out of sight to the transportation cyclist. I was able to get past this bike in my power chair, but I’ve encountered times where I had less room.  But the continuous railings are there for a reason, so someone can make their way along the ramp while always holding the railing.  Break the railing with a bike and suddenly you can present a major problem for someone that needs to hold the railing.

– Steve Patterson

Grand Bridge Now Closed For Replacement

The Grand bridge over the train & MetroLink tracks was closed earlier this morning. Last June I spent some on and under the bridge, looking at the poor condition. From a press release issued by Mayor Slay’s office on February 28th:

“The Grand Bridge project is expected to take 18-24 months; Grand Boulevard is expected to be closed for about 14 months. The new Grand Bridge will feature improvements that benefit transit riders, pedestrians, and drivers. While the City of St. Louis replaces the Grand Bridge, Metro will redesign the Grand MetroLink Station and create a Scott Avenue Transit Plaza, which will feature seating, vending, attractive landscaping, improved lighting and a new park-ride lot.”

The current bridge dates to the early 1960s.

Replacement long overdue!

– Steve Patterson

Downtown Trolley Important To This Downtown Resident

The (#99) Downtown Trolley has become, for me, an important part of downtown. Yesterday I had to go to the Millennium Hotel on 4th Street for an Affordable Housing Conference.  Sure, it is a regular bus with a unique exterior wrap but the frequency & route are why I use it regularly.

As a downtown (west) resident I could have “walked” since I have a power chair. But Google Maps says the distance is 1.4 miles via a direct route. That distance in the chair is no big deal, it has plenty of power for the round trip.

Just like physically walking that distance, it becomes exhausting dealing with the number of intersections to cross.

The Downtown Trolley has a limited fixed route that covers much of downtown, but not all. I had to go a few blocks from my loft to catch the trolley and another few to reach my final destination. Still, I was able to do about a mile of my journey on the trolley.

Studies show people are generally willing to walk about a quarter of a mile but anything beyond that those willing to walk drops off dramatically.Returning home at the end of the day it was a nice evening and I had stop to make so I skipped the trolley entirely.

– Steve Patterson