Sunday I was out in the municipality of Dardenne Prairie located in St. Charles County. A friend is one of their six aldermen. He and his wife were sharing their experiences from campaigning last year. I like that their municipal elections are non-partisan. Are parties even relevant at a municipal level?
On the way to their home (with the obligatory front facing 3-car garage) I had to stop and snap the picture to the right. This photo is completely untouched – I did not digitally add the ‘Dardene Prairie City Hall’ sign in front of a trailer. No, this is the Dardene Prairie City Hall. Tragic huh?
During my visit our conversation turned from campaigning to city planning. Well, after a short discussion of Macs vs. Windows and how her team (USC) kicked my Alma Mater (University of Oklahoma) in the Orange Bowl. I started hearing about some of the issues they face. O’Fallon is next to them and wants to overtake them. Prior administrations let their city limits shrink because they wanted to remain a bedroom community. Without commercial development it is hard to provide city services – much less build a real city hall.
Soon Dardene Prairie will have one of those multi-screen theaters that has enough screens to show every movie currently out. But what I learned is that their Mayor, Pam Fogarty, wanted the theatre and other developments to be a bit more connected. She wanted to be able to go to dinner and then walk to the movie without having to get back into her car. Guess what? She is getting what she wanted. Granted, she’ll be walking in a strip mall but it is a start.
The three of us got in their SUV (ownership of at least one SUV is required in St. Charles County) and headed over to Winghaven. For those of you that don’t know, Winghaven was the region’s first attempt at New Urbanism. I hadn’t seen it in years – it was barely started last time I was there. In August 2001 the RFT did a story about the development. Some took exception with the characterization that Winghaven was New Urbanism. Todd Antoine, an urban planner currently with Great Rivers Greenway, green Architect John Hoag and yours truly authored a letter to the editor in response.
From our letter:
New Urbanists believe strengthening the urban core is vital to sustaining long-term regional growth while acknowledging that greenfield development will continue. New development, whether in the urban core or in greenfields, benefits by incorporating New Urbanist principles. New Urbanism does not imply a strict return to nostalgic remembrances of the past. Instead, it is based on design and planning principles nurtured and refined over centuries of town-building that have been largely forgotten over the last 50 years.
The following week was 9-11 which made our concerns of defining New Urbanism immediately insignificant.
OK, so we are in the SUV heading to Winghaven. I learn more. As we head out of their subdivision I note that the main feeder road in the subdivision only has sidewalks on one side. When they go for a walk in their subdivision they have to walk across the street and across grass to get to a sidewalk. Sad. We pull onto the two lane country road that was probably charming at one time. It will soon be widened by the county – it will still be two lanes but it will gain curbs, a center turn lane and a sidewalk on one side. The county only pays for one sidewalk. The much older subdivision across the street and to the north will not have a sidewalk on its side of the main street. Just as well, they have no sidewalks within their subdivision.
Now we are on Bryan Road which becomes Winghaven Blvd when we cross highway N. The first thing I notice is the blank land before we get to highway N. “Oh, that will be where Page Ave extends.” Page Avenue will continue through the middle of Dardene Prairie and connect with highway 40.
On the drive past little “villages” of mostly suburban housing on our way to the Boardwalk – their commercial town center. They explain how their Mayor, the aforementioned Pam Fogerty, bicycles from her house to this commercial area. Wow, cool. First she wants crazy things like being able to walk from dinner to a movie without driving to the next parking lot and now she bicycles from point A to point B in suburbia rather than drive an SUV. I’m really starting to like Mayor Fogerty. I look forward to meeting her.
Then I learn that my friends don’t do their grocery shopping at a massive Shnuck’s or Dierberg’s. They go to Dave’s on the Boardwalk in Winghaven. Earlier in the day, Dave himself took out their groceries to their SUV. Who knew such friendly neighborhood markets existed – much less in a new area in St. Charles County. This is not some glorified convenience store – they have a full selection of groceries including fresh produce and a deli. Plus, the store was very attractive in a smart way – much like our small Straub’s chain. I had low expectations and was immediately surprised.
The ice creme shop across the street from the grocery store includes a great feature – a pedestrian walk-up window. Again, I’m totally shocked. Someone had to actually assume they’d have enough walk-up traffic to justify the cost of the window.
In terms of ADA accessibility they did a pretty bad job. Flagstone steps through mulched beds to get from SUV to sidewalk, lots of steps and narrow sidewalk widths.
A couple of bike racks are located on the two short blocks at the center. Unfortunately, this one is located on the side of a building in a less than visible location. Also, it is a bit too close to the building to make access comfortable. But, I’m always glad to see bike racks at commercial areas.
The adjacent townhouses are a mockery of real urban townhouses. The alleys are wider than lots of streets I know. The single family detached housing, also adjacent to the commercial area, is a little better. My friends observed, correctly, that the houses felt too close to the street not because of the actual distance but because of the bright white vinyl siding which jumps out at you. Again, these alleys are really wide and the houses have driveways and attached garages. One had a 3-car garage off the alley and no backyard. Lame.
Winghaven is not New Urbanism. It is better than typical suburban sprawl but it is a far cry from the City of St. Louis or even old town St. Charles. One could wonder if Winghaven was necessary to get to New Town at St. Charles – a genuine example of flood field New Urbanism. Maybe, but don’t pass it off as New Urbanism.
My friend reads Urban Review – St. Louis on a daily basis. Issues I raise about connecting people and places are being discussed with their Mayor and other Aldermen. I’m flattered. Dardene Prairie recently approved TND (Traditional Neighborhood Design) zoning for a couple of parcels of land within their city. I’ve yet to see the specifics of the ordinance but I’m encouraged the city is taking pro-active steps to mold the way it develops rather than just approving whatever a developer proposes.
I lent them my copies of David Sucher’s book City Comforts as well as the recent issue of New Urban News. I haven’t even been elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen yet and I am already working on improving the whole region. The power of sharing ones views & knowledge – I love it.
– Steve