Proposed Gravois-Jefferson National Register Historic District

Very soon St. Louis will have another National Register Historic District. The proposed “Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb National Register Historic District” is an area roughly bounded by Gravois, Jefferson, Meramec and South Grand.

Click here for map of proposed district

It is funny today when you here the term “streetcar suburb” applied to such an urban area in the middle of the city. But the reality is areas such as this proposed district in Dutchtown were developed because the streetcar permitted homeowners to live a few miles from downtown – a big distance at the time. Commercial development along Gravois, Jefferson, Cherokee served the daily needs of the residents. The beautifully scaled commercial area along Meramec East of Grand is ripe for new uses. A coffee house would be an ideal addition.

A National Register Historic District places no requirements on owners nor does it guarantee a contributing structure will not be razed. However, it does make contributing buildings within the district eligible for state & federal tax credits.

I think we’ll see this district emerge as the new place to rehab and live. The terrain is pleasantly rolling and the buildings some of the most attractive in the entire City. The parks are numerous and nicely scaled. If you don’t know the area – I suggest you take a look.

– Steve

A vision for St. Louis

“I believe that a city’s vitality is shown through its use of mass transportation.  The trolleys of San Francisco, Portland and Toronto add atmosphere and convenience to users and visitors of their downtown sidewalks.  In Pittsburgh, the downtown trolleys are free.  When trolleys roamed our area, St. Louis was a vital city.  With the convenience of Metrolink comes a responsibility to make downtown transportation even more creative and cost effective than current systems offer.  Push bus service to the edges of the city’s perimeter and permit quieter, battery-powered trolleys to move throughout the heart of downtown.”

The words above are part of an articulate vision for St. Louis – written nearly eight years ago (June 1997). Aaron Williams envisioned a city exciting to both the visitor but also to the resident. A city full of life with street vendors, vibrant MetroLink stops, roaming cabs, and shuttles completing the transportation picture.

“Policies that limit street “action” must be repealed immediately.  Bring back the newspaper and food vendors.  Allow street musicians and other artists to perform once again on our streets and at Metrolink and bus stations.  In Paris and London, street musicians are as varied and abundant as the cultures of residents in those cities.  We must revitalize our urban areas with the sounds and smells that are an integral part of the experience of visiting any thriving downtown.”

Click here to read the full vision

Some things Williams outlined have come to be, most have not. We’ve changed mayors and our costly stadiums have changed names. Williams’ vision remains a worthy goal.

– Steve

Rollin Stanley on St. Louis & Urban Planning

Rollin Stanley, Executive Director of the St. Louis Planning & Urban Design Agency, joined a group of over twenty people at Grbic on Sunday for a discussion of Jane Jacobs’ classic book, Death and Life of Great American Cities. For a couple of hours we had great discussions of the book, St. Louis, sprawl, and modern design.

In October 2004 the Riverfront Times did an feature story on Stanley. Randall Roberts writes:

Rollin Stanley has bold plans for St. Louis. If he had his way, downtown’s one-way streets would be eliminated, buildings would have to retrofit their basements to include showers for bicyclists, and bike lanes would meander alongside major thoroughfares. Stanley envisions a pedestrian paradise where workers, residents and visitors can window-shop and run errands. He also wants more teeth put in Missouri’s planning and zoning laws; currently, his department isn’t required by law to examine, approve — or see — any proposed deviation from the zoning guidelines and comprehensive land-use plan.

Yesteday was my first time meeting Rollin Stanley and his wife Ann. Vary rarely am I immediately impressed with anyone – much less a city official that has to be somewhat political. The Stanley’s are a pleasant exception! While I didn’t necessarily agree 100% with what Stanley had to say it was certainly in the high 90s.

I feel better knowing Rollin Stanley is in town and making a difference. While change at City Hall will not be immediate I have much greater confidence in the long term prospects for the City of St. Louis.

Since the weather was so nice on Sunday and the location was just under two miles from my house, I decided to ride my bike. I felt really urban showing up on my bike.

In case you are curious, this is not an old bike newly painted. It is a brand new bicycle from Kronan Cycle in Sweden. Mine is a single speed with coaster brake but the 3-speed model would make life much easier. I’ve only had this bike a few months but I really enjoy the looks from people.

– Steve

The downside to on-street parking

I was awakened at 4:45AM this morning by the reminder that on-street parking has a downside – hit and run accidents. Although, in this case the suspect(s) fled on foot.

The white Ford you see was parked behind my car on my side street. A neighbor says a girl was driving the other car you see and a guy was driving a pickup in the opposite direction – he let his truck roll into a parked van. Both ran (literally) after the accident – the pickup was left running!

My first concern was my car which was thankfully unharmed. Generally my streets are pretty quite but you do get the occasional speeding driver or one that ignores the stop signs. Last week another neighbors car was hit slightly in the middle of the day when a couple of drivers ignored the stop signs.

Makes me think of Seattle where such intersections wouldn’t have stop signs at all but roundabouts in the middle of them – forcing drivers to slow. St. Louis is trying a few such roundabouts here but I’m not sure if we can give up our stop signs. Just think of the economy – the clutch alone would last much longer if we didn’t have all these stop signs. Plus, we might actually lower our exhaust emissions by not having so much stopping and starting (for those of us that actually stop at stop signs).

UPDATE 7:45am:

Three hours later the city towing service arrives to begin pulling the cars off my tree lawn. The operator says we had lots of accidents last night…

The pickup was allowed to roll into the parked van, it was still running when the suspects fled. Police are still investigating and writing up their report.

Roundabouts USA website

– Steve

Hey, get the lead out!

Childhood lead poisoning is a serious issue in St. Louis – one the city is not taking lightly. Check out the brief Lead Safe St. Louis website and you’ll find a link to Lead St. Louis Action Plan from November 2003.

The Action Plan (in PDF format) aims at eradicating childhood lead poisoning by 2010. Unlike many other city documents, this plan has clear goals, strategies and timeframes. Kudos!

The staff of Lead Safe St. Louis has the task of bringing together several city agencies that all deal with the issue of lead. Let’s hope they meet their goals!

– Steve