Sunday Poll: How Do You Feel About IKEA St. Louis Opening In 45 Days?

IKEA St. Louis’ big blue & yellow box opens in 45 days.Today’s poll seek to gauge reader thoughts on this new retail option

Please vote above and comment below, the poll closes at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

11th Street Rain Garden Five Years Later

It has been nearly 5 years since I posted about a demonstration rain garden downtown, see New Downtown Rain Garden Reduces Sidewalk Width Too Much. The design issues remain:

• Rain garden takes up sidewalk rather than street
• Parking still isn’t allowed in front of rain garden, so a lane of asphalt isn’t being used.

Still, now that the plants have matured it looks so much better.

It collects water runoff from the sidewalk and adjacent surface parking lot, the more rain water we can keep out of the sewer system the better. I still see no reason why a parking space or two hasn’t been added to 11th Street.

— Steve Patterson

Three Blocks Of Washington Ave Diagonal Parking Now Back-In

The planning to reduce travel lanes from four to two on the three blocks of Washington Ave, from 18th to 21th, took place in 2007. The work was done in 2008. I was a paid consultant during the planning phase. At the time I lived in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood and drove a motor scooter. In late 2007 I moved downtown and a few months later I had a stroke.

During the planning phase we debated angled parking — front-in vs.  back-in. In 2007 I argued for front-in angled parking, which is how the street got striped. Since then the block West of Jefferson plus others toward Grand also reduced travel lanes with the addition of angled parking. But these blocks did back-in parking.

Front-in angled parking is much easier when it comes to parking your car but harder to see other motorists, motorcycles, or bicyclists when exiting the space. Last year we picked up friends at their loft at Washington Ave & Jefferson, I was driving and parked in a back-in space. I was nervous. but I did it first try. In hindsight I wish I’d argued for back-in parking initially.

Recently these blocks of Washington Ave were resurfaced and restriped — now with back-in parking.  Let’s take a look:

Out of 20+ cars only two weren’t within their respective spaces. Again, I wish I’d argued for this initially.  The planning was prior to my being disabled, but I lobbied hard for good pedestrian crossings and disabled parking.

Two and a half hours later I returned to check out a few more things, the white Ford was in the same spot.

Like most aspects of driving, backing into a parking space just takes practice to master. Occasionally I back into our space in our parking garage, it does get easier. Some day I may drive over to Washington Ave to practice — this wasn’t on my driver’s test in 1983.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Year Later Conditions ‘Slightly Better’ In Ferguson

In the Sunday Poll readers indicated conditions were “slightly better” than they were just before Mike Brown was shot a year earlier. Protests, rightly so, continue because conditions are only slightly better, rather than significantly better.   And criminals use the protests as an opportunity to cause chaos.

Aside from the political & institutional, the physical isn’t much better. Most buildings burned are now just vacant sites. Only one was rebuilt.

The results:

Q: It’s been a year since Mike Brown was shot in Ferguson. How would you rate conditions today compared to just prior to his death?

1. Slightly better 16 [44.44%]
2. Unchanged 7 [19.44%]
3. Significantly worse 4 [11.11%]
4. Slightly worse 3 [8.33%]
5. TIE 3 [8.33%]
   1. Worse
   2. Other:
      1. better in what way?
      2. Tougher for the lawmakers; open season for the law breakers.
      3. Same, but with more awareness of how bad conditions are
6. TIE 0 [0%]
   1. Better
   2. Significantly better
   3. Unsure/No Answer

The current conditions are institutionalized and will take decades to change.

— Steve Patterson

Downtown’s Only Pizza By-The-Slice Place Has Closed, Adjacent Diner Never Opened

In June 2013 I was excited a diner was going to reopen at Tucker & Washington, by the same folks that opened Empire Pizza & Deli around the corner.

The diner never opened, and now, the associated Empire Pizza & Deli in the same building has closed. Lately the hours were erratic. but then it closed.

You’d think, given their restaurant backgrounds, they could’ve made it work:

Owners Mike and Dave Rook — the latter formerly executive chef at Copia — are the brothers of acclaimed Annie Gunn’s chef Lou Rook III, and all three men are the son of Lou Rook Jr., who founded King Louie’s Drive-In in Wood River, Illinois. Dave and Mike are working to open King Louie’s, a 24-hour diner and bar & grill concept, in the space adjacent to King Louie’s Empire Deli & Pizza. (2013: Riverfront Times)

The registered agent for RRR and R, LLC is Louis Earl Rook, Jr.

Someone please reopen a pizza by-the-slice shop downtown!

— Steve Patterson