Readers Have Positive Impression of South Grand Road Diet

A few years ago a few blocks of South Grand underwent a road diet:

In 2009, South Grand Boulevard was selected as one of four Great Streets Initiative pilot projects in the St. Louis region. Since 2006, East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) has been helping communities in the St. Louis region expand the way they think about streets. Local leaders and citizens are encouraged to think beyond the curb to understand how transportation decisions affect the total built environment.

EWG recognizes the importance of streets as community resources and through the St. Louis Great Streets Initiative intends to make them more than just a conduit for cars. Great Streets in St. Louis will emphasize all modes of travel, especially walking. Great Streets will address and reconsider the auto- centric approach that has dominated design over the years in order to transform these streets into great community resources.

Considering how street design choices affect the pedestrian realm and abutting land uses is central to the St. Louis Great Streets Initiative. Connecting communities requires more than just installing a sidewalk along the edge of a busy street. It requires the careful and intentional creation of an environment that suits walking, bicycling and transit. It requires taming traffic in a way that still allows for mobility, but at speeds that are safe and undamaging. Streets traverse through communities and should do so in a way that enhances the community. (PDF — large file)

Now that the project has been completed I wanted to know how readers felt about it.

Here are the results from the Sunday Poll:

Q: Now that it has been in place a few years, what is your opinion of the South Grand ‘Great Streets’ road diet:

1. Highly favorable 18 [45%]
2. Favorable 12 [30%]
3. Neutral 4 [10%]
4. Tie 3 [7.5%]
   1. Unfavorable
   2. Highly unfavorable
5. Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]

As you can see, 75% have a positive view with only 15% a negative. I voted for “favorable”, some design decisions kept me from voting “highly favorable.” The pedestrian path still seems too narrow, for example.

We need more of these road diets to counter the massive road widening projects of the early 20th century! We have nowhere near the population that existed in those days, the road widening that took place is part of the reason for our population decline. We must remake our streets on the scale of a century ago — making them suitable for all modes (pedestrian, cyclist, motorist).

— Steve Patterson

Parking in St. Louis? Get The Parkmobile App

I’ve now had two instances where I used the Parkmobile smartphone app to pay for time parking on-street, both downtown. The first was on 10th Street between Olive & Locust, the second on 13th between Olive & Pine.Both were last month.  The Parkmobile app had been on my phone since late 2014, I’d only set up my profile (car license plate & credit card) but never had a need to use it since I rarely drive our shared car.

1) 10th Street: 

After parking I had two choices: walk a car length in the opposite direction of my destination and use the pay station or try out the mobile app. The combination of a shorter walk and getting to use my phone rather than fumble with money or credit card made the decision a no brainer. I knew this convenience would cost me $0.35.

I manually typed in the zone number & space number indicated on the sign for my space, I opted for two hours (maximum) and used most of it by the time I returned.

2) 13th Street: 

The second time we were returning home from lunch on South Grand, we decided to stop for dessert. My husband could’ve put change in the meter while I was getting out of the car, but I wanted to use the app again.

While we had dessert I tweeted about the problem with the QR code. The Treasurer’s office tweeted back “The QR code allows you to download the app…not enter the space #” This, it turns out, was untrue — more later.   Whomever was tweeting even suggested I watch Parkmobile’s video if I needed help — the video isn’t on Parkmobile’s mobile-friendly site anyway.

As it turns out I was using the app correctly — the person tweeting for the Treasurer’s office didn’t understand the use of the QR code within the app. Parkmobile clarified in two tweets:

• First“Hi @urbanreviewstl, if you scan the QR code in our app it will populate the zone #.”
• Second “@urbanreviewstl If you scan it through an independent QR scanner, it will take you to our website. Hope this helps!” 

So when it wouldn’t load that first time it was either my AT&T service or their server. If this happens to you just manually enter the zone, I tested the QR code later and it worked in seconds.

Here’s the video the Treasurer’s Office office wanted me to watch, which clarifies the QR code can be used within the app — something they didn’t realize! Have they not watched it?

I really like this app, the fact the QR code does double duty is a nice bonus. I realize not everyone likes the idea of paying $0.35 every time they park on street. But if you have a smartphone I’d advise having the app set up in case you find yourself parking and not having any change for the meter — you don’t want to wait until that point to 1) download the app 2) add your vehicle 3) link to your credit card — just have it ready to use. Eventually every meter in the city will be marked for mobile payment.

The Parkmobile app works on the following mobile devices:

• iOS
• Android
• Windows
• Blackberry
• Amazon
• web app

Give it a try!

— Steve Patterson

Not All Surface Parking Lots Are Secured Despite 2011 Rules

In 2011 St. Louis experienced a rash a car break-ins at various downtown surface parking lots, to restore the public confidence City Hall made a big deal about a new rule to make sure they’re secure. From a September 2011 press release about the new rules:

The City of St. Louis and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD), worked together to create new public parking lot rules. The highlights are:
• Parking lots shall be attended by an employee when in operation; and
• Parking lot attendants shall be educated by the SLMPD; and
• Parking lots shall be secured when not in operation.

The City of St. Louis Building Division will grant waivers to parking lots that have demonstrated they are safe and secure. These waivers will be reviewed periodically.

You can read the complete Building Commissioner’s Order #1001.

On April 30, 2014 I emailed various city officials, including Building Commissioner Frank Oswald, about the surface parking lots adjacent to the east & north of my building, asking if they were exempt from this rule.  I also mentioned the poor condition of the one to the East (1601 Locust).

Mr. Oswald replied the next day:

Steve, These lots are not exempt. It sounds that you are telling me the one lot is used for ballpark pay parking? I will copy my staff to put this on there list to check on for compliance with order 1001. I am not sure but it sounds if you are concerned that one or both lots are in poor condition, I would appreciate you putting in a c.s.b. complaint so we have a record. 622-4800 and we can then do a property maintenance inspection.

I contacted the Citizens Service Bureau (CSB) and the next day replied to all with their report number — SR #601609.

One staff person replied to all:

Frank,

We have looked at lots in this area very recently and have found many lots don’t appear to have an actual physical person attending the lot. One of the big problems in enforcing Rule # 1001 is the difficulty in determining if an attendant is within 1 (one) mile of the lot. For example, an attendant for the lot at 1200 Washington could actually be at the Casino Queen in Illinois and still be considered in compliance according to the “Rule”!

Huh? How can an attendant watch a lot that’s one mile away? This lot used a metal collection box for parkers to self pay — no attendant unless during a special event. Oswald replied to all:

Ok but if we look at it 3 times in 10 days and no one is there each time I think we can conclude they are not monitoring in accordance to the policy and we should tell them they are in violation.

That was the last I heard from them on this issue. Here are some more photos:

Things only got worse as the months passed by, nothing changed — until November 25th — the old metal cash box was gone.

The other change is the parking fee dropped from $5/day to $3/day to compete with the lot to the north of our building.

Recap: poor physical condition, not secured, cars able to overhang the sidewalk, only one disabled space — not properly marked, no attendant.

This lot is owned by PHAM LLC of Wood River, Il., the tax records are mailed to a residence. The resident is Peter Heinz, principal at Cardinal Investments, Inc., of the same address. The lot is managed by Central Parking. Time to follow up with Frank Oswald and perhaps mail a letter to Mr, Heinz in Wood River IL.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Is Your Opinion Of The South Grand ‘Great Streets’ Road Diet?

Today’s poll topic comes as a result of a recent discussion with a friend on Facebook over South Grand’s streetscape project. I’ve heard differing views from others as well, so it seemed like a great poll topic.

The exact question is:  “Now that it has been in place a few years, what is your opinion of the South Grand ‘Great Streets’ road diet:”

The poll, open until 8pm, is at the top of the right sidebar. The answers are provided in random order.

— Steve Patterson

Reviving A Dead Mall By Rebranding With An Ethnic Focus

In 2009 I paid a visit to my childhood mall that opened in 1974 — eight days before my seventh birthday. By 2009 it was dead — all four anchors were closed as were most of the smaller stores. The next year National Public Radio did a story on how the Federal Reserve of New York came to own one of Oklahoma’s largest indoor malls:

It also owned a loan to Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City. Then, when the owners of the mall couldn’t make the payments, the Fed foreclosed. So now it owns the mall, which includes a Chick-fil-A and an AMC theater. (NPR)

The AMC Theater is in a separate building on an outlet — built years later.

In March I returned with my husband. Why visit a dead mall again? New owners have rebranded the mall, attracting new customers and stores.  From two years ago:

From the new owner’s About Me page:

The Legaspi Company is a full-service development/brokerage company for commercial/ investment real estate, particularly for retail projects.  We are recognized as an aggressive commercial real estate company, noted particularly for our ability to successfully identify and capitalize on untapped opportunities created by demographic changes and trends in the marketplace.  This reputation has led many investors, developers and retailers (please see accompanying client list) to seek our assistance in their expansion/development planning, site selection, and leasing/sales negotiation activities.  Municipalities and government entities have also recognized our ability to position, in many cases re-position, shopping districts in order to increase services to the community.

The foundation of our strength in various market areas is our niche marketing orientation: our recognition of the unique needs and marketing characteristics of each site on its own merits, and our willingness, as a matter of choice, to educate and work aggressively with investors, developers, retailers, and tenants in these areas, which in many cases were, till quite recently, considered marginal at best. (Legaspi Co)

We visited early on a Sunday morning, just as stores were starting to open.

During our visit we didn’t know what El Parian would be, I’ve since learned:

El Parian will feature about 60, 12-foot by 12-foot incubator booths that will be ringed around an atrium.

Additional phases of construction will include salon and restaurant space, with the hope of eventually having booth space for as many as 300 small start-up businesses, he said. The second and third floors of the Dillard’s wing will be converted to office space, Ruiz said.

Tenants at the mall said they were hopeful that El Parian would draw more shoppers to Plaza Mayor and give existing businesses a boost. A trickle of new shops has continued to reopen in the mall since redevelopment plans with Hispanic mall developer The Legaspi Co. were unveiled in spring 2013. (NewsOK)

The El Parian is now open, so I have a reason to return. Another would be to visit later when places are open — especially restaurants.

This video aired not long after the change to Plaza Mayor — it is wrong about the mall’s opening though — it opened in 1974 — not 1979.

Such a focus makes sense in Oklahoma City, in 2010 the population of Oklahoma City was 579,999 — with 17.2% being Hispanic or Latino (of any race) — up from 5% in 1990 (Wikipedia). By contrast, the City of St. Louis was only 3.5% Hispanic/Latino in 2010 (Wikipedia). The St. Louis region likely has a much lower percentage than the city.

Though this focus wouldn’t work for our dead/dying malls I bring this up because it shows how one developer has found a way to match vacant real estate with an often marginalized market. National brands are beginning to recognize the Hispanic/Latino market:

The 50 largest spending companies put $3.4 billion into Latino advertising in 2013, according to the most recent figures available from industry publication Advertising Age, which measured spending on Spanish-language ads on broadcast and cable networks and in Spanish language publications. Procter & Gamble Co. was the top spender with $334.8 million, followed by AT&T with $124.7 million. Target came in 28th, with $51.5 million. (LA Times)

Most real estate brokers & developers, blinded by their conventional wisdom, couldn’t see any use for this mall.

This is a good lesson on how the status quo establishment may not offer creative solutions — such reminders are a very good thing. I look forward to returning over the coming years to see Plaza Mayor continue to evolve.

— Steve Patterson