Poll: What Is Your Favorite Commercial Street In St. Louis City?

When I first moved to St. Louis in 1990 my first apartment was on Lindell at Euclid Ave. At the time Euclid Ave was the most urban street in St. Louis with shops (remember Heffalumps?) and restaurants. One of my first jobs was at an antique store east of Jefferson, not much positive was happening west of Jefferson except prostitution.   Not long after I made my first trip to Crown Candy — at night. The 14th Street Pedestrian Mall seemed totally dead.

Today we have many thriving commercial streets, amazing progress is just two decades.  The poll this week asks you to pick your favorite of these, here are the choices I’ve provided:

• N. 14th St. (Old North)
• Cherokee St.
• Delmar (Loop)
• Euclid (CWE)
• Grand (South Grand)
• Locust St (Midtown Alley)
• Manchester Rd Ave (The Grove)
• Morgan Ford
• Washington Ave

If you think of another you can vote for it in the poll using the other field. The poll is in the right sidebar (desktop layout).

— Steve Patterson

‘Schoemehl Pots’ Traffic Circles Roundabouts

Vince Schoemehl served as mayor for three 4-year terms, from 1981-1993. He’ll be remembered in history for a number of things, but perhaps mostly for giving us “Schoemehl Pots,” concrete sewer pipe sections filled with dirt.

Lately they’ve been used in a way that calms traffic while keeping the grid intact: the Schoemehl Pot Roundabout Traffic Circle!

The roundabout traffic circle shown at the bottom takes a considerable investment compared to a few sewer pipes filled with dirt, but the results are dramatically different too.  I just know I’ve never seen a Schoemehl pot installation that didn’t make me cringe.   Can we stop using them to block streets and create makeshift roundabouts traffic circles?

Tucker Boulevard Replacement Project Nearing Completion

The last bit of the old Tucker Blvd road surface, from Cass to Washington Ave, is now rubble. The last of the former rail tunnel was filled in a couple of months ago, now all that needs to be replaced is the last of the small area that didn’t have a tunnel under the roadway.

In addition to the road surface, the adjacent sidewalk for these last couple of blocks. Auto traffic is now open from Cass to Washington Ave in both directions, though constrained on the south end.

— Steve Patterson

Downtown Fiat Display Closed

Last month the downtown display-only showroom for Lou Fusz Fiat closed.

The store was not a licensed dealership — a costly process that involves permission from the auto manufacturer, in this case Chrysler, and usually a sizable investment — but rather a display not unlike what you might find in a shopping mall. It also enlivened a storefront downtown that had sat empty for several years, so much so that the building’s owner let Fusz occupy the space rent-free. (stltoday)

Indeed the cars inside the corner space of 1015 Locust more interesting. Once again, it is empty.

I wrote If It Sounds Too Good To Be True… in January 2012 when others were splitting hairs between “dealership” and “full-service dealership.” With a staff person and availability of test drives this was more than a simple display, though well short of a full dealership. The Missouri legislature must have thought it was too close to being a dealership and tightened up laws to clarify displays.

Of course, Lou Fusz could build an actual dealership. I could picture an urban dealership at Tucker & Cass, easily reached by downtown residents/workers and visible to the thousands that’ll come into downtown on the new I-70 bridge when it opens next year.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Split On Chief Dotson’s Proposed Use Of Drones By St. Louis Police

For much of the early voting last week the “good idea” crowd outnumbered the “too big brother” folks regarding the proposed use of drones by the St. Louis Police. See the introductory post for the poll here.

Q: How Do You Feel About Police Chief Dotson’s Vision For Using Drones?

1. Too ‘Big Brother’ for me 38 [44.19%]
2. For surveillance in public, it is a good idea 36 [41.86%]
3. Sounds ok now, but it’s a slippery slope 10 [11.63%]
4. Other: 2 [2.33%]
5. Unsure/No Opinion 0 [0%]

I remain conflicted; while it is big brother I also think it might catch those who are up to no good, but I see it expanding bit by bit — the slippery slope.

The two “other” answers provided by readers were:

1. I put on a better show when I know someone is looking!Add as a poll answer
2. stupid idea, waste of money

— Steve Patterson