9th Street Storefront Being Emptied

Starting to see some positive action on the vacant storefront I first posted about in September (Storefront Still Vacant A Decade Later, Tax Dollars Wasted?) and again in October (Hotel Has Used State-Owned Retail Storefront Rent-Free For A Decade).

Looks like the space is being readied to lease to a retail tenant, after a decade of rent-free use as storage.  Maybe it won’t get leased right away or it’ll get leased and the first tenant will fail, but we have to try.

Putting up paper over storefront windows for a decade in a city that needs more sidewalk activity is just destructive. To do it in a state-owned building built by an agency whose mission it is to foster development is baffling.

— Steve Patterson

Gateway Arch Not ADA-Compliant, But I Made It To The Top Anyway

When you are dating someone who tells you he has never been to the top of the Arch, you make plans to take him to the top. Easy enough, except when you are disabled.  Saarinen’s Gateway Arch was conceived long before the American’s with Disabilities Act of 1990 was signed into law by George H.W. Bush, back in a time when many physically disabled people were institutionalized.

The National Park Service website alerts visitors to the fact the Arch isn’t wheelchair accessible.    Yet much of the design of the Arch does permit wheelchair use, although the slopes exceed those allowed by the ADA. Other areas have steps but railings are pretty good. It’d be impossible to make the full Arch experience ADA-compliant.

Thanks to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Superintendent Tom Bradley and his staff for answering my questions beforehand. Depending on someone’s ability to navigate steps and walk on a curved floor they can reach the top.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Prop R & Central Library the Best of 2012

To end 2012 on a positive note I asked you, the readers, to vote last week on the best of 2012. The passage of Prop R to reduce the size of the Board of Aldermen after the 2020 census and the reopening of the Central Library tied for the top spot. Rounding out the top 5 was the fact that Missouri voters approved the measure to let St. Louis control its own police department (the Civil War must really be over), the new Grand viaduct/bridge opening, and that a modern streetcar line is being studied to run through downtown out to Midtown and beyond.

Here’s the full results:

Q: Best things to happen to STL in 2012 (pick up to 5)

1. Prop R to reduce the Board of Aldermen approved by STL voters 72 {12.88%]
2. St. Louis Central Library reopened 72 [12.88%]
3. Local control of police approved by Missouri voters 44 [7.87%]
4. New Grand viaduct/bridge opened 40 [7.16%]
5. Downtown Partnership studying a modern streetcar line 39 [6.98%]
6. Metropolitan Bldg opened as artist lofts in Midtown/Grand Center 38 [6.8%]
7. Union Station sold to new owners 34 [6.08%]
8. St. Louis Public Radio (KWMU) relocated to Midtown/Grand Center 30 [5.37%]
9. City shut down riverfront homeless camps 24 [4.29%]
10. Starbucks at the Saucer opened 22 [3.94%]
11. Washington Ave so popular crowd control becomes necessary 21 [3.76%]
12. AAA to use round former HQ rather than raze it 20 [3.58%]
13. SLU faculty & student groups vote no confidence in Biondi 20 [3.58%]
14. Larry Williams decided not to run for another term as STL treasurer 18 [3.22%]
15. Rams fired Spagnuolo as head coach 14 [2.5%]
16. Bike parking ordinance enacted 13 [2.33%]
17. SLU gets approval to raze Pevely building 7 [1.25%]
18. Anti-eminent domain sign wins in court 7 [1.25%]
19. MSD bond issue passed 7 [1.25%]
20. Cigarette tax-hike proposition failed in Missouri 6 [1.07%]
21. Other: 6 [1.07%]
22. Last part of Highway 141 opened 3 [0.54%]
23. Sam Dotson named new police chief 2 [0.36%]

The opening of the Metropolitan in Midtown almost made the top 5, glad to see so many agree that getting residential in the area is a very positive thing. Hopefully 2013 will bring us many more positives to reflect on a year from now.

— Steve Patterson

Happy Holidays

This afternoon I’ll be with a close friend and her daughter’s family. I’ll eat too much and be shocked at how many toys the little ones receive. I hope you have a pleasant holiday.

Best wishes!

– Steve Patterson

Bike Parking At Skinker MetroLink Station

Where you see bicycles locked to handrails on an ADA ramp that’s a good indictor of a need for convenient bike parking.

The night I took the above image a young man on the same train I was on unlocked his bike from the same rail and rode off away from the Washington University campus. Three bikes were locked here on a random Thursday evening (11/29).

This MetroLink station may have bike parking somewhere but I’ve seen bikes here before. We’ve got to do a better job at designing public space for the actual users.

— Steve Patterson