North 14th Street Demonstrates How A Pedestrian-Friendly Streetscape Should Be Designed

On September 1 2006 I reviewed the plan for replacing the North 14th Street Pedestrian Mall with North 14th Street: Old North’s Pedestrian Mall May Soon Be Gone! I concluded the post with this paragraph:

“I have some initial reservations about the streetscape plan but I will hold those back until I’ve had a chance to talk with the local residents, the RHCDA and Rosemann Architects. I want to congratulate everyone involved for finally getting a project to this point – I look forward to working with them to see it to fruition.”

The following drawing was included in the post.

Privately I shared my reservations about the pedestrian circulation.

Unfortunately I can’t locate the somewhat harsh email I fired off. However my criticism focused on 1) the decorative brickwork and the fact pedestrians couldn’t maintain a straight line as they walked down the street. The green areas were to be planters.  These would have created tight points where pedestrians tried to cross the streets.  Remember, this was 17 months prior to the stroke that disabled me.

The planters and the ramp placement would have forced all pedestrians (able-bodied & disabled) to zig-zag at each intersection. At the time I had no idea how annoying such intersections would be from a wheelchair but I did know the concept was not pedestrian-friendly.

In June 2010 I was glad to see my criticisms had been observed with the design now permitting all pedestrians to maintain a straight line as they walked from one block to the next.

I’m so glad the completed design permits the disabled in wheelchairs to use the same pathway as the able-bodied.  All have lots of room, all can stay on a direct path.  Nobody is pointed into the center of the intersection with angled ramps.  This is how pedestrian-friendly business districts should be designed.

Unfortunately many of the new streetscapes being installed in other areas  do not have the same direct path for pedestrians.

– Steve Patterson

Improved Pedestrian Space Comes Before Pedestrians

Often readers comment that my pictures never show pedestrians.  They’ve said it is hard to justify improving the pedestrian environment given how few pedestrians we have.  To me the opposite is the case, we have so few pedestrians because our pedestrian spaces are so deficient.

My the logic of some we should have this dismal sidewalk bustling with pedestrians before investing in improving the area.  But if the area is teaming with pedestrians there would be little reason to make capital improvements.

– Steve Patterson

Readers Think Rex Sinquefield Will Fund Campaign To Repeal Earnings Tax

Readers think, by a wide margin, that voters in April 2011 will retain our 1% earnings tax.

Q: Now that voters approved Proposition A, what do you think will happen in St. Louis next April?

1. Rex Sinquefield funds an expensive campaign but city voters keep the earnings tax 87 [51.48%]
2. Rex Sinquefield doesn’t fund the repeal campaign and city voters keep the earnings tax 37 [21.89%]
3. Rex Sinquefield funds an expensive campaign and city voters repeal the earnings tax 21 [12.43%]
4. Rex Sinquefield doesn’t fund the repeal campaign still city voters repeal the earnings tax 15 [8.88%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 6 [3.55%]
6. Other answer… 3 [1.78%]

Many also think Rex Sinquefield will fund the repeal campaign, just as he did with the Proposition A campaign.

1. rex gets a nose job.
2. Rex tries to remove the KC tax first, since it was closer to passing there.
3. KC will eventually repeal, STL never will.

One thing is certain, the usually boring April general election will be more interesting than usual.

– Steve Patterson

New Downtown Rain Garden Reduces Sidewalk Width Too Much

Here is an addition to downtown you may have missed, here was the press release:

ST. LOUIS, November 10, 2010 – The Downtown Community Improvement District (CID) has installed its first demonstration Rain Garden at the corner of 11th and Pines Streets. One of the CID’s goals for this project was to catalyze a trend toward more sustainable streetscapes in the city. The 11th Street pilot project employs a new segmental wall and curb system, called Freno, that offers a cost-effective, modular method of building an urban rain garden.

This rain garden was designed to capture rain water from the gutter and adjacent parking lot, prior to reaching the sewer system. This sustainable landscape does not require watering and gives back to the environment by specifically designated plants and soil mix that filter out 80-90% of the pollutants from car fluid and road treatment chemicals.

Rain gardens have been designated in the downtown St. Louis streetscape plan and they are gaining popularity in downtowns across the nation and abroad. With this in mind, the need for sustainable landscapes in downtown is becoming more and more important.

The materials and labor that went into the construction of this rain garden has been 100% donated by the City of St. Louis Department of Streets, HOK, Midwest Products, St. Louis Composting, Forrest Keeling Nursery, and the Downtown CID.

This Downtown Next priority is brought to you by the Downtown CID – dedicated to a cleaner, safer, more vibrant and greener Downtown. Downtown St. Louis is a regional leader in sustainable practices.

I like rain gardens, they do a great job of reducing water runoff.

But I also like sidewalk space and this new rain garden consumes way too much of the width of the sidewalk.  Eliminating a driveway into the adjacent parking lot is a very good thing but with the reduced width of the sidewalk I’m concerned about cars parking too far forward.

Ideally there would be fencing to prevent cars from parking so their front ends don’t further squeeze the sidewalk space.  Simple wheel stops in the parking lot would solve the problem on the cheap.  The rain gardens on 9th & Market (Citygarden) extend out from the curb line into what is normally the parking lane.  Here, on 11th, parking is not permitted next to the rain garden so the street width is excessive for the two travel lanes.  The curb to curb for the roadway is too wide but the sidewalk width was cut in half. Typical.

The problem of trash will be ongoing.  Good intentions, poor execution.

– Steve Patterson

Single Stream Recycling Here For Some

In July the Board of Aldermen passed ordinance 68698.  From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Saturday July 3, 2010:

” A new city trash fee passed the Board of Aldermen on Friday and was signed into law by Mayor Francis Slay. It will cost most homeowners $11 a month, or $132 per year, and includes new, single-stream recycling bins – for cardboard, plastic, glass and more – for the first time.”

City residents haven’t had specific fees for trash collection before so suddenly paying $11 per unit came as a shock but the promise of city-wide single stream recycling made the fee easier to tolerate.  The fee would be added onto the existing water bill.  For those with multi-family buildings the fee can add up quickly.

The water bill is invoiced in arrears, after you’ve had water service. Residents now have their bills with the trash fee for July-October.  But only three (8, 15, 28) of our 28 wards have the promised recycling bins in their alleys.  Nine wards (1,2,3,4, 18, 20, 22, 26, 27) won’t get recycling bins in the alley.  These wards, per their aldermen, will get collection points only — groupings of recycling bins.  Waelterman as quoted in the same P-D article:

“Dumpster-style recycling bins will probably begin arriving in city alleys this fall. The city is bidding out contracts on the bins now. Bins will be citywide by year’s end. A few neighborhoods – if requested by the ward’s alderman, or neighbors – will not get them.”

So the news that not all wards would get convenient recycling bins in their alley is not new.  The reason is money — these aldermen didn’t want to spend the funds necessary to buy the bins.

Those who use roll-out containers for trash will get blue roll outs, but it will be the end of March 2011 before the entire city has recycling.  So some will have paid for 9 months ($99) of recycling before getting recycling.

To address growing unrest the city held a press conference last week.

The press conference was held in the mayor’s office at city hall.   Here is the press conference with Mayor Slay, President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed and Director of Streets Todd Waelterman:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tulJpEQ0sd4

The following is the Q&A:

My condo association pays for private trash & recycling collection so the $11/month fee doesn’t impact me.  But I’m guessing many of you are now paying this fee but the corresponding service won’t arrive until next year.  Please share your thoughts on the fee and the process in the comments below.

– Steve Patterson