Readers Weigh In On Clayton’s Outdoor Smoking Ban

In the poll last week readers supported Clayton’s effort to ensure park visitors in their city parks can breathe fresh air:

Q: Effective January 2011 smoking in city parks will not be allowed in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton. Reaction:

1. Good 65 [58.56%]
2. Indifferent 23 [20.72%]
3. Bad 19 [17.12%]
4. Other answer… 4 [3.6%]

The four other answers were:

1. not good but GREAT
2. good idea, nearly impossible to enforce
3. Bizarre; though I understand the litter issue.
4. BULLSHIT- GOV. tell people what they can and can’t

I’m pleased to see such measures.

– Steve Patterson

The Modern Strip Shopping Center

We all know the strip shopping center: a line of storefronts set behind a massive, usually tree-less, parking lot.  Oklahoma City’s newest shopping area, Classen Curve, is not like any strip center you’ve ever seen before – at least not in St. Louis.

• The architecture of the buildings is crisp & modern.
• It is situated on a odd shaped site adjacent to a residential neighborhood.
• Once inside the boundaries you get a sense of place.

Classen Curve is on clearly on the high end. I had lunch at 105degrees — a vegan/raw restaurant.  If you are unfamiliar with raw food it is a growing niche market. You are not likely to find such a place in your typical strip mall next door to a Subway.  Classen Curve is located near the City of Nichols Hills, Oklahoma City’s equal to out Ladue (old money).

The developer is not your typical real estate developer, but one of the largest US producers of natural gas, Chesapeake Energy. Chesapeake’s corporate campus is a block away. The campus has changed dramatically since I first saw it in 2003.  With over 1,500 employees on campus there is a built-in market for close shopping and restaurants. Between Chesapeake & Classen Curve construction has begun on Oklahoma City’s first Whole Foods.

You can see more on the aerial view in Google Maps.

The attempt was to create a pleasant experience, and to a large degree they succeeded. But despite good intentions they failed to create a good experience for pedestrians.

Like nearly every strip center built in the last 50 years, Classen Curve fails to make a strong pedestrian connection to the public sidewalk along the adjacent road. In getting from one building to the next you have curb ramps in some places, but not others.

The architect was Elliott & Associates Architects.  I met Rand Elliott in the Fall of 1985 as a freshman in the architecture program at the University of Oklahoma.  I was assigned him on a student + professional project in a 6th grade class. Elliott’s professional portfolio is outstanding which is why the poor walkability/accessibility of Classen Curve is so disappointing.

Care was given to make the back of the buildings attractive, dumpsters are cleverly concealed in steel structures that hold the tenant names.

While I have issues with the poor walkability/accessibility I’m very pleased with the effort to use the small/odd site and to rethink what a strip mall should be like.  I just wish people knew how to make new construction walkable & accessible.

– Steve Patterson

Driving Next Door For Dinner

Friday September 3rd I stayed the night in Joplin MO. Next door to the hotel was a Fazoli’s (map).

The distance from the hotel to the restaurant is not far, even for me. It was a nice day and a walk after 4+ hours of driving would have been nice.  But walking through auto drives, over numerous curbs and through grass was not an obstacle course I wanted to deal with when I was tired.

You know I get that everyone visiting this highway adjacent section of Joplin will be arriving by car as I did.  That doesn’t mean that once there we should be forced to use our car to visit adjacent businesses.

Since I was getting in my car to go to dinner I thought I’d go someplace nicer, it would cost more but I was on vacation.  I crossed I-44 to the North and arrived at the Olive Garden. I prefer local places, but I didn’t want to take the time to look.  I walked in the door of the Olive Garden where I was greeted with a question I hadn’t heard in a long time; “Do you have a smoking preference?” I was suddenly reminded I live in a backwards state. I politely informed them I wanted a nice meal which, by my definition, doesn’t include smoke. I turned around and left.  I drove back to the area where my hotel was but I pulled into the Fazoli’s next door.

A couple of points about the above picture.  First, us disabled folks don’t always get the best parking spots.  There was an empty spot next to the white car, right in front of the door.  Where I parked wasn’t the closest space, but it was the best for me. The loading zone allows me to open my driver’s door fully to make exit & entry possible.  Second the lack of a curb reduces the chances of a fall. So while us disabled folks may get parking nearest the entrance, we often do not.  The SUV, above, is also parked in a disabled spot. Had both spaces been empty I still would have taken the farther spot because of the access on the driver’s side. If the other space had been the only one free I would have backed into the space.  OK, back to the lack of walkability of this area.

To have the walk next to the Fazoli’s run south to the property line to meet a walk from the hotel would have been easy to do if someone had given it any thought.  More importantly if Joplin had required the developer of this area to plan for walkability between parcels.

After I finished my dinner I noticed a couple walking to Fazoli’s.  You might look at this and say my idea of a walkable sidewalk to connect the two establishments is unnecessary.  But a test of good walkability is if a parent can push a baby stroller or a person can wheel in a wheelchair.  Neither is possible here.

What about guests at the hotel on the left? Or employees & clients of the Social Security Administration in the lower left corner?

The days of many square miles of cities being connected by a fine grid of roads, sidewalks and transit are long gone.  People will arrive here by car but they should have the option to walk within the immediate vicinity if they want.  We should be designing pockets of areas that are walkable within their area.

– Steve Patterson

Modern Infill In Older Neighborhoods

For the poll this week I hope to gauge the opinion of the readers on the subject of the design of infill in older areas.

Should infill be so well detailed that you can’t tell which building is from 1910 vs 2010? Or should infill be just whatever is being built in new edge communities at the time? Should high-design modern infill be given some wiggle room?

– Steve Patterson

PR: Mayor Slay, Downtown Partnership Announce Downtown Bike Center

The following is a press release:
Mayor Francis G. Slay, the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, the Downtown CID and Loftworks today announced that the funding is finalized to create the region’s first public commuter bike center.

The public Downtown Bike Center will offer cyclists a place to secure their bike, store their bike gear, and shower before coming to work. The City anticipates these services will be available late this Fall for a monthly fee.

The public Downtown Bike Center will use 1300 square feet of the ground floor of the 1011 Locust Street building, which is owned by Loftworks. The building that will house the bike station is right downtown – located on the northwest corner of Locust and Tenth Streets – and is within two blocks of a Metrolink station. The building has been restored using Historic Tax Credits, and is on track to obtain LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

The City of St. Louis applied for a Federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the Department of Energy to specifically fund this project. These funds were designated for energy-saving projects, and had to be approved by the Department of Energy. From the grant the City received, $181,600 will cover the costs to buy the lockers, interior bike racks, and fund the operational costs of the Downtown Bike Center’s first two years. The Downtown Community Improvement District and other partners will provide additional funding.

“We are building a City that provides an attractive way of life. After World War II, the car was a symbol of freedom. For some people today, it is just the opposite,” said Mayor Slay. “We look forward to working with the Downtown St. Louis CID and Loftworks to ensure the long-term success of this public bike center and the City’s cycling initiative.”

“This project will help cement Downtown as a walkable, livable neighborhood where you can rely on alternatives to the car,” said Maggie Campbell, Partnership President and CEO. “We are thrilled to be working with the community to realize this sustainable investment.”

“Since vehicle emissions contribute about a third of the Greenhouse Gasses into the environment, we wanted to use these ARRA Stimulus funds to promote an alternative mode of transportation,” said Catherine Werner, the City’s Sustainability Director. “By enabling St. Louis commuters to choose cycling as an affordable and attractive option, the City is demonstrating its commitment to being a healthy and sustainable community.”pre