This might explain a few things . . .

By Jim Zavist, AIA

One of the first things I discovered after I moved here in 2004 is that St. Louis has a lot of 4-way stops.  Some appear to have replaced traffic signals, at intersections where the cost of maintaining them could no longer be justified (Jamieson & Fyler or Olive & Sutter, for example) – it makes sense given the city’s financial struggles over the past several decades.  But there are many other locations where they seem to have been installed because someone (not a traffic engineer) convinced someone else in the city (likely the alderman) that doing so would make the neighborhood “safer” – Arsenal and Chippewa between Grand and Broadway are both classic examples*.  A not-so-surprising discovery is that many people don’t actually stop at all our STOP signs, many just slow down, then keep going.

It turns out that one of the traffic engineers I worked with in Denver grew up in St. Louis and southern Illinois, and he enlightened me a bit on how things worked in an earlier time, after I sent him this picture:  “In those days, the 1950’s, they used a lot of yellow stop signs and red ones they called boulevard stops.  I think the idea was that the yellow ones were meant to be like a yield sign because you didn’t have to stop at them unless there was cross traffic.  I remember my grandpa hollering at my mom not to stop at stop signs because you didn’t have to.  It made her mad because he did not have a car nor a drivers license.”

My wife also informed me that one of her older, senior friends remembers when the standard practice at 4-way stops in St. Louis was two cars at time alternating, not just one, as is (supposed to be) current practice and law.  Combine these two aberrations from current standards and practices, along with only token enforcement by the St. Louis Police and many people learning to drive/bad habits from their parents, it becomes easier to understand why a STOP signs here are viewed by many as only a suggestion!  As both a relative newcomer and an occasional cyclist, I’d like to hear what natives have to say on this one – is it a quaint St. Louis tradition, a clash of generational values, or something else?

*Having become pretty active in neighborhood politics, I had suggested the addition of 4-way stops at certain Denver intersections.  Since the city actually lets their traffic engineers design and manage a functional system, I quickly learned that 4-way stops are not the “preferred alternative”, that they were reserved for use almost exclusively at schools, where there would be a large amount of pedestrian traffic.  The engineers found, as we see here, with 4-way stops, that a large number of drivers assume that the other driver will actually stop, so they can just slow down.  They found, and secondary streets with moderate traffic, that alternating 2-way stops (E-W, N-S, E-W, N-S, etc.) was much more effective in both obtaining compliance and in balancing smooth traffic flow and safety than 4-way stops.

Local Architect Jim Zavist was born in upstate New York, raised in Louisville KY, spent 30 years in Denver Colorado and relocated to St. Louis in 2005.

Old Valet Parking Picture Upsets

On the photo sharing site, Flickr,I have  16,000+ images, posted since January 2007.  People find these through Google and other search engines.  So long after a picture has been posted I get an out of the blue comment.  Such was the case recently with this image from the Post-Dispatch:

I uploaded the above on January 16, 2007 – the same day I did a post about valet parking.  The picture has been viewed 271 times on Flickr.  A couple of weeks ago someone made the following comment about the picture:

The Picture shown above is so old and not even relevant. Why its still up on any site is beyond me. Midwest Valet is a good company and works with local business and non for profit organizations to make valet in St. Louis easy and accommodating. Midwest Valet appreciates its clients.

Clearly this person has a bias in favor of one of the companies I found most frustrating as I tried to prevent them from coning off all the public parking spaces in areas where they are working. I was out late Saturday night and valets had their orange cones out on Washington Ave. again to prevent the public from parking in public spaces on the public street.

In Atlanta, one hotel guest got a $284,000 lesson about using the valet:

Businessman Eric Vargosko thought nothing of it when he handed the keys to his rare Lamborghini Gallardo Spider to the valet at the InterContinental in Atlanta’s tony Buckhead section about two months ago, according to Atlanta TV station WSBTV. But by the time he checked out the next morning, the car had vanished.

It was found a month later – damaged. (source: USA Today)

Ouch!

Valet service is good to have but these companies need to be more respectful of public space.

Saving Money and the Environment

Improving the environment takes all of us evaluating for ourselves what we can each do to reduce our own personal carbon footprint.  What works for me may not work for you and vice versa.

Often my pro-environment techniques come out of a desire to save money.  One simple way to save money and the environment is to stop using paper towels.  I’ve had a paper towel free home for years now.  When my parents would come visit me from Oklahoma they’d always bring a roll of paper towels because they knew I would not have any.  It seems everything they did in the kitchen required a paper towel.

I have a couple dozen basic cloth napkins for use at the table.  These were purchased either on sale or in a thrift store.  They last forever.  When heating, say, a frozen burrito that recommends being wrapped in a paper towel I go for one of these napkins instead.  After having friends over for a meal these just go right to the washing machine for the next load.

I keep dish towels around as well to replace paper towels for uses like wiping off the counter.  Paper towels, of course, replaced cloth items in the kitchen.

If you have raw chicken in your kitchen or other sources where it is important to stop the spread of germs do some investigating before giving up paper towels.  Using a dish towel to wipe up raw chicken juice is fine as long as it goes into the wash immediately (I guess).  I’m a vegetarian so I don’t have this issue.

Friends this weekend said they often have left-overs when eating out so they take their own containers with them. This doesn’t save money but it does cut down on the amount of garbage you have.  As we apprach Earth Day 2009 (April 22nd), what are things you do that both save you money and help the planet?

Five Candidates Seek Three Positions on School Board

Tuesday voters in the city will vote for their Alderman (a few contested odd-numbered wards, Mayor and select three members for the school board.  Remember the elected school board as opposed to the board appointed in 2007 to run our school system?  We still must elect a school board.

Seven candidates had filed but two, including Bill Haas, withdrew in February.  The terms are for four years so it is possible the three we elect tomorrow will be part of the governing board once the state turns the schools back over to local control.

I must admit I’ve paid little attention to the schools these last two years.  List of school board candidates here.

Book Review; ‘Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch’ by NiNi Harris

I recently received a review copy of a new book that should interest many of you: Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch by NiNi Harris.  The hardcover book features 199 photographs ranging from images of the area before being razed to today.

The book is well organized into sections on the riverfront from the 1840s – 1940s, 1947 (when the monument competition was held), 1948-1959 when various obstacles delayed construction, 1960-1967 for the construction and finally 1968 to present.  I’ve had a hard time getting past 1940.

I should disclose that I’ve been friends with author NiNi Harris for nearly 15 years now.  This book is her eight and biggest work (200+ pages) to date.  In August of 2007 I reviewed her book, ‘Unyielding Spirit, the History of the Polish People in St. Louis.’  Here is her official bio:

NiNi Harris’ ancestors settled in St. Louis, near the site of the Gateway Arch, before the Civil War. As a grade school student, Harris was awed by construction of the Arch. Her father, an engineer, had impressed upon her the challenges in building the towering monument. Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch is Harris’ eighth book about the history, architecture, and heritage of St. Louis. Harris lectures at local colleges, universities, and continuing education programs.

Here is the publisher’s description of the book:

St. Louis’ Gateway Arch rivals the monuments of the world in its simplicity, scale, elegance, and symbolism. The shimmering, stainless-steel
ribbon forms a catenary arch 630 feet tall and 630 feet across at its base. Its design amazed the civic leaders determined to construct a great monument on the St. Louis riverfront. When it was completed, it wowed not just St. Louisans, not just Americans, but also visitors from around the world. Its sleek geometric design and engineering was a creation of the Space Age, but the Arch was a monument to America’s frontier heritage. The Gateway Arch commemorated St. Louis’ riverfront as the Gateway to the West.

Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch chronicles the St. Louis riverfront from its days as a fur-trading post, to the creation of the Arch. From clearing the site to welding the first section into place, to the breathtaking moment of inserting the keystone—the photos tell the story.

If you love old photos this is a volume you will want to get.  The AIA Bookstore at 911 Washington Ave has the book in stock.