The Federal Reserve & Locust Street

A street grid can be very effective at moving people on foot, bike car or even wheelchair. But then traffic engineers were let lose on the grid and in cities all over the country the grid has been butchered beyond recognition. We’ve got one-way streets and closed streets everywhere which forces many onto just a few roads.

Pedestrians are generally allowed to continue in the path of the old grid unless a big building was built where the street used to exist, such as the convention center. Often streets were taken with the intent of constructing an “urban Oasis” – a pedestrian mall. When you’ve got hundreds and even thousands of pedestrians passing a single point in an hour then turning over the entire right of way to them can make sense. Otherwise it simply makes the pedestrian feel more isolated.

The Federal Reserve of St Louis is finishing up a major expansion to their facility in downtown St Louis. Earlier in the project they turn Locust Street from 4th to Broadway (5th) into a block-long pedestrian mall which enabled the to expand their entry and very likely better secure the facility. All in all the space is well done with good lighting, nice plantings, and plenty of seating.

Yesterday I was driving North on 4th and wanted to make a left and head West to my place at 16th & Locust. Obviously Locust would be a logical choice. Or would have been. My choices were then Pine or Washington. Decades ago I would have had twice that many choices. I picked Washington.

This is not the first time this one-block closure has gotten under my skin.

I guess someone forgot to tell the Federal Reserve about the ADA? Let’s see, I could go right and up onto the sidewalk at the parking garage exit. Hmmm, that doesn’t sound like the safest option. What about crossing from the other side of Locust?

So instead of multiple options a single truck has taken away my only place to cross the street on this block.
I was forced to go to the next block South to cross Broadway. Had the Federal Reserve designed the mall to be more accessible the truck blocking one ramp still would have left me another to use.

The street closure and the provision of only one ramp have the same effect — forcing people to go around what should be a normal straight shot.

Of course someone will come along and recognize the next block of Locust to the West (Broadway to 6th) gets very little traffic. This is because the only cars that can use that block are those headed South on Broadway. Once you go around to the next through street it is just easier to stay on that street. So closing one little block impacts adjacent blocks as well — increasing traffic on some while reducing traffic on others.

Personally I’d never close another street or alley in the city. But when we do we need to keep access for all on both sides of the street in an effort to afford the maximum benefit for the wheeled pedestrian. This includes the young ones seen more often being pushed in strollers downtown.

Making Disabled Parking Visible

Last Friday evening I met friends for dinner at the very popular Mi Ranchito restaurant in University City. It’s in a horrid little strip mall between the Loop on Delmar and Olive  to the North. The parking lot was packed when I arrived — it was 7pm on a Friday night. I got one of the last disabled spots. No there was not a disabled meeting at the restaurant, others were parking in the disabled spaces even though they lacked the required hang tag or plates.

I saw one couple do it. I didn’t say anything to them because I didn’t see their plates when they pulled in next to me. After they went in and I got out of my car I checked and as I suspected they didn’t have disabled plates.

I don’t think any of these drivers were doing it intentionally, the spaces are so poorly marked it is easy to overlook when you are not trying to find one.

So despite having four spaces for the entire strip center three of the four were taken by the non-disabled. I had the fourth.

The building owner is to blame here. The spaces are not marked as required. Each space should have a vertical sign at the head of the space so that it is clearly visible to someone pulling into the space. The wheelchair symbol is also painted in faded yellow rather than blue. Had these two simple things been done when the building was built it would be a huge improvement. The building is only a few years old, the requirement is older.

In parking lots you often need a vertical pole to mount the sign. In the above example two of the four spaces have brick columns which are ideal places to secure disabled parking only signs. Compliance would be very easy in this case. Keeping the symbol painted more visibly should also be a priority.

Contrary to what many may think, disabled spaces are not always the best spaces. Here the spaces are at the center point of the building while my destination was at one end. I’m not complaining – just saying that disabled parking is not always the most convenient. I’ve actually used disabled parking even though a non-disabled space might be closer. I figure out if I can walk the distance or not and what the impact on others might be if I parked in a regular space vs a disabled one. If there is tons of parking available for others I’m going for the shortest route.

The young college guys in the Audi pictured above did recognize when they got out of their car that it was a disabled space. I heard one of them say something like, “None of the others have stickers,” which is true — the others didn’t have permission to park there, “except this one” as they saw my hang tag hanging from the rear view mirror of my car. Within 5 minutes one of the guys came back out and moved their car to another spot.

I could have called the police and had the other cars ticketed but again I don’t think these drivers realized they were parking in disabled spots. Had I arrived and not found a space open for me I might have been on the phone complaining. I was just ready for a good meal and a Corona. I had my spot so I let it go.

I think most people are respectful of disabled spaces, especially those that are clearly marked. When I’ve got a choice of two disabled spaces I’ll take the one that is not “van accessible” as I know that someone that uses a wheelchair and a ramp with a van needs the extra room to get in & out of the vehicle.

Some of you may object to the reservation of these spaces for the disabled. If so I’d be happy to trade my disability & hang tag for your ease of walking.

So when you are pulling into parking spaces make sure they are not poorly marked disabled spaces. If you own property with disabled spaces make sure the markings and signs are visible. I’m contacting University City about this parking lot so the next time I go to Mi Ranchito I’ll be sure to have parking available.

The Next Step, Walking Barefoot

It has now been over seven months since my left side was immobilized due to a stroke. Happily I continue to make gradual progress on the long road back to “normal.” Last week I did something I hadn’t been able to do in months – walk barefoot.

While in the third hospital in April I got fitted with an AFO – an ankle-foot orthosis. This device goes around my leg and helps hold my left foot in the proper position for walking. I’ve become used to wearing it but it does necessitate socks & shoes. For months just to say, get out of bed to go to the bathroom, has meant putting on the AFO & shoes.

But last week I tried walking without it. My ankle is still weak and thus when I step my left foot drops. Therefore I have to be cautious not to trip over it. I have almost no movement in this ankle but I hope that walking at home without the brace will help strengthen it. I’ve had a couple of AFO-free days now and despite walking slower than my usual slow pace it is wonderful.

For the most part I wear the AFO when I leave the house. However, last week friends and I went to dinner
at The Fountain on Locust (a new advertiser, welcome) and I didn’t wear it then. They were patient with me as we slowly walked to my car in the parking garage. I was wearing shorts & sandals!

What a relief it is to wear different shoes! My first memory waking up in the hospital is of one of my brothers being there showing me the new shoes he bought me. The shoes were New Balance which is ironic as I had completely lost my old balance. It was a couple of months later before I realized they were two sizes bigger than what I normally wear. The medical staff had told him to buy me larger shoes because they’d be easier to slip on (the second hospital added elastic laces) and to be able to get them on over the AFO that they knew I’d have eventually. So for many months I’ve worn long pants (to cover the AFO) and the same pair of shoes.

This also enables me to walk to my wheelchair without the AFO on. So for running to the store in the chair I may not be wearing the AFO. I hope to soon be able to take a shower while standing rather than sitting on a tub bench.

The analogy for cities is that while we may have had setbacks it is important to devise a plan to get back to where you were — it takes patience and a lot of hard work. If I applied the St Louis mentality to my personal situation I’d still be using a wheelchair daily and just accepting that I wouldn’t walk again. St Louis should not just accept major population loss and increasing auto dependence.   We need to regain our urban character — it will take focusing on the goal and making tiny steps toward getting there.

I can picture the day when I walk to the grocery store again — no brace, no cane and no wheelchair.  That may still be more than a year away but I know that I will get there.

A Fresh Look at Public Housing

“Public housing” is a charged phrase for many. Images of failed “projects” come to mind. For those who lived in such a project, residency came with a social stigma attached, that never failed.

In my law class at St Louis University (Housing & Community Development) we’ve been looking closely at contractual arrangements between the feds and local housing authorities, a plethora of enabling legislation dating back to the 1937 Housing Act, Hud regulations and court cases arising over issues related to public housing. Despite the nitty gritty of the reading I’ve gained a fresh perspective on a complex topic.

The first is to remember that despite some major issues, public housing has and continues to provide quality housing to millions. Congress has addressed issues over the decades by altering how we provide and administer public housing. Originally the idea was simple. The federal government would pay the principal & interest on bonds sold by local housing authorities to construct new units of housing. At the time it served as a “slum clearance” effort and a get out of the depression job creation program. Original tenants were intended to be working families that needed some temporary help with a decent place to live. For a variety of reasons this changed into concentrations of very low income persons – mostly minority.

Growing up in a fairly new part of Oklahoma City in the 70s I was never exposed to high rise housing projects. We had a few low-rise projects but in my sheltered suburban childhood I wasn’t exposed to those either. Upon entering Architecture school in the 80s we certainly looked at one of the most famous failed projects – St Louis’ Pruitt-Igoe. In Architecture school the focus was largely on the design of the buildings – mostly the skip-stop elevators that stopped every third floor. An entire neighborhood, mostly Polish, was wiped away for the (33) 11-story buildings but we never learned about what was there before (prior post on the neighborhood). Looking at the photos you had no visual clue what had come before.

Moving to St Louis in 1990 gave me a chance to walk the old Pruitt-Igoe site. The buildings were imploded over the course of several years in the early to mid 70s. The size of the site was amazing to me – this was prior to the Gateway School being constructed on part of the site off Jefferson. I had seen photos numerous times but they don’t communicate the way video does.

A quote from Wikipedia: “In the Hopi language, the word Koyaanisqatsi means ‘life of moral corruption and turmoil, life out of balance’.” Koyaanisqatsi was a film that effectively used imagery from Pruitt-Igoe to communicate this ‘life out of balance’ idea. This clip is 3 minutes:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHKhk4oZMro[/youtube]

Pruitt-Igoe had 2,870 units on 57 acres – a density of 50 units to the acre, high by suburban standards but about right for an urban neighborhood. But the numbers don’t tell the true story – not all 50 unit per acre neighborhoods are created equal.  Despite receiving architectural awards, Pruitt-Igoe was destined to fail.  It was the warehousing of thousands.  57 acres of nothing resembling a neighborhood.

Monday we begin looking at the solution, HOPE VI.  This program has enabled housing authorities to raze old high rise projects and replace them with low-rise units in more friendly arrangements with mixed income occupants to avoid concentrations of poverty.  These new developments, if managed well, have a much greater success rate.  Residents have mixed incomes, many are market rate.  Those that are subsidized are not labeled as such so the stigma is not there.  Most of the HOPE VI developments we’ve seen here still don’t have the density or nearby retail of the old “slum” neighborhoods that were cleared decades ago which is unfortunate.  Pruitt-Igoe helped give good urban density a bad rap.  The replacement developments also lack commercial centers providing retail options within walking distance and more importantly providing at least a small amount of jobs within the neighborhood.

As part of a class assignment I’m going to look at several HOPE VI developments in St Louis to see what replaced what and to look for opportunities to incorporate walkable retail within and adjacent to them.  For now I’m just thrilled at the knowledge I’m getting through the Urban Planning & Real Estate Development program at SLU.

Charter School Doesn’t Play Well With Neighbors

Charter school Ethel H. Lyle Academy is located downtown at 15th & Washington (and another at Jefferson).  That is all good and well until the dropping off and picking up of students conflicts with the others in the diverse area.  The school has solved that problem — they just put out a sign in front of their building claiming the public parking as theirs and theirs only.

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The charter school is a business – but not the only business in the immediate vicinity.  Other businesses are across the street and in the next block East just across 15th.  Residents also live in the area and guests have a reasonable expectation to park on the street if a space is free.

Be it restaurant valets or charter schools, we can’t have every business in dense urban settings thinking they have the right to take public parking to the exclusion of others.

I’m not sure how long they’ve been in this location but they had to think about this issue when they made the business decision to open here.  As adjacent storefronts, offices and residences fill up the demand for parking is only going to increase.  Furthermore, the city needs the revenue these meters generate.