Airport Terminals Are Designed by Luddites

In the last 13 months I have been through airport terminals at St. Louis, Oklahoma City, San Jose, Kansas City, San Diego, Phoenix, Charlotte, Miami, Atlanta, Boston and at the moment, Philly. And I had my laptop with me in all these airports.

Our gate in Philly, waiting for a flight to St. Louis, has exactly one power jack with the usual two outlets. Two! Everyone has phones and laptops these days. Several of us have been trading off who gets to use the power. OK, so the Philly airport is pretty old — at least the ‘C’ concourse is. But some of the above list are pretty new and they still lack outlets. I’m always amazed at the number of wi-fi enabled coffeehouses with the same issue.

Most airports want to charge $8 for using the internet yet they fail to give us a place to plug-in. Atlanta was nice and actually had free wi-fi. Here in Philly they have free wi-fi for students during the week and free for all on weekends. I did not hesitate in using my SLU grad student card to get free wi-fi — better than a discount at the movies.

If I were designing the ideal airport gate I’d have a long table where those of us with laptops can sit and have the computer in a comfortable position — and plugged into power if necessary. This need not take up too much room, just not everyone needs the same type of seating.

Anyone reading this that has anything to do with airport design or even coffeehouses, anything with lots of laptops and wi-fi, give us power to plug in!

Gateway Mall Wishes It Was Boston’s Commonwealth Mall

St. Louis’ Gateway Mall was an afterthought — a way to clear away buildings and people thought to be too seedy for downtown. However, in clearing the blocks for the Gateway Mall and numerous other later projects in the urban renewal era all the people were removed as building after building were razed. Businesses and residences were lost by the hundreds if not thousands.

Boston’s Commonwealth Mall, however, was planned from the start. Dating to the 19th Century, not the 20th Century, it has a quite different feel. I visited the Commonwealth Mall this morning.

The mall is technically a wide median but it is sufficiently wide enough that you don’t feel endangered by a passing motorist nor do you feel so isolated that you fee unsafe. Surrounded on both sides by stately masonry buildings which, combined with the trees, creates a wonderful scale. There are no parking garages or blank walls, just varied architecture with entry/exit points (aka doors) highly frequently. There are no follies or other tricks to get you to be in this space, it was designed to be an integral part of the city.

Frequent sculptures break up the linear pathway while retaining a formal feeling. Despite the cold and snow, many in Boston walk to their destinations and the Commonwealth Mall provides a beautiful way to do so.

What planners in the 20th Century failed to understand is that you cannot simply cut a slice through a city at any point and expect it to succeed. Furthermore, destroying activities and interest along the edges is critical to the overall feel and ultimately will help determine if the public will use the space or not. St. Louis’ Gateway Mall has no reason for the general public to walk along it. Regardless of the attractions contained inside the space it will remain lifeless and disconnected from the city, the opposite of Boston’s Commonwealth Mall.

Should Missouri Eliminate Self-Service Gas?

In at least a couple of states, motorists don’t pump their own gas — I know from personal experience that Oregon and New Jersey both require, by state law, that an attendant pump the gas.

Yesterday when I was getting gas in NJ we had to wait in line at a fueling station just off the turnpike, before entering Manhattan on the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95). For those wondering what I am doing driving through the Northeast — I was driving a friend of a friend, her two cats and her car to her new job in the Providence Rhode Island area. I’m flying back late Thursday evening from Boston.

OK, back to the gas issue. So while the wait issue was a pain it was interesting how a state law could create jobs. We paid $2.97/gallon for regular — far less than the $3.17/gallon we paid in Pennsylvania that I had to pump myself. The lines would have been shorter but everyone, including us, seemed to have the tank filler located on the driver’s side of the vehicle. And no, this was not full service — they did not check tire pressure, clean the windows or check under the hood. It was simply gas.

Still, think of the number of entry-level jobs that could be created statewide by eliminating self serve. You guys discuss that while I catch a train to Boston.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Debutes WeCarâ„¢ Car Sharing Plan In St. Louis

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the rental giant based in the St. Louis Region, has finally announced a new car sharing program called WeCar™.  First up, Washington University:

Washington University in St. Louis’ Parking & Transportation Services and Enterprise Rent-A-Car© have partnered to bring WeCarâ„¢, a car-sharing program, to the university’s Danforth Campus.

The program, the first of its kind in the St. Louis area, allows Washington University students, faculty, staff and employees of qualified service providers over age 18 to rent vehicles at an hourly rate. The vehicles will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  (Full press release)

The press release indicates is an all-hybrid program.  Initially WashU’s campus has four Toyota Prius hybrid models and two Ford Escape hybrid SUV’s.  Sources tell me that downtown St. Louis locations will soon be announced.

At this time the wecar.com website just lists an email address to contact for more information.  However, at the Wash U version of site is a tad more info.

I cannot begin to express how excited I am by this announcement. Being car-free in St. Louis just got easier.

Sidewalk Terminates in Stone & Brick Wall

When I was back in Oklahoma City last summer I visited a new subdivision. I was happy to see that they had sidewalks although they didn’t lead out to the main street. Of course, the main street doesn’t have sidewalks either.

Inside the subdivision some of the homes were in a regular section while others were in a special gated area. But, walking from one section to the other presents issues:

Yes, the sidewalk was poured right up the wall dividing the sections. From the other side:

Crazy huh?  Those on the other side of the street do get a pedestrian gate.

The sidewalk does lead out of the subdivision toward the main road.  Of course, it stops well short of the main street.  And, despite the road network being all new construction, they couldn’t manage to place the utilities in the path of the sidewalk.  Amazingly bad planning.