Citizen’s Distributing Flyers On Pyramid/McDonald’s Issue in 15th Ward

St. Louis Citizens in opposition to the proposed suburban-style McDonald’s on South Grand are using today’s election as an opportunity to reach active voters in the 15th Ward. The 15th Ward is that of Alderwoman Jennifer Florida who is Volunteers concerned about the future of Grand are distributing a flyer to people at two polling places in the ward:

Mann School, 4047 Juniata (map)

Fanning School Gym, 3417 Grace (enter from Giles, map)

If you can volunteer to help pass out flyers please go to one of the above locations. Polls are open until 7pm. Please help convince our elected officials and greedy developers that we want and demand better development along South Grand.

– Steve

Dr. King, The Lorraine Motel and the National Civil Rights Museum

Thirty-eight years ago history was forever changed by an assassins bullet(s) in Memphis Tennessee. Two weeks ago I stood in front of the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, and wept. There it was the balcony where a strong leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was taken down in his prime. I knew the National Civil Rights Museum was located in Memphis but I wasn’t expecting to see it upon my arrival.

It was evening and the old motel signs were on as well as the balcony lights. I was overcome with emotion. Seldom can you stand in a single spot where history was changed. I had several of those moments on my trip. The next day I found myself in front of Little Rock’s Central High School where nine African-American students were denied access in 1957 simply based on their race. Two days later I was walking the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial with my family. My niece’s husband is a survivor of the bombing, he was in the Journal Record building across the street from the blast. His name is on the wall of survivors which is organized by building.

But back to Memphis.

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon two weeks ago. I’d been through Memphis on the way to Atlanta a few years ago but I never stopped to see anything. This time I went out of my way to check out the city and, in particular, its streetcars. That evening, looking for a good dinner spot, I spotted the Lorraine signs while on the streetcar loop. The old hotel was a block away, down a slight hill. It was as I made my way toward the hotel from the streetcar stop that I started getting emotional. How different would our cities and lives be had Dr. King’s life not been taken?

The next day I ventured back to the area south of downtown Memphis where the National Civil Rights Museum is located, attached to the former Lorraine Motel. My schedule didn’t allow for time to see the museum but I wanted some daytime pictures. Besides, the $12 admission fee seemed a bit steep especially considering I’m usually not a fan of static museum displays. Then I saw something totally unexpected.

An anti-museum banner at a table on the edge of the grounds. Yes, a protest calling for people to boycott the National Civil Rights Museum.


… Continue Reading

Removing Highways to Restructure the St. Louis Region

Rather than spend hundreds of millions on rebuilding highway 40 (I-64 to the rest of the map reading world) we should just tear it out completely. Don’t look so confused, I’m totally serious. This is not a belated April fools joke.

Our highways in the middle of urban areas are relics to the cheap gas economy that is quickly coming to an end. In addition to removing highway 40, we should remove all the highways within our I-270/I-255 Loop: I-55, I-70, I-44, and I-170

I’ve not gone crazy nor have I been smoking anything.

And before you scroll down to the comments section to explain all the conventional wisdom reasons why this won’t work I ask that you hear me out first. I know we cannot just remove the highways and leave the balance of our political entities, zoning and other systems in place and expect this to make a lick of sense. Therefore, I have some basic assumptions & qualifications that would need to accompany the removal of any or all highways in our main urbanized area of the region. The likelihood of this coming together in our lifetime is slim but as the economy changes we will need to change and adapt to remain competitive with other regions.

Keep in mind that 60 years ago men took maps and drew lines where we’d wipe out entire neighborhoods for highways and housing projects. In hindsight, huge mistakes were made that disrupted lives and cost millions. Today we are still dealing with the aftermath of these poor decisions. So I’m taking a map and looking at ways we can undo damage previously done without inflicting new damage.
… Continue Reading

ULI Announces Winner of Hines Competition

Earlier today the Urban Land Institute completed the 2006 Urban Design Competition with presentations and selection of the grand prize winner. The event was held at Dubough Hall on the main campus of St. Louis University. I reviewed the finalists earlier this month (read review).

The four finalist teams drew numbers to determine the order in which they’d. It was Harvard (#4110), Harvard (#1015), UC-Berkeley and Columbia. Each team was given 25 minutes for presentation with another 20 minutes of questions from the jury. While a team was presenting the other teams that had not yet gone were not permitted in the room. This makes sense so that a later team does not benefit from seeing the types of questions the jury might ask.

Among the audience members were Marjorie Melton of the Board of Public Service and Planning and Urban Design Director Rollin Stanley.

Each team submitted additional boards today with greater detail on their phase one planning & financials. Nothing in the presentations altered my views. I saw the two Harvard proposals as quite strong, the Berkeley as my overall favorite and the Columbia proposal as a sad reincarnation of 1960’s urban renewal thinking.

All of the teams did an excellent and highly professional job of verbally communicating their ideas. Some individuals were stronger than others but that was to be expected.

The jury took a few minutes to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of all four:

Harvard (4110 — Aurora):

Pro: A bold & confident plan that stresses streets can be positive, good clarity of plan.

Con: Lacks good integration between streets and greenway space. Jury not convinced of connection.

Harvard (1015 — Bridging Innovation at Grand Crossing):

Pro: Took program literally and viewed greenway as an economic driver to bring people to area. Clever approach by “pinching” at Grand (focusing users on area). Entertainment & retail along Grand a good idea.

Con: Cortex area with green roofs not so compelling in terms of site plan, wanted to see more green in the Cortex area. Boardwalk area in NE quadrant may not work and unsure about viability of high rise along Grand at MetroLink.

Columbia:

Pro: Extremely bold moves with walkway system. Very close to one requirement of competition — leaving the bridge design intact.

Con: Economic development required to pay for the infrastructure may not be possible in this location.

Berkeley:

Pro: Does more to establish a neighborhood with a strong grid, magnet school, integration of green with “fingers” in the development.

Con: MetroLink not as fully engaged as it could be. Boardwalk creates barrier.

The three non-winning finalists teams each get $10,000.

The winning team, Harvard #1015 Bridging Innovation at Grand Crossing, won $50,000. While this was not my favorite I think is a very strong proposal. I saw nothing in their concepts that I would argue against. I had argued in January for just such a proposal to create a strong element out of Grand. They did an excellent job of recognizing the TOD (transit oriented development) potential of the site and worked to maximize the existing MetroLink stop. And maximizing transit is exactly what St. Louis needs to do — and quickly.

Congratulations to team members Thomas Hussey, Christina Cambruzzi, Oliver Corlette, Patrick Curran and Tyler Meyr. Congrats as well to faculty advisor Rick Peiser. The additional boards detailing the phase one for each team will be uploaded to the ULI Competition website next week.

– Steve

SLU Claims Ownership of Grand Sidewalk

Today I attended the ULI Competition presentations at Saint Louis University. Being such a nice day (although windy) I decided to take my scooter. Plus, I knew parking would be an issue so why not ease the issue with the compact scooter?

During the lunch break I walked to Nadoz at the Coronado. Finally at nearly 3pm it was time to leave (I’ll tell you the winner in a separate post). What do I find on my scooter? An orange “tow warning” from SLU’s Parking and Card Services which read:

“You have parked on Saint Louis University property and violated the Parking Policies and Procedures Regulation as checked below:”

Within the “other” section they wrote in “parking on sidewalk.”

While inside I had chained my scooter to the sign post at the curb — the only place I could find in the vicinity of Dubourg Hall on Grand. I went inside for hours knowing my scooter was most likely safe from theft as well as not blocking the public sidewalk.

But is it really a “public” sidewalk. I called the phone number on the card, 314-977-2957. The woman on the end said that the sidwalk along Grand is SLU property and they control it. As such, I was not permitted to park my tiny little 49cc scooter on their sidewalk. instead, I am supposed to get a visitor parking permit and parking in a regular parking space in one of their numerous garages or surface lots.

In reviewing SLU’s parking information online a couple of things become clear:

But who exactly has authority over the sidewalk? If I had parked my scooter within the inner campus I’d certainly see where they have control. But the sidewalk along a public street — Grand Blvd?

Is this sidewalk truly public?

– Steve