Have Wheelchair, Will Travel
Before my stroke I would walk the 10 or so blocks from my place at 16th & Locust over to City Grocers at 10th & Olive. While I am able to walk again thanks to a couple of months of physical therapy I can really only handle short distances at a time. As an example walking to a seat at the Chase theater after getting dropped off at the Lindell entrance was pushing my limit.
This is why I’m so happy I’ve got an electric wheelchair — it gives me mobility that I thought I wouldn’t have.
Over this past weekend a friend and I walked across the Eads Bridge. OK, she walked and I wheelchaired. What a great bridge — connecting two parts of our region for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and those using light rail. The bridge make it easy for me to wheelchair all the way to Illinois!
On the Illinois side is a ramp from the top down to the MetroLink level. A couple of short elevator rides and we we back on the platform for a train to take us back to Missouri.
What I found is my wheelchair tourism is that I can get pretty much anywhere. Sometimes the direct route is not an option — such as the above to the Arch Grounds.
A block South at Walnut the situation is just as bad — the crosswalk lines lead directly into a high curb. I think if I try back by Washington Ave I can get to the grounds but encountering obstacles such as the above can prove frustrating. At these times the last thing you want to do is travel several blocks out of the way with the hope of stumbling upon an accessible route.
For years now the “lid” project has been discussed. The latest problem is the who has design review over the area. I say forget the lid and all the useless plaza concepts and just fix the sidewalks to make them accessible sooner rather than later.
Interestingly one of the benefits of being limited by the wheelchair is it forces me to explore my local environment, such as the ‘Meeting of the Waters’ sculpture & fountain by Carl Miles in Aloe Plaza across Market from Union Station.
Union Station is remarkably accessible given that the renovation happened prior to the passage of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Perhaps the building code of the day mandated a certain level of accessibility?
Given this freedom to explore (on dry days at least) I’m considering my other options. I’m so close to MetroLink that I could get to places such as the loop or Clayton easily. I could use a few items from Trader Joe’s and via Metrolink can get close easily & quickly. The problem is the shopping center is one of those that assumes everyone drives a private automobile. Although a sidewalk runs along Eager it doesn’t connect to the shops (at least to my recollection). Ditto for crossing Brentwood and making it to Whole Foods.
The Central West End is certainly an option too. As soon as I figure out how to get on & off the bus with a wheelchair that will give me many more options. I think I need to get to Loughborough Commons in the chair so I can evaluate their after the fact accessible route.
While you might see people in wheelchairs and feel sorry for us don’t. To me the wheelchair represents freedom and mobility. Without the chair I’d be stuck at home.
Great to see the positive attitude. While Eager Road is a challenge for pedestrians trying to access the Metrolink station, I’m hoping, probably naively, that sidewalks may come as part of the Highway 40 rebuild (at least they should). You are correct that access for pedestrians has been consciously limited by the owners of the various shopping, notably Dierberg’s, who feared that commuters would use their parking lot, leaving limited room for their driving customers.
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Being the transit wonk that I am, I need to respond to the assumption that public transit = MetroLink. While light rail is a great amenity, it’s only part of an integrated system. If you look at the Metro system map, you’ll find that both the #1 and #2 buses get you a lot closer to both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s than Metrolink will, and transfers can be made at both the Brentwood and Richmond Heights stations. Yes, it adds a transfer, and yes, the buses don’t run as frequently as the rail does, but it is a viable option that’s probably safer than trying to navigate Eager Road (in its present configuration).
http://www.metrostlouis.org/GettingStarted/ADA.asp
We must have been on the same wavelength today because as I was returning to my office from an errand in Clayton and driving down Memorial Drive, I was watching some tourists attempt to cross the busy / inaccessible road and held my breath hoping they’d all make it safely (it was only a small group of older adults, too, not a bunch of kiddos). I thought “what in the world is our city thinking??!” by trying to make is as unfriendly and unaccomodating to get to our beautiful national monument and park. None of those folks were in wheelchairs, but as I watched them I realized that they had to take a giant step down from the sidewalk to get to the street, and just thought “where does someone in a wheelchair, or with a cane, or a stroller, go?”.
I absolutely agree with you – deal with the “lid” later, but today get some people-friendly signs, ramps, signals, etc up there now. and make our Arch grounds accessible for everyone!
Steve, I walked that exact stretch of road 2 weeks ago. The cards were out of town so no one was downtown and I figured I go for a walk down by the arch at night. That 4th pic of yours… when I was crossing the street in that crosswalk I saw there was no curb cut and the curb was extra high and as I was walking it you instantly came to mind. I must read this blog too much. Yes that walk across the Eads is pretty cool. Hope you were not scared of heights. There’s a healthy drop down to the water. Colleen, I can tell you the city is not thinking of pedestrians. Something else to digest is the number of motorist those folks were trying to dodge that don’t have insurance and no savings or ability to create income. Point being if you get hit, the best you can hope for is suiing the city like the woman in the wheel chair on Delmar. At least she got a sympathetic jury. Then again the city usually has sypathetic juries.
What can we do about this? I don’t want to get militant here, but seriously, to whom should we write letters? Who in the media could we get to cover this story? This seems like an overlooked situation so let’s shine some light on it.
Steve, when you want to go to Trader JOes, don’t take the Eager route from Metrolink. When you get off the train at Brentwood station take the sidewalk that leads south from the station on the west side of the tracks and you can take part of the street in Hanley Ind. Ct. True, you will be in the street but there’s not much traffic right there and the street doesnt have the high curbs. They’re those slanted suburban style curbs. You’ll make a right trun just before Metro Lightings place and come up to trader Joes from the south instead of north.
Lovely pictures. I don’t think my town is nearly so scenic or accessible.