Poll: Thoughts On St. Louis’ Gateway Station

Two years ago today the Gateway Station opened, combing Amtrak passenger rail service with Greyhound bus service.  The station, at 15th & Poplar, is adjacent to the Civic Center MetroLink light rail station and local bus transfer station

In January of this year author James Howard Kunstler named the Gateway Station his Eyesore of the Month, which prompted a reaction from me: Kunstler’s wrong, St. Louis’ new train/bus depot is not an eyesore.  Also in January the Gateway Station was the setting for a Recovery Act high-speed rail announcement in St. Louis.

I like the station but I’ve never been a customer.  I had used the old “temporary” Amtrak station and the old Greyhound station in the former Cass Bank at N 13th & Cass.Neither was great, although the interior of the old bank was spectacular.  Next month I will take a trip by train so I will get to use the new station as a customer.

The poll this week asks for your thoughts on the station now that it has been open for two full years. The poll is located in the upper right corner of the blog.

– Steve Patterson

Collinsville IL Still Has One-Way Streets

Yesterday I was briefly in downtown Collinsville IL.  I’d forgotten how nice their Main Street looks.  I last wrote about their Main Street in July 2007 when it looked like they may undo what never should have been done: Collinsville IL May Finally Correct One-Way Main Street Mistake.  Unfortunately, Collinsville still has a one-way couplet — Main St eastbound and Clay St westbound.

Does the direction of auto traffic matter to pedestrians?  Yes!  On the sidewalk you feel like you are next to an escape route. Decades ago traffic engineers convinced nearly every town, big & small, to install one-way streets to move traffic faster.  One-way streets in a small town make little sense but undoing what has been in place for so long is nearly impossible.

It is a shame too, Main St in Collinsville has very charming buildings and a decent streetscape. Changing Main & Clay to be two-way again would have huge benefits.  The vibe would instantly be different.

– Steve Patterson

North 14th Street Demonstrates How A Pedestrian-Friendly Streetscape Should Be Designed

On September 1 2006 I reviewed the plan for replacing the North 14th Street Pedestrian Mall with North 14th Street: Old North’s Pedestrian Mall May Soon Be Gone! I concluded the post with this paragraph:

“I have some initial reservations about the streetscape plan but I will hold those back until I’ve had a chance to talk with the local residents, the RHCDA and Rosemann Architects. I want to congratulate everyone involved for finally getting a project to this point – I look forward to working with them to see it to fruition.”

The following drawing was included in the post.

Privately I shared my reservations about the pedestrian circulation.

Unfortunately I can’t locate the somewhat harsh email I fired off. However my criticism focused on 1) the decorative brickwork and the fact pedestrians couldn’t maintain a straight line as they walked down the street. The green areas were to be planters.  These would have created tight points where pedestrians tried to cross the streets.  Remember, this was 17 months prior to the stroke that disabled me.

The planters and the ramp placement would have forced all pedestrians (able-bodied & disabled) to zig-zag at each intersection. At the time I had no idea how annoying such intersections would be from a wheelchair but I did know the concept was not pedestrian-friendly.

In June 2010 I was glad to see my criticisms had been observed with the design now permitting all pedestrians to maintain a straight line as they walked from one block to the next.

I’m so glad the completed design permits the disabled in wheelchairs to use the same pathway as the able-bodied.  All have lots of room, all can stay on a direct path.  Nobody is pointed into the center of the intersection with angled ramps.  This is how pedestrian-friendly business districts should be designed.

Unfortunately many of the new streetscapes being installed in other areas  do not have the same direct path for pedestrians.

– Steve Patterson

Improved Pedestrian Space Comes Before Pedestrians

Often readers comment that my pictures never show pedestrians.  They’ve said it is hard to justify improving the pedestrian environment given how few pedestrians we have.  To me the opposite is the case, we have so few pedestrians because our pedestrian spaces are so deficient.

My the logic of some we should have this dismal sidewalk bustling with pedestrians before investing in improving the area.  But if the area is teaming with pedestrians there would be little reason to make capital improvements.

– Steve Patterson

Readers Think Rex Sinquefield Will Fund Campaign To Repeal Earnings Tax

Readers think, by a wide margin, that voters in April 2011 will retain our 1% earnings tax.

Q: Now that voters approved Proposition A, what do you think will happen in St. Louis next April?

1. Rex Sinquefield funds an expensive campaign but city voters keep the earnings tax 87 [51.48%]
2. Rex Sinquefield doesn’t fund the repeal campaign and city voters keep the earnings tax 37 [21.89%]
3. Rex Sinquefield funds an expensive campaign and city voters repeal the earnings tax 21 [12.43%]
4. Rex Sinquefield doesn’t fund the repeal campaign still city voters repeal the earnings tax 15 [8.88%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 6 [3.55%]
6. Other answer… 3 [1.78%]

Many also think Rex Sinquefield will fund the repeal campaign, just as he did with the Proposition A campaign.

1. rex gets a nose job.
2. Rex tries to remove the KC tax first, since it was closer to passing there.
3. KC will eventually repeal, STL never will.

One thing is certain, the usually boring April general election will be more interesting than usual.

– Steve Patterson