Walk-up ATM, But Not Roll-up ATM

I like walk-up ATM machines.  Too often only drive-thru ATM’s are available.

When I’m out using my wheelchair it helps to be able to roll up and use the ATM.  But the above ATM presented a few of problems for me:

1. The curb at the base prevented me from pulling up close enough.
2. The height & angle of screen & buttons was too great to have used the ATM even if the curb wasn’t there.
3. At other machines I tend to pull up with the machine on my right side, rather than straight in.  But the ramp into the entrance prevent that as well.

I could have pulled up and stood long enough to have done my transaction, but not everyone can do that. This credit union needs to add this ATM & entrance to a list of future improvements. I’d like to see these be improved within a year.  I will send my request to them.

– Steve Patterson

Missouri didn’t support the Tour of Missouri for 2010

The task of the Missouri Division of Tourism is to attract tourists to visit Missouri  — and leave behind some of their money in the process.

Without $1 million dollars from the state, the organizers had to cancel the 2010 Tour of Missouri. The tourism budget is roughly $13 million.  The poll this week seeks your opinion on the canceling of the Tour of Missouri.  The poll is in the upper right corner.

– Steve Patterson

Stray Rescue Welcomed Animals From St. Louis’ Shelter

On July 19th Stray Rescue of St. Louis welcomed 20 dogs into a partially finished new headquarters. From the press release:

“Stray Rescue and the St. Louis City’s Department of Health will begin transferring dogs from the Gasconade facility to Stray Rescue’s Companion Animal Center today. The Gasconade facility, built in the 1940s, is closing at the end of August because of inadequate health and safety conditions.
”

Video of the dogs being brought in one by one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktKQ26zVHhA

Additional donations are still needed to complete the facility.

– Steve Patterson

Citygarden is great, but not perfect

Citygarden has impressed everyone in it’s its first year open in St. Louis.  The two-block sculpture garden is, in most respects, outstanding in design and construction.

The two curb ramps along 10th Street (at Chestnut and at Market) both hold water following a rain.

Numerous ramps downtown have the same problem, but few were built as part of an otherwise high quality project. The mini lake at top is probably the worst downtown. Naturally, that is the one I use most often.  Even when dry I must use the side of the ramp — my wheelchair’s footrest gets caught if I go straight in.

And the environmentally friendly rain garden isn’t getting all the rain water it is supposed to receive.  Hopefully these three areas will be redone someday.  The problem at 10th & Market will be corrected when the wide “hallway” is extended to the west.  Had Citygarden built it’s side planning for the future hallway the current issue wouldn’t exist.

As a member of the Gateway Mall Advisory Board I can assure you I will bring up water retention at curb ramps and planning future projects so the hallway concept is easier to complete.

– Steve Patterson

Kiel Opera House becomes the Peabody Opera House – poll

Note to St. Louis officials: Kiel Auditorium was razed in the early 1990s. I state this because folks are talking about the renaming of the Kiel Opera House to the Peabody Opera House at the Henry W. Kiel Auditorium.  The Kiel Auditorium was replaced by the Kiel Center Savvis Center Scottrade Center.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Tuesday, October 30, 1990:

Plans for an $85 million sports arena that would be built on the site of Kiel Auditorium and replace The Arena near Forest Park are to be announced today at a downtown news conference.

Sources involved in the effort say that some of the area’s top business leaders would form a partnership that would develop the arena. One or more city development agencies would issue about $110 million in tax-exempt bonds to build the arena and a $25 million parking garage west of Kiel .

The 3,500-seat Opera House in the front part of Kiel would remain. The auditorium in the rear of the 58-year-old building and a 900-car parking garage to the south would be torn down to make way for the arena. The city would lease the new facility to the development partnership for about 75 years.

Bonds would be paid back with revenue from arena operations, 10-year commitments from businesses to buy 65 luxury boxes at $50,000 each annually and a city subsidy of about $800,000 a year. The Board of Aldermen would have to approve most of the arrangement.

The 18,000-seat arena would become the new home of the hockey Blues, soccer Storm and basketball Billikens. The Billikens, who now play in Kiel , temporarily would join the Blues and Storm at The Arena, 5700 Oakland Avenue, after its 1990-91 season.

”A lot of effort has gone into development of a new multi-use facility at the Kiel site,” [Mayor] Schoemehl said.

The Kiel Auditorium was named the Municipal Auditorium when it opened in 1934. It was renamed Kiel Auditorium in 1943, the year after 3-term Republican mayor Henry Kiel died at the age of 71.

This is a long introduction to the poll question for this week, how do you feel about the renaming the building? The poll is in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson