Missed Opportunity With New Downtown Hotel Sidewalk

August 17, 2015 Accessibility, Downtown, Featured, Planning & Design, Walkability Comments Off

Another downtown hotel is about to reopen:

After being shuttered since 2011, the original Hotel Lennox – once known as St. Louis’ tallest hotel – will re-open Sept. 2, the same day that the hotel originally opened in 1929, as The Courtyard by Marriott St. Louis Downtown/Convention Center Hotel. The newly revitalized hotel will be one of the most unique and historically significant Courtyard-branded hotels in the country. The hotel has undergone a significant renovation, with an investment of over $22M into the property during a 16-month restoration. (KMOX)

Los Angeles-based Maritz Wolff & Co. will own and manage the property. It bought the Renaissance Suites this year for $3.2 million from the bondholders who owned it. Lewis Wolff, co-founder and chairman of Maritz, Wolff & Co., and Phillip “Flip” Martiz, its co-founder and president, sold the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton for $56 million in December 2012 to Bruce Karsh and his Clayton St. Louis Property LLC.

The development and management team from Maritz Wolff is led by Patrick Lowery and Jeffrey Barone. (St. Louis Business Journal)

The narrow Washington Ave facade, 9th Street on the left. Our convention center is on the right.

Thankfully the renovations included the new sidewalks you can see above, replacing the failed stamped concrete fake brick sidewalk that was installed about 15 years ago, when it reopened as the Renaissance Suites. The sidewalk is totally new, but they did one thing exactly as it had been: the location of the curb ramp across the auto driveway to the East.

The sidewalk width is generous and people tend to walk in the center. But those of us using wheelchairs are forced to use ramps pointing diagonally into the street. This new work should've had a wide ramp area in the natural flow of pedestrian traffic, not a ramp pointing into the street out at the corner. — The sidewalk width is generous and people tend to walk in the center. But those of us using wheelchairs are forced to use ramps pointing diagonally into the street. This new work should’ve had a wide ramp area in the natural flow of pedestrian traffic, not a ramp pointing into the street out at the corner.

You might say they were just matching the ramp on the East side of the driveway. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

View looking West across driveway. In the winter snow gets piled up blocking ramps placed at the curb rather than the natural pedestrian flow closer to the buildings.

When new concrete is poured it should be done right, now continue an early 1990s mistake. If new work makes incremental improvements then eventually downtown will be more pedestrian-friendly.

This pedestrian crossing of Morgan St is a good example.

In high pedestrian areas such as between the hotel and convention center this reduces the chances someone will trip & fall on a curb. As this is part of the public right-of-way (PROW), not private property, the city should’ve ensured this was done differently.

— Steve Patterson

11th Street Rain Garden Five Years Later

August 14, 2015 Downtown, Environment, Featured Comments Off

It has been nearly 5 years since I posted about a demonstration rain garden downtown, see New Downtown Rain Garden Reduces Sidewalk Width Too Much. The design issues remain:

Rain garden takes up sidewalk rather than street
Parking still isn’t allowed in front of rain garden, so a lane of asphalt isn’t being used.

Still, now that the plants have matured it looks so much better.

It collects water runoff from the sidewalk and adjacent surface parking lot, the more rain water we can keep out of the sewer system the better. I still see no reason why a parking space or two hasn’t been added to 11th Street.

— Steve Patterson

Three Blocks Of Washington Ave Diagonal Parking Now Back-In

August 13, 2015 Downtown, Featured, Parking, Planning & Design, Transportation, Walkability 9 Comments

The planning to reduce travel lanes from four to two on the three blocks of Washington Ave, from 18th to 21th, took place in 2007. The work was done in 2008. I was a paid consultant during the planning phase. At the time I lived in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood and drove a motor scooter. In late 2007 I moved downtown and a few months later I had a stroke.

During the planning phase we debated angled parking — front-in vs. back-in. In 2007 I argued for front-in angled parking, which is how the street got striped. Since then the block West of Jefferson plus others toward Grand also reduced travel lanes with the addition of angled parking. But these blocks did back-in parking.

Front-in angled parking is much easier when it comes to parking your car but harder to see other motorists, motorcycles, or bicyclists when exiting the space. Last year we picked up friends at their loft at Washington Ave & Jefferson, I was driving and parked in a back-in space. I was nervous. but I did it first try. In hindsight I wish I’d argued for back-in parking initially.

Recently these blocks of Washington Ave were resurfaced and restriped — now with back-in parking. Let’s take a look:

Looking West from 18th — no parking zone at corner

While most do OK, clearly this person had trouble. Parking enforcement was writing a ticket as I took this pic.

The adjacent vehicle also didn't stay within the space — The adjacent vehicle also didn’t stay within the space

Out of 20+ cars only two weren’t within their respective spaces. Again, I wish I’d argued for this initially. The planning was prior to my being disabled, but I lobbied hard for good pedestrian crossings and disabled parking.

New "Continental" crosswalk at 19th is highly visible. Click image for article on Continental crosswalks. — New “Continental” crosswalk at 19th is highly visible. Click image for article on Continental crosswalks.

Unfortunately the mid-block crosswalks next to disabled parking wasn't restriped. — Unfortunately the mid-block crosswalks next to disabled parking wasn’t restriped.

Two and a half hours later I returned to check out a few more things, the white Ford was in the same spot.

An orange boot was on the front wheel, the Kia had moved over one space and parked correctly. While I was in the area Parking Enforcement came by and removed the boot, the waiting owner then drove off. .

Like most aspects of driving, backing into a parking space just takes practice to master. Occasionally I back into our space in our parking garage, it does get easier. Some day I may drive over to Washington Ave to practice — this wasn’t on my driver’s test in 1983.

— Steve Patterson

Work Portion of Live/Work Units Must Be Wheelchair Accessible

August 10, 2015 Accessibility, Downtown, Featured, Planning & Design, Retail 1 Comment

For a couple of years I’ve been watching & writing about changes at 901 Locust St. The former Board of Education building, built in 1893, was converted into loft-style apartments at least a decade ago. The ground-floor retail space, however, has struggled.

So the building’s new owner removed the old storefronts and installed new ones — more open. I questioned how these spaces would meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and building codes:

1103.2.13 Live/work units. In live/work units constructed in accordance with Section 419, the portion of the unit utilized for nonresidential use is required to be accessible. The residential portion of the live/work unit is required to be evaluated separately in accordance with Sections 1107.6.2 and 1107.7.

Live/work units are dwelling units in which a significant portion of the space includes a nonresidential use operated by the tenant/owner. Although the entire unit is classified as a Group R-2 occupancy, for accessibility purposes it is viewed more as a mixed-use condition. The residential portion of the unit is regulated differently for accessibility purposes than the nonresidential portion.

The floor area of the dwelling unit that is intended for residential use is regulated under the provisions of Section 1107.6.2 for Group R-2 occupancies. The requirements for an Accessible unit, Type A unit or Type B unit would be applied based upon the specific residential use of the unit and the number of units in the structure. The exceptions for Type A and Type B units set forth in Section 1107.7 would also exempt such units where applicable. For example, a two story dwelling unit above the work unit in a non-elevator building would never be subject to Type B requirements due to the exemption in Section 1107.7.2. The code does not clarify if a two story live/work unit with the business on the entire first floor and the residence on the entire second floor would be considered a multi-story dwelling unit for purposes of the exception in Section 1107.7.2.

In the nonresidential portion of the unit, full accessibility would be required based upon the intended use. For example, if the nonresidential area of the unit is utilized for hair care services, all elements related to the service activity must be accessible. This would include site parking where provided, site and building accessible routes, the public entrance, and applicable patron services. In essence, the work portion of the live/work unit would be regulated in the same manner as a stand-alone commercial occupancy. (International Code Council)

In May 2014 I showed the new storefronts going in but obvious changes in grade along 9th St

Perhaps one big retail space with an accessible entry off Locust? A 24/7 pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens? Nope, the owner has built apartments on the ground floor — billing them as “live/work” units.

The six live/work units range from $1,295/mo for a 760 sq ft one bedroom to $1,995/mo for a 2,480 sq ft 2-story 2-bed unit. All include another entrance connecting to the building, but it’s not clear how disabled customers would reach these doors, if at all.