Not every crosswalk point in the city is marked with paint. Ninth Street at St. Charles St was such an example, a well-used point that was unmarked. Hotel guests cross here to reach the parking garage. But unmarked crossing points can inadvertently get blocked by motorists.
November 4th a VW Golf is parked blocking the ramp to cross 9th at St. Charles St.As seen from the opposite corner
The lane where the Golf is parked is has been marked as no parking for a long time, not sure why. On the morning of December 4th I met with traffic commissioner Steve Runde to discuss allowing parking on 9th, mentioning a crosswalk designation would be nice. The following morning it was already done!
By December 5th the crosswalk had been painted.
Should the crosswalk get blocked now it’ll be easier to get parking enforcement to issue a ticket. Once the parking meters get installed on 9th I’ll do another post.
Thanks to Steve Runde for listening and responding!
The newly completed BJC @ The Commons is an example of what not to build next to a proposed light rail station.
Looking west through new surface parking lotMetroLink train heads eastBJS @ The Commons (6) is adjacent to the proposed transit station (14)The industrial building that was razed filled the site, including being built up to the Clayton Ave sidewalkBJC @ The Commons is set back in office park fashion, even though the grass is green this isn’t an environment designed to attract pedestrians.
All brand new, from scratch. Totally wrong. Transit passengers see little but parking, why exit and walk? On Clayton Ave pedestrians don’t have a sense of enclosure — the building it too far back from the narrow sidewalk.
Unfortunately the people planning the CORTEX area don’t understand pedestrian behavior and how to create a vibrant transit-oriented environment. Office park next to tracks doesn’t cut it.
Eighty years ago our country made a big constitutional change:
The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states’ approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day. (History.com)
Today many counties in the country remain dry or semi-dry:
33 states have laws which allow localities to prohibit the sale (and in some cases, consumption and possession) of liquor. Still, many of these states have no dry communities. Three states, Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, are entirely dry by default: counties specifically must authorize the sale of alcohol in order for it to be legal and subject to state liquor control laws. (Wikipedia)
“Map showing dry (red), wet (blue), and mixed (yellow) counties in the United States” from Wikipedia
From the same Wikipedia article:
Missouri state law specifically prohibits any counties, or unincorporated city or town from banning the retail sale of liquor, but only allows incorporated cities to ban the sale of liquor by the drink by public referendum. No incorporated Missouri cities have ever chosen to hold a referendum banning alcohol sales. In addition, Missouri state law specifically supersedes any local laws that restrict the sale of alcohol. (see Alcohol laws of Missouri)
At least in this regard, Missouri is a blue state.
Downtown and city leadership have long opposed food carts/trucks, citing the need to support brick & mortar restaurants over temporary operations with little overhead. Retail, however, is viewed differently. “Pop-up retail” gets the blessing of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.
A pop-up retail event at the Old Post Office Plaza which is owned by the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis
Don’t get me wrong, I like pop-up retail and pop-up/drive-up restaurants. They seem the same to me, a business in a temporary location for a brief period. I’m in the camp that thinks more street vending would make downtown more vibrant, attracting more people. More people means more customers for brick & mortar retail & restaurants.
Conversely, dead sidewalks are a disincentive to walk and window shop. A decade ago leaders wanted to make the Old Post Office District a 24/7 area, but they haven’t done much of anything to get there. Culinaria initially stayed open until 10pm but now closes at 9pm.
Can anyone tell me why pop-up retail is OK but pop-up restaurants aren’t?
In October I posted about the New Wellston Child Care Center Under Construction, Adjacent To MetroLink Station, and noted promotional materials referenced compliance with the Wellston Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative. I wanted to see this initiative to see how the new construction complies, if it all. After a few emails I received a copy of the initiative — it had to be scanned! The initiative process started in 1998, the final document was from January 2002.
Click cover to view PDF on Scribd
The goals detailed were:
Raise the incomes of Wellston’s residents.
Improve the system of education in Wellston.
Improve the quality of Wellston’s neighborhoods.
Establish a central destination place in Wellston.
Improve access to employment, goods, and services for Wellston’s residents.
Improve the health and well being of Wellston’s citizens.
Enhance the image of Wellston and pride its citizens hold about their community.
Stimulate local economic growth.
Increase the social capital and improve the community capacity in Wellston.
Revitalize the MLK Corridor.
It’s hard to know how well Wellston has done with many of the above, however, the early development child care center now under construction should pay future dividends with respect to education, and eventually incomes.
Diagram from page 17
The report was prepared by The National Institute for Community Empowerment, Inc., which no longer seems to exist. I couldn’t find a website and their last phone number is not in service. A local contributor was the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance (RHCDA), rebranded this year as Rise. Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHES‘) is still around as well.
I’ve been looking through the report for the last month, developing questions to ask about the progress that’s been made in the last dozen years. The most obvious are measurable results toward the ten goals listed above. Do they consider a recent Family Dollar store and a gas station as having met #10, revitalizing the MLK corridor? Any positive gains in education? Given the Wellston School District shut down in 2010 and unaccredited Normandy School District struggles, I rather doubt there’s good news to report.
The new Wellston Early Childhood Center will open in the fall of 2014, not a moment too soon.
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