No Parking Means No Parking

Ninth Street in front of Culinaria has many free short-term angled parking spaces, but the area in front of the door is a no parking zone. A driver of a Cadillac found this out recently…

I wonder what the owner of the car thought as s/he tried to remove the sticker? My guess is the city is no good, downtown sucks, etc. Some feel entitled to break rules then blame others when caught.

What’s the big deal about parking here?

Well, my guess is to make sure drivers leaving a space don’t back into the crosswalk or cause congestion problems in the 9th & Olive intersection. Enforcement only goes so far, design also plays a role.

A curb bulb could eliminate this problem, it wouldn’t have cost much when the 9th Street Garage was being built. Now it would be very costly to modify the area. A bulb out would be nice because it would give Culinaria more sidewalk space when they sell food & drink on the sidewalk during games, plus it would provided room near the entrance for bike parking. When the current bike parking is used the sidewalk becomes too narrow.

Don’t expect to see any change though, drivers will see an opportunity and then bad talk the city when called out.

— Steve Patterson

Duncan Sidewalk Fixed, Crosswalk at Newstead Still A Problem

Today when I visit Solae it won’t be a challenge like it has been, last month I discovered a problem that existed since the building opened in 2008 has finally been fixed. Last July I posted about the problem and contacted Solae, Cortex and Washington University.

Here’s what it used to look like, the gap was nearly impossible to navigate:

It was suggested in the comments on my post last year that the adjacent building (shown above) owner was responsible. I rejected that idea because it was the construction work at Solae that created the gap that caused the problem. The architect and/or contractor didn’t consider patching the area where they had to over dig.

Unfortunately, my trip from the Central West End MetroBus Transfer Center/MetroLink Station still has a major access problem. At Duncan & S. Newstead (map) I can’t use the crosswalk to cross Newstead.

Washington University spent considerable time and money on these decorative inserts, seemingly without thought to the functionality of the pedestrian network. This infuriates me beyond words. The money spent could’ve been used to make the area accessible and the sidewalks wide enough so when you meet someone they don’t have to step off the sidewalk into the grass. These decorative inserts are the type of pedestrian improvements are designed to look good on paper and driving by.

Can you imagine if roads were designed for aesthetics rather than function?

We’ll see how long it takes before I can use the crosswalk.

— Steve Patterson

Transit-Oriented Planning Eliminates 22nd Street Interchange, Reconnects Street Grid

For years I’ve been accused of being a naive dreamer, coming up with big plans without the existing market to implement. I’ve just smiled and continued sharing my long-term vision for St. Louis.

In June 2007 I wrote:

The 22nd Street Interchange, part of an abandoned highway concept from a few decades ago, needs to be ripped out with the land returned to active tax-paying use. The Missouri Dept of Transportation (MoDOT) should rework the interchange at Jefferson Ave to allow for on/off ramps in both directions and therefore eliminating the need for the current ramps at 22nd. MoDot could sell the land to fund the revisions to the highway ramps. (St. Louis Should Abandon Linear Gateway Mall Concept)

Then in December 2008 I wrote:

I picture a new bridge at I-64/40 and Jefferson Ave — one with a single point urban interchange (SPUI) and both East & West on/off ramps. Build that and then remove the 22nd interchange completely. Bring in form-based zoning codes to require a denser urban environment. Make a strong connection through the back of Union Station (between the shed & highway) so that pedestrians from this newly developable land have the opportunity to walk to Metrolink and the 14th street transit station beyond that. The fact that much of this area is already excavated and free of utility lines would simplify the construction of underground parking in new buildings. (MoDOT Needs To Put The 22nd Street Interchange On Any Wish List For Funding)

By May 2009 I noted that St. Louis’ 22nd Street Interchange Part of McKee’s Plan so it elimination would need to be worked out with him. Presumably MoDOT agrees with McKee because they’re replacing the Jefferson bridge over I-64/40 with no plans for on/off ramps to/from the east.

Then, last month, at an St. Louis Regional Transit Oriented Development Study presentation around the Union Station & Civic Center Metrolink stations the Denver-based consulting firm suggested largely what I had outlined years earlier.

Ok, they still have on/off ramps for I-64/40 to the east, but they are compact and feed into the reconnected street grid I had advocated. The above image is preliminary, I pointed out it was missing buildings like the Drury Inn on 20th, formerly a YMCA and later a gay bar/hotel/bathhouse. Hopefully their final will be more accurate than the draft shown at the last meeting.

Still they see what I and others saw, the need to repair the street grid and fill in the gaps in the urban fabric.

This is not about trying to recreate the buildings and feel of the area prior to the demolition for the highway interchange. This is a forward-looking vision to create a walkable/urban environment for those interested in such. Some prefer the look & feel of new buildings, new sidewalks, new trees, etc. This is an opportunity to create an entirely new neighborhood largely from scratch yet have access to existing transit.

Per McKee’s plans, a few new employers could anchor the neighborhood. Workers & residents would attract restaurants, dry cleaners, and other services.

None of this is rocket science, it’s Urban Planning 101. St. Louis still needs lots of basics to rebuild the connections that were ripped out in the 20th Century.

— Steve Patterson

My Wish List For The Next Saint Louis University President

Most likely you’ve already heard the news: Lawrence Biondi has announced he will retire as president of Saint Louis University.

The Rev. Lawrence Biondi surprised supporters and critics alike Saturday evening when he announced plans to retire from the presidency of St. Louis University.

The move follows months of campus strife that included no-confidence votes by faculty and students. (stltoday)

I’ve lived in St. Louis for nearly 23 years, most of Biondi’s 25-year tenure. I’ve witnessed the physical changes to the midtown campus along with everyone else. The public remains sharply divided on these changes. Some of us see the changes during his tenure as highly destructive and anti-urban, others view them as visionary, saving a once-dying campus.

Who’s right? Actually, both views are correct.

Biondi had a vision for the campus and was relentless in making it happen. Unfortunately, his vision was shaped by a perspective shared with many in his generation:

1. Pedestrians stroll through park-like settings but use cars to actually get from point a to point b, pedestrians should be seperated from roads.
2. Old urban cities are bad places with bad people, to be safe we must create physical barriers to keep them out of our space and to tell us where we shouldn’t go.
3. Only poor people use public transit, everyone else has a car. In other words: transit brings troublesome poor folks while parking garages attracts desirable folks.
4. Open space, with lush green lawns, solves problems.
5. Residential, office, retail, industrial should all be separate from each other.

These views were formed in their youth, influenced by the General Motors Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair.

My hope is the next president of Saint Louis University will reject the beliefs listed above. That he/she will instead think:

1. The university should embrace the city, not wall it off.
2. Supporting public transit will greatly reduce the need to take on debt to build more parking garages
3. Thriving areas beyond campus will enrich the student experience
4. SLU is an urban campus, the public rights-of-way (roads/sidewalks) within our boundaries should be highly active

What is the likelihood the Board of Trustees will select someone with a viewpoint radically different from Biondi with respect to urban planning? Right, not very high…

— Steve Patterson

Potential Development Sites Along Proposed Streetcar Line, Part 1: Olive 15th-16th

The proposed streetcar from St. Louis’ central business district (CBD) to the Central West End (CWE) along Olive/Lindell is moving forward. Regular readers know I’m a streetcar advocate because of how it can increase development activity in a way no bus route ever can. I thought I’d take a close look at potential sites along the proposed route, starting with the area nearest my loft.

The block on the north side of Olive between 15th and 16th is nothing but two surface parking lots.

The larger lot with entrance on 15th serves the building the occupies the block to the east. This building contains the administrative offices for the St. Louis Public Library and the Confluence High School. That building contains parking underneath as well as some surface parking within that block. The library owns the building and this surface parking lot.

The surface lot, shown above, doesn’t get much use. Once the streetcar line starts running there won’t be as much need for automobile parking, hopefully the library can sell the large surface overflow parking lot to a developer for new construction. This is currently subdivided into 4 parcels with addresses 1501 Olive, 1507 Olive, 1509-1529 Olive, and 1527 Olive with a total area of 26,964sf or 0.62 acres. See map.

The west end of the block is a smaller privately-owned public surface parking lot, legally divided into two parcels with addresses 1531-1533 Olive and 1535-1537 Olive. The total area of these two parcels is 11,676sf or 0.27 acres. Combine all six parcels owned by two entities and you have 38,640sf or 0.89 acres.

The only structures on this city block are The Campbell House Museum and the 10-story YMCA. The 100 upper floor apartments have been vacant for at least 5 years now, hopefully a streetcar line will get someone interested in taking on the project. Other buildings in the area range from 1-10 floors, but most are greater than 5.

A stop is highly unlikely at 15th because the streetcar line will have a major connection at 14th, but I’d like another stop at 16th or 17th.  Even if the next stop isn’t until 18th or 19th I can see this block filled in with apartments and/or condos along with new ground-floor restaurant/retail space.

— Steve Patterson