The Downtown Bicycle Station is located at 1011 Locust Street between 10th and 11th streets, in Downtown St. Louis. Housed in a LEED certified building, it will feature storage options for more than 120 bikes, as well as provide cyclists with the opportunity to use showers, lockers and other bike commuter amenities. The Downtown Bicycle Station will occupy approximately 1400 square feet. The Downtown Bicycle Station has been designed to encourage the use of alternate modes of transportation by reducing some of the traditional impediments to bike commuting. Downtown St. Louis will now offer a full service bike facility easily accessible to the City’s central business district and Metrolink stations.
The Downtown Bicycle Station is an initiative of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, done in collaboration with key partners and supporters. The project is funded in part by funds allocated by the US Department of Energy through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. With these funds, the Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District (CID) has the initial contract to manage the Downtown Bicycle Station; the CID has contracted with Trailnet for marketing and membership and Urban Shark for facilities and operations services. The project would not have been possible without several additional generous contributions.
Earlier in the week I requested information on usage but I received no reply. I have no idea how well it’s doing.
I use a power wheelchair when I go out for a long “walk” or if I’m using mass transit. In doing so I stick to the sidewalks and crosswalks as best I can, I know this is safer for me. But others seem to think their chairs are vehicles. I’ve posted before about wheelchair users in the street. Recently I saw one in the street that had me and everyone on the bus in shock:
ABOVE: This guy came from Page Ave and went north on Kingshighway between the lanesABOVE: Close up we can see an oxygen tank on the chair
Really? Maybe he needs help understanding how to get around safely? He probably used to bicycle against traffic. I just don’t get it, I can’t think of a more dangerous place for him to be. The sidewalk in that part of Kingshighway is fine for use.
Delmar Blvd., like most St. Louis streets, was once very urban in form. Buildings all were built up to the sidewalk, defining the public vs. private space. This also gave pedestrians a sense of enclosure, they weren’t exposed on all sides.
For decades now we’ve chipped away at the urban form then wondered why we also had population loss, increased pollution and disinvestment. We still would have experienced population loss based on the trend to the suburbs but trying to remake the city to be like th, e suburbs didn’t work to stop the loss and now it’s preventing the rejuvenation of many areas, such as along Delmar Blvd.
Also for decades St. Louis’ “leadership” has thought that anything new — any investment — was better than no investment at all. What they continue to fail to understand is disconnected buildings set back behind parking doesn’t create anyplace special. Furthermore with old storefronts up to the sidewalk and new buildings set back the look and feel isn’t pleasant. It’s not a contiguous wall of buildings or or consistent setback common in suburbia.
St. Louis’ first planner, Harland Bartholomew, wanted to basically raze the city and rebuild in the suburban model — see his 1947 Comprehensive Plan.
ABOVE: Under construction in May 2006ABOVE: 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis on Delmar, April 2012ABOVE: On the Delmar sidewalk facing the entrance after exiting the bus pedestrians are less important than the cars.ABOVE: The required ADA access route does exist but you have to go to the side street to reach itABOVE: The building to the east is having it's front removed to make it less urban than it's been for decades.
None of this will encourage investment and improvement of the area, it’ll likely accelerate disinvestment and abandonment. I hope to live long enough to see the 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis building razed and replaced with 2-3 urban buildings.
The pro-conceraled gun argument goes something like this:
“I rarely ride transit but when I do I’m scared beyond belief about what might happen to me while waiting or en route. If a dark person tries something funny I want to be a hero with my gun.”
Ok, my characterization is a bit unfair but these folks sound like they’re frightened by their own shadow. They might be well trained to use their gun on a paper target in a controlled setting but I’m transit dependent and I can assure you the bus and train are not a shooting range. They cite a drop in crime in areas where concealed guns are allowed on transit but fail to mention the similar drop in crime in other places where concealed guns aren’t allowed on transit. I’ve yet to see one independent scientific study that says conclusively that concealed guns results in a drop in crime.
The total vote count was higher than usual (160) but the percentages stayed consistent throughout the week so I don’t think any side tried to alter the results with a campaign:
Q: Concealed guns on public transit is:
A bad idea 102 [62.96%]
A good idea 46 [28.4%]
Neither a good or bad idea 10 [6.17%]
Other: 3 [1.85%]
Unsure/No Opinion 1 [0.62%]
The other answers were:
Are you serious? Could we be any more uncivilized?
Already happening.
already happening & will continue no matter what the laws are
Drinking alcohol is legal and people drink & drive, we should make that legal by the logic of these last two. The pro-gun lobby (NRA) seems to think they should be able to carry their guns anywhere and everywhere. In 2008 the US Supreme Court declared Washington D.C.’s gun law unconstitutional but conservative Justice Antonin Scolia wrote in the majority opinion:
There seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms. Of course the right was not unlimited, just as the First Amendment ’s right of free speech was not, see, e.g., United States v. Williams, 553 U. S. ___ (2008). Thus, we do not read the Second Amendment to protect the right of citizens to carry arms for any sort of confrontation, just as we do not read the First Amendment to protect the right of citizens to speak for any purpose. Before turning to limitations upon the individual right, however, we must determine whether the prefatory clause of the Second Amendment comports with our interpretation of the operative clause. (District of Columbia v Heller)
In other words, keeping a loaded gun in your own home is protected by the constitution. That doesn’t automatically extend to everywhere outside your home. Legislators that responded to my email on this subject tell me the bill to make concealed guns on public transit in Missouri legal won’t make it out of committee…this year.
Yesterday I posted about the challenge of bringing back the area around the 5th & Missouri Station in downtown East St. Louis.Today I’m focusing on the next station to the east on the light rail line: Emerson Park.
Construction on the St. Clair County MetroLink extension from the 5th & Missouri station to the College station in Belleville began in 1998 and opened in May 2001. The extension added eight new stations and seven park-ride lots. The total project cost was $339.2 million, with the FTA and St. Clair County Transit District sharing the burden at 72% ($243.9 million) and 28% ($95.2 million), respectively. Local funding was provided by the St. Clair County Transit District as a result of a 1/2 cent sales tax passed in November 1993.
May 5th marks the 11th anniversary of the Emerson Park station and the area has seen considerable positive change, but planning mistakes were made.
The Good:
New housing, lots of it, has been built and more is under construction now. From last year:
Today marked the groundbreaking of a $17 million development in East St. Louis adjacent to the Emerson Park MetroLink Station, Jazz @ Walter Circle. The $17 million development is a public-private partnership between the East St. Louis Housing Authority (ESLHA), Hampton Roads Ventures and Dudley Ventures, and is the first in the nation to combine public housing development funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with New Market Tax Credits. (NextStopSTL)
This station has seen a steady flow of new construction over the last 11 years.
ABOVE: NW corner of Bowman Ave & N 15th St on April 27, 2007, click image for aerial in Google MapsABOVE: The same corner 5 years later on April 19, 2012 with Jazz @ Walter Circle under construction. Click image for more information on this projectABOVE: Central City Apartments across Bowman Ave from the Emerson Park Station in April 2007ABOVE': A typical street in the Parsons Place development just notheast of the Emerson Park Station, April 2007ABOVE: Park in the center of the Parsons Place development
I’m thrilled with how much has been built in the last decade around the Emerson Park Station. The new senior housing over storefronts will be outstanding for this neighborhood.
The Bad:
As you might expect, mistakes have been made in the past and that continues. Where to begin? Parking is a good place, this station has three parking lots with a total of 816 parking spaces! This is the 2nd highest number of spaces at Illinois MetroLink stations, Fairview Heights has the highest with 853 spaces. The parking is divided among three lots — the main lot and two overflow lots.
ABOVE: 816 parking spaces divided among three parking lots, click image to view aerial in Google Maps
The lot to the far right should go away immediately or at least be significantly reduced in size, it serves as a barrier between the new housing to the east of the station. I first noticed the disconnect when I drove there and walked around in April 2007 before I was disabled.
ABOVE: At the end of Parsons Ave looking across the parking lot at the Emerson Park station. Why doesn't the sidewalk continue? April 2007ABOVE: Same location as viewed from the opposite side, not friendly to pedestrians, difficult pushing a stroller and impossible in a wheelchair. April 2007ABOVE: Looking toward Parsons Place after leaving the Emerson Park Station. Not exactly inviting. April 2007ABOVE: The walkway leaving the station is nice and wide but a newly built crosswalk across N 15th is off to the left rather than a direct line. April 2012ABOVE: In April 2007 the connection was more direct, but the crosswalk and curb ramp was still indirectABOVE: Now the amount of concrete is greater and a new pedestrian bridge takes pedestrians over the interstate. Bleak! Shade trees and seating would have been nice here.
In 2007 this east overflow parking lot had a few cars but on my recent visit it had none. Even if it’s 100% full on days the Cardinals play at home it shouldn’t be allowed to separate the nice newer housing from transit. Huge fail. Who’s fault? No clue, but nobody figured out that a continuous sidewalk would figuratively and literally connect housing to the station.
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Nearly two-thirds of readers thought concealed guns on public transit was a bad idea. The original post, 
