Poll: What activity do you want to see added to the Gateway Mall?

Now that I have been appointed to serve on the Gateway Mall Advisory Board I’m thinking about the master plan and what details still need to be worked out.  One of those is activities in some of the blocks.  As a representative of the people I know to get a sense of what you think is needed somewhere along the linear park.

The question is:  What activity would you like to see added to the Gateway Mall? Pick only one:

• Tennis
• Ice skating
• Skateboard/BMX park
• Picnic/BBQ area
• Basketball
• Level field for kickball, etc
• Minature golf
• Farris Ferris wheel
• Dog park
• Unsure
• Other

I have some strong feelings about what will work better than others but I want to get your viewpoint before I share mine.   The poll is open until the morning of Sunday March 28, 2010.  I will share the results on Wednesday March 31, 2010.  Please vote in the poll on the right and share any thoughts you have below.

– Steve Patterson

Water is wet and readers prefer Google Maps

Online maps it is not the most riveting subject, but still interesting.  I too use Google Maps as my online mapping service.  It is not always accurate; Google never did figure our the 2 year closure of I-64 while other mapping services offered alternate routes.  I assumed most everyone used Google Maps but I didn’t realize to what extent:

• Google Maps 113 [76%]
• MapQuest 25 [17%]
• Other answer… 5 [3%]
• Yahoo Maps 4 [3%]
• MSN Maps 1 [1%]
• I don’t map directions online. 1 [1%]

Four other answers were Bing Maps and one was the iPhone map, which is Google-based.  I had to look up #2 MapQuest to see who owned it: AOL.  I was never on AOL so that would explain why I never got hooked on their maps.

Competition is a good thing so hopefully other map services will keep Google on their game.  During the week the poll was conducted Google Maps made a big new addition:

“Google Maps started life in 2005 offering directions for drivers, added transit routes in 2007, expanded to pedestrian navigation in 2008 — and now it covers bicycles, too.” [Washington Post]

This service will need improvement but I’m very pleased to see the addition.  Happy mapping!

– Steve Patterson

Have you ever ridden a municipal bus?

In the last week it came to my attention that I know many people, including some supporting Proposition A, have never once ridden a city bus.  That was me well into my 30s. So my poll this week is trying to see if readers here have actually ridden a bus or not. The poll is in the right column.

I’m still no daily rider but I’ve ridden the bus in several cities so I feel I know enough to give a general overview.  Hopefully more experienced riders will add their tips in the comments below. The route number for the bus is show at the top and on the sides, #13 in the above example.  Where you have more than one bus using the same stop this is helpful so you get on the correct bus.  All our buses here have bike racks on the front. I was very nervous the first time I went to place my bike on the rack.

In these examples the rack is folded up since it is not in use.  Loading your bike just requires you to pull down the rack so you can load your bike.  Each rack will hold two bikes in opposite directions from each other. The rack has trays for the wheels and a bar to hold it securely in place.  For more information see Metro’s Bike-N-Ride FAQ page.

Regular adult fares are $2.00 and $2.75 with a transfer valid for a connecting bus.  Bus drivers do not give change so if you use three singles to buy a pass w/transfer you will not get any change. Unlike our light rail where you buy a ticket and just walk on, with a bus you pay as you enter.  The fare box accepts bills and coins.  Riders with passes just swipe their pass as they enter. See the Metro Fare Chart for all the details.

Riders are asked to exit the set of doors that are midway toward the back.  That allows new passengers to begin entering the bus.   Unlike our light rail, or commuter rail/subways in other cities, a bus doesn’t automatically stop at every stop.  A pull cord runs along each side of the interior of the bus.  You pull the cord to alert the driver you wish to stop at the next stop.

If you are among those that has never ridden a municipal bus I encourage you to do so.  I still prefer modern streetcars but the bus has a place in most transit systems.

– Steve Patterson

Football stadium poll #2

The post/poll two weeks ago asked where you thought the next facility for the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise should be located.  After the poll was finished it was clear to me I needed some different answers to better gauge reader sentiment.  So in a first here, I am repeating a previous poll topic with a revised question and answers.

For the purposes of this poll assume the St. Louis Rams pay 100% of the costs to build a new facility.  Most likely they will be bound to the Edward Jones Dome through 2025

– Steve Patterson

Readers want to keep the Rams playing downtown

The poll last week asked about where to put a new football stadium and most readers feel a new facility should be downtown:

Q: A future facility for the STL Rams (NFL) should be located in:

1. downtown St. Louis: 72 [32.3%]
2. City of St. Louis (outside of downtown): 39 [17.5%]
3. As long as it is open air or has a retractable roof I don’t care: 29 [13%]
4. Metro East (Illinois): 27 [12.1%]
5. St. Louis County: 19 [8.5%]
6. Other answer… 17 [7.6%]
7. Unsure/don’t care: 10 [4.5%]
8. anywhere in the region is OK: 6 [2.7%]
9. Jefferson County: 3 [1.3%]
10. St. Charles County: 1 [0.4%]

From the comments on the original post I realize I should have had different choices.  “Metro East” is too vast.  One answer should have been the East side of the river with elsewhere on the East side another.  Also I should have defined “downtown” and provided a downtown-adjacent answer.   The other answers were numerous and I’ve divided them into two groups:

The first group is a mix of answers:

• Somewhere in the City, open air / retractable roof
• north city
• Franklin County
• Los Angeles
• Mars
• privately funded…like the patriots

The question was about where, not how funded.  The second group all had a common theme:

• keep refurbishing the current facility
• They should use the same facility they have now. It’s the “green” thing to do.
• Don’t move.
• exactly where it already is

So we have the keep it in place view.  I believe somehow we will get past the 2015 deadline. Either the team waives the requirement to stay in the top 25% or the CVC finds the money to upgrade the facility.  But come 2025 the lease expires.  At this point the facility will be over 30 years old.  Some say rip off the roof of the current dome.  I asked some local architects about the feasibility of reworking the dome in such a way to give it another 20-30 years of life.  The responses were mixed from it can be done to it wouldn’t work.

Razing the then 30 year old dome and building new is the only viable option on the current site, in my view.  When the new Busch Stadium was built they were able to build much of the new facility next door while the team continued to use the old stadium.

But there is no next door spot available.  The window between games is nine months — not enough to raze and build a new facility on the site.  One option might be for the Rams to play home games for one season at another facility such as the University of Missouri in Columbia.  What about other locations downtown?

A facility easily consumes four city blocks.  Additional acres are needed for parking and other game day activities.  Such a facility just doesn’t fit into a Central Business District based on the enormous size.  Doesn’t matter, no site big enough is currently available.  Will a site be available by 2025?  I hope not!  I would not wish for such a hole to open up.

The site closest to downtown I can think of is the old Nooter site at 2nd & Rutger.  Development of this site may happen over the next 10 years so even it may not be available in the future. The long vacant Pruitt-Igoe site will be developed if Paul McKee’s NorthSide project works.  The potential sites are few. Rebuilding on the current site requires the team to play elsewhere for a season.  Even if the team funds a new facility without taxpayer assistance the options in the core are very limited.

– Steve Patterson