On Monday I was on our MetroLink light rail system heading eastbound into downtown St. Louis to return home. I had bought a 2-hour pass to give me the freedom to stop along the way to explore, as a I done the week before when I stopped at Grand. But then it hit me, I should visit Belleville, IL.
I’d been to Belleville only a few times in the last 20 years, always as a motorist. I’d only gone into the downtown once and that was probably 15 years ago. It was a nice day and I knew from others that the light rail station was close to their downtown. When I arrived it was unclear which way I should head so I boarded the “Main Street” bus after confirming with the driver it would get me to their Public Square. Fares paid on the Metro system are good in St. Clair County where Belleville is located. Metro East cities like Granite City, Collinsville and Edwardsville are served by Madison Country Transit and require additional fees.
The sidewalks along Main Street and around the large traffic circle in the center of the Public Square have been redone recently. Folks from other municipalities in our region should visit Belleville to see first hand. Even better, visit in a wheelchair to see how the ramps and crosswalks work compared to most — which don’t work well.
Aligning ramps opposite each other seems obvious but to often engineers miss this. The width of the ramp is nice too because it prevents a conflict when meeting others that need the ramp (wheelchair, stroller, etc).
In the City of St. Louis, for example, ramps are often placed at the apex of the corner. In the above picture that would be the area between the two black bollards.  The problem with that is pedestrian traffic in both directions are squeezed into the apex. Often when I cross a street I must go outside the crosswalk area to line up with the ramp and then ask people who are waiting to go the other direction to move aside. I’ve found the able-bodied like to use the ramps rather than stepping down from a curb.
Belleville’s solution solves those issues. Not every intersection had the above full corner ramp — others had a ramp for each crosswalk. Navigating the sidewalks of Beleville was much easier as a result.
I didn’t see any spectacular individual buildings but that was fine with me, the sum of the ordinary buildings along Main Street was greater than the parts. The scale was pleasing and I saw many pedestrians — I was there at lunchtime. I stopped in a Quizno’s and there was a neighbor of mine from two floors down. Small world.
Like every Main Street Belleville has some bad buildings from the second half of the last century as well as a gap or two. Hopefully the corner spot shown above will get new construction soon.
One of the best things they did was bring out the curb at some corners to block the end of the on-street parking. This reduces the length of crosswalks and slows down motorists.
In other cases this extra sidewalk was put to good use as a place for outdoor seating for the adjacent restaurant.
From my short bus ride to downtown I knew Charles Street would take me directly to the station. On the bus ride I was looking to see if I thought it would be accessible for me — it was indeed.
The above ramp is a type that St. Louis should have in many places. I was able to stay in line with the crosswalk and just continue on my path. In St. Louis the ramp would have been directed at a 45° angle to the curb/crosswalk, requiring me to leave the crosswalk to get onto the ramp. St. Louis does ramps that way because those can serve two directions at once. But in the above case there is no where to cross the street in the other direction — there is only one way anyone would approach this ramp. Belleville made sure the ramp faced that one direction, St. Louis has had a habit of doing the same treatment for ramps regardless of different conditions.
Approaching the station, a little less than a mile later, the pedestrian sidewalk continues.
Pedestrians don’t have to walk through a parking lot behind cars. Crossing drive areas are minimized and marked. Even those who drive to this station can use the central sidewalk to walk into the station rather than just in the parking area.
I bought enough bus & MetroLink passes in May & June that I went ahead and bought a monthly pass for July. So look for more posts from throughout the region as I explore via transit.
– Steve Patterson
Naturally the Wendy’s is your typical cheap suburban (auto centric) design — far from the street, surrounded by too much parking, etc. Something you’d expect off a freeway exit ramp but not what I’d want in an urban context. Although as we keep building more of this crap our once walkable urban neighborhoods will look just like the ugly ring around the outside of our region and most regions in America.