Steve Patterson
Recent Posts
Don’t Wait For New Light Rail Station, Take MetroBus To IKEA
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While I’ve ridden many MetroBus routes in the region, one I don’t recall is the #42 (Sarah). However, I’m familiar with it because other routes I ride, like the #10 (Gravois-Lindell), intersect with it. With the opening of the new IKEA St, Louis I noticed the #42 route makes a loop ...
Developing Vandeventer & Forest Park: IKEA — Exception or New Rule?
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Big box stores with surface parking lots don’t fit in urban contexts — they’re sub-urban. For example, the Menard’s in O’Fallon IL I drove past on Saturday, a MetroBus stop is right out front but there’s no accessible pedestrian route to get to the entrance. See it on Google Street View ...
Accessing The New IKEA St. Louis by Foot, Bike, Wheelchair, or Car
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Last week I looked at Duncan Ave and how it ends at IKEA, from a visit on the 11th. Today we’ll look at the access points to IKEA from Duncan Ave., Forest Park Ave., and Vandeventer Ave., from a visit on the 23rd. I’d arrived at this point by coming ...
Buildings on Locust Street Have Needed Massing
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Though not always easy, I like to end the week on a positive note. Today’s post is positive in that something bad hasn’t happened, hopefully won’t. The corner building, 923 Locust, didn’t always have that fake half-timber look. The second, however, is mostly original. As I’m not a preservationist, I have ...
Duncan Ave From CORTEX Commons To IKEA, Now Less Hostile
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Last week I showed you the CORTEX Commons in my post CORTEX Commons Attractive, Has Accessibility Issues. That green space, and my post, ended at Duncan Ave. Today I’ll show you changes to Duncan Ave as we head East toward the new IKEA which opens next week. In December 2013 I posted: Cortex ...
Ramps To Cross Forest Park Parkway at DeBaliviere Greatly Improved
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I often post about accessibility problems, but today’s post is about a problem that’s finally getting addressed. The reconstruction of the DeBaliviere viaduct/bridge over MetroLink tracks is making great improvements to crossing Forest Park Parkway (map). Tuesday I saw the improvement on the newly-opened West side. After the East side ...
Motorcycle Parking on Sidewalk
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Last week I posted about buying a small 49cc Honda Metropolitan scooter a decade ago. Like a bicycle, it wasn’t required to be registered as a vehicle, often overlooked, and could be easily stolen. As a result, I’d park it on the sidewalk -locked to something if I couldn’t watch it. But ...
New Saint Louis University Hospital an Opportunity to Build a Great Urban Mixed-Use Campus
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On Tuesday SSM Health took over Saint Louis University Hospital from Saint Louis University, at the same time announcing plans to construct a new facility: SSM Health plans to invest $500 million to build a new St. Louis University hospital and ambulatory care center. The new facilities, which will be ...
Dangerous Reaching Bus Stop On Manchester At Hampton
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Last week I was near Manchester & Hampton doing research, I arrived & departed on the #32 (ML King-Chouteau) MetroBus. Arriving the bus was headed West on Manchester, so the stop was on the adjacent sidewalk. For the return trip I needed to catch the bus as it headed East ...
17th Street Should Be Two-Way Again
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Downtown St. Louis, and Downtown West to a lesser degree, has lots of one-way streets. This was done decades ago to facilitate driving in & out. A decade ago Locust St., which had been one-way Westbound, was reverted back to two-way West of 14th St. But there are some odd little ...
1701 Locust Street to Become Apartments
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One building I wanted to see rehabbed to become apartments.
More Than Six Years Later Mapped Chouteau Bike Lane Still Doesn’t Exist
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The Chouteau Ave bike lanes shown on a Bike St Louis map in 2009 didn't exist. They're on the 2015 update but still don't exist -- but that will soon change.