Background
The Open Streets project is an initiative to return the 30-35% of cities that are composed of streets to the people that live there to use as they please. The international open streets concept is not new to St. Louis: on June 2nd 2018 a fourteen block stretch of South Compton from Cherokee to Meramec was shut down to vehicular traffic and opened to almost any other activity in an effort to return the street to servicing people rather than cars. While these one-off events demonstrate potential, many other cities have adopted a more regular pattern of open streets. In Madrid for example, the Paseo Del Prado, a tree lined Boulevard that passes by multiple cultural institutions, is closed to cars and busses every Sunday and is instead enjoyed by art enthusiasts, rollerbladers and church goers out for a post-mass stroll. This first step has led to a further expansion of the initiative in which cars of non residents (excluding taxis, emergency vehicles and delivery trucks) have been barred completely from the core of the city and the number of lanes dedicated to personal vehicles on the city’s main thoroughfare, Gran Via have been great reduced. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I talk about Madrid because I love Madrid but Kirkwood isn’t quite ready to jump head over heals and imitate a city of 6.8 million people. In fact, most urbanists will tell you that unless your city is a dense, walkable paradise, closing its streets to cars can be a death sentence. So how do you pursue starting your very own pedestrian thoroughfare? Carefully.
Application to Kirkwood
Instead I suggest something in-between the one-off Open Streets day and barring anything with a motor from the city forever (we’re always looking for the middle-ground here at kirkwoodgadfly.com). I suggest that we close Kirkwood Road on the first Sunday of every month. With the recent emergence of advocacy groups like Safer Streets for Kirkwood, the timing seems ripe to take a step forward.
Why Sundays:
Sundays are the best day to implement Open Streets for a few reasons. It is the day that the disruption to traffic is most likely to be minimal, the day most people are off work and the day that could most likely use the economic boost. On top of these factors, a large number of people already come downtown on Sundays for church. Between First Presbyterian, Eliot Unitarian, United Methodist, Greentree, and Missionary Baptist churches, a lot of partitioners flock to the city center but very few of them stick around and spend any money afterwards. Open Streets could change that.
How Much of Kirkwood Road:
A closure from just South of Adams to just North of Argonne would be optimal. This configuration allows for easier detour routes for drivers, targets the densest part of downtown and would likely mitigate traffic on the second densest stretch, Jefferson, as people wouldn’t have much use for it except to access parking for a block in either direction. Jefferson would be even more welcoming to pedestrians than usual without actually having to close it.
Why Kirkwood Road:
I understand that out of all the streets to choose from Kirkwood Road is probably the most inconvenient but it is also the one with the highest likelihood of success for regular closure. First, streets with shorter blocks typically are more successful when closed to cars than those with longer ones. Because in Kirkwood (and most of North America) blocks are rectangular, they have a long side and a short side. For that reason a North-South street (Kirkwood Rd) is preferable as the blocks on these streets are shorter. The two other best candidates —Argonne and Jefferson— unfortunately don’t meet this criteria. Secondly, Kirkwood Road is lined on both sides with businesses. Some of the appeal of an Open Streets day lies in being able to bike walk and rollerblade down a street otherwise too busy to do so but another appeal is the ability to shop and dine and hangout where you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Ice & Fuel, Dewy’s, Club Taco and One 19 North could set up tables on the streets, Clay & Cotton could put out racks of clothing and Pottery Hollow could let people paint in the sun. Neither Jefferson nor Argonne have the diversity or sheer abundance of businesses to appeal to such a wide and varied group of pedestrians. Third and perhaps most importantly is the novelty factor. Kirkwood road is filled with cars from sun up to sun down in a way that the other potential streets aren’t. Reclaiming a street from traffic is a lot more exciting the busier the street is. Close a cul-de-sac or the street between St. Peter’s School and St. Peter’s church and no one bats an eye. But open 40 or the Stan-span so that people can like ride their razor scooter on it once or something? People lose their shit and turn out! I cross Argonne every time I go to Billy G’s and Jefferson every trip to PJ’s. I usually don’t even look both ways. Theres not much to reclaim, I already feel like I own those streets. But the opportunity to once a month stand in the middle of Kirkwood Road? A street Frogger wouldn’t stand a chance on? Count me in.