Update 08/19/2021 After receiving first reading approval on a 5-2 vote, Altus used up almost all of their year-long window to submit their final plans. That wait is finally over. At tonight's Planning & Zoning meeting, they will present the fruits of that process, and pending a pro-forma second reading approval by City Council, begin… Continue reading The James (formerly the Kirkwood Flats)
There's a case to be made that the hallmark of a place being legitimately urban is not tall buildings, a subway system or a perfectly intact street grid but rather the presence of alleys. And even if there's not a case to be made, I'm about to try and make one! Just because alleys are… Continue reading The Great Alley Revival
Two years ago today I published my first blog post on this website. That post was Kirkwood Road Re-imagined, an analysis of the street that is the heart and soul of downtown and the city as a whole. This time I want to look at what is perhaps Kirkwood's most underrated street: Jefferson Ave. Context… Continue reading Jefferson Ave Re-imagined: 8 Steps to Making a Better Street
The title of this article could've been, maybe should have been, "If young Metro don't trust you...[something about bus service in Kirkwood]," but my grandparents (my only loyal readers) wouldn't have gotten the reference and if somehow any young person came across it, they'd probably just assume I'm a huge dork and stopped reading. So… Continue reading Metro Bus in Kirkwood: Change is Coming.
Update (12/7/19) As the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center moves towards completion, (scheduled for May) exciting news regarding traffic calming infrastructure at its intersection emerges. Generic rendering of a raised intersection! First brought to my attention via the Safer Streets for Kirkwood facebook page and corroborated by the city's website, a raised intersection is coming to… Continue reading Performing Arts Center: Is this Acting?
I recently read a couple articles that have been weighing heavily on me. The first was one outlining what actions climate scientists are undertaking to reduce their own personal impact on climate change in light of what they know. Some of the scientists featured in the article have stopped flying or have switched to a… Continue reading Election 2020: For all the Marbles
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… Continue reading Sundays in the Streets
Updates (07/27/2019) Yikes... (02/22/2019) Kirkwork's design seems to be a pretty solid one. The structure is built to the street with parking limited to the sides and rear of the building. While dual curb cuts onto Big Bend (one on either side of the building) are less than ideal, they do represent an improvement from… Continue reading Kirkwork & The Triangle
Update: After the February 7th city council public hearing, more details are known regarding the proposed apartments. The first thing to notice is that the apartments are actually comprised of two separate buildings. In addition to better fitting the shape of the lot, this seems to be in an effort to adhere to zoning language… Continue reading Big Bend, Big NIMBY
A new development is nearing completion in Meacham Park at the corner of Big Bend and S. Fillmore (10505 Big Bend Blvd). While the 3-4 unit strip mall's exterior has been completed, its interior has a way to go before it will be ready for any businesses to move in. Unfortunately there seems to be… Continue reading Meacham Park & Urbanism: A Tenuous Affair
