So Long to the Barricades/Planters/Sewer Pipes
Just over six months ago, the City Street Department placed barricades at a number of locations on the streets in Ward 20 and Ward 9.
Today I noticed the barricade on Nebraska immediately north of Juniata has already been removed.
The one on Texas immediately south of Gravois was being taken out by street department crews earlier this morning. So it's probably gone by now.
I wonder whether the experiment was deemed less successful than expected, or if indeed it was only planned to last six months, as the ordinance suggested?
In some areas of the city, these kinds of barricades - called "planters" by some but really just concrete sections of sewer pipe - have been in place for years.
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Those put in six months ago were always intended to be temporary. Some in BPW would like them to remain in place, since they have cut down on speeding and traffic in their part of the neighborhood. The aldermen said last night at the BPWNA meeting that if people have an opinion one way or the other about the barricades, to let them know. If you need their contact info to let them know your opinion, just e-mail me.
Thanks for the note.
Since I teach on Thursday nights I don't get to attend the BPWNA meetings.
I'm still ambivalent about the barricades' value. I'm not going to protest their removal, but I can understand some folks might be unhappy.
I might drop a note to Craig, anyway, since I live in the 20th ward portion.
In Lindenpark Park, temporary planters went in on McCausland-Chippewa and Plainview-Jamieson to prevent cut-thru traffic during the Lansdowne bridge reconstruction over River Des Peres. But now that the new bridge has reopened, these planters remain in place in a ward (16th) that is hardly known for planter-closed streets.
My guess is that residents fell in love with their defacto cul-de-sacs during construction. But I thought an ordinance would have had to be passed to make them permanent.
I'm not clear on the details with the southern Lindenwood Park neighborhood barricades, although there was an ordinance passed and signed in December 2005 to keep those in place for another three months.
See:
Board Bill #290
Perhaps the initial placement of the barricades - since related to the bridge project - didn't require a separate ordinance? I sure couldn't find one on the library ordinance search page.
Those barricades are really annoying for folks who live north of Lansdowne in the neighborhood, but need to access Chippewa. Sure, you can jog over to Jamieson, but it's pretty busy anyway.
The only way to get into that wedge bounded by the River des Peres, Chippewa, Jamieson and Lansdowne now is from McCausland at Lansdowne.
Wabash has been barricaded at the south curb line of Lansdowne for many years. It is one-way northbound, for traffic exiting that sub-neighborhood only.
If related to construction, I think temporary barriers, including planters, don't need an ordinance. But since Baringer had BB #290, I suspect that interests are trying to make the barriers permanent.
Permanent closure of these streets would be a shame. I have to watch for a Streets committee hearing for the aldermanic bill that will finally make these permanent, instead of the current 3-month extension. Paver-strips, like those along Gustine in Tower Grove South, would work better as a traffic-calming measure.
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