FOCUS Blog

Communications Intern, FOCUS St. Louis

 

 

The stretch of Interstate 70 cutting through downtown St. Louis at Memorial Drive has been the topic of much debate the last couple of years. My guess would be that there has never been, on a local scale, a fully and effectively functioning piece of infrastructure that has ever received so much scrutiny. Fortunately, we’re only two months away from seeing possible solutions to the issue – be that a series of walkable lids, people-movers, or the complete removal of a 1.4 mile stretch of the Interstate itself – but if this heated debate proves anything, it’s that the convenience of city highways is often accompanied by unwanted side effects.

 

The way I see it, St. Louis has a compartment problem downtown and in its nearest districts. In an effort to ease the drive times of the region’s workers, it has cut itself off from them – essentially creating a “drive-over” city here in “fly-over” country. Districts that once flowed organically into others, such as Soulard and Benton Park to the south have been divided. The Gateway Arch and Archgrounds itself is wholly underutilized and it isn’t a stretch to say that’s due largely to the vast concrete moat of I-70 stretching from Poplar Street to Washington Ave. Even Busch Stadium, which annually hosts over three million baseball fans is somewhat compartmentalized, due to its proximity to Highway 64/40.

 

Interstates, highways and bypasses are convenient, yes, and definitely necessary. Even the staunchest proponents of alternative transportation recognize them as so. Often, though, the new convenience results in destruction of recoverable property, the loss of developable land, and broken neighborhoods. Some are working to reestablish their disjoined neighborhoods, embracing their “new” borders to create unique residential and commercial experiences in their districts. Even in these encouraging cases, the neighborhoods had to suffer before succeeding.

 

That’s where City+Arch+River and the Interstate-70 debate come into play. It addresses this very issue: a beautiful national park, a world-famous monument, and a majestic river – all of which are cut off from the city itself. The competition and its competitors were instructed to better connect the Arch to the city, making it a more accessible and better utilized destination for locals and visitors alike. While the finalists' plans, when unveiled, will likely include on-site structures and additions, the points-of-entry should be a major focus: namely, the depressed and raised lanes of I-70. [Full disclosure: FOCUS St. Louis is a local advisor and community engagement resource for one of the finalists -- the Weiss/Manfredi Team. You can read the team's Statement of Opportunity here.]

 

In a recent article, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch highlighted the efforts of City to River, a citizen group persistently calling for the complete removal of the downtown Interstate between Poplar Street and Cass Avenue (where a new Mississippi River Bridge will be built by 2015) and a change to a slower, more pedestrian-friendly boulevard at Memorial Drive. The City to River concept – though unaffiliated with the competition – has strong support within the St. Louis community and maps out the benefits/opportunities present if that land is reclaimed for downtown development…to the tune of $1.1 billion.

 

The City+Arch+River competition has been parsed down to just five design teams. On August 17^th, these teams will present their concepts to the public in a month-long display in the Arch visitor’s center. After that, a panel of judges will pick a winner and then the challenge of improving both the archgrounds and its connection to the city really begins. Will the Arch and the river finally become a connected piece of the city? What will the winning design team have to say about the existing boundaries and how will its solution better not only the areas adjacent to the archgrounds, but those to its north, south and west.

 

Drop your suggestions and opinions in the comment section. And don’t forget to visit the websites of the City+Arch+River competition and City to River to learn more about the changes possibly coming to downtown St. Louis' landscape and streetscape.