Historical April–May 2021 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
WSP USA conducted a traffic calming study of the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood for the city’s Board of Public Service at the behest of Alders Clark-Hubbard and Navarro through ward capital funds.
The WSP team carried out a community engagement process and examination of infrastructure to identify problem spots and make recommendations.
The study covered the interior of Skinker DeBaliviere. “Goal: Improve walking and cycling conditions throughout the neighborhood or comfort, safety, accessibility and enjoyment. Balance vehicle circulation and parking needs with pedestrian and cyclist safety and accessibility. Promote walking and cycling as realistic and convenient modes of travel” Skinker DeBaliviere Neighborhood Plan The study identified speeding, lack of stop sign compliance, poor connectivity and circulation due to street blockages, missing marked crosswalks, long crosswalks, and poor lighting in some spots.
The recommended implementation outlines three phases in deference to finite funding, so a cheaper option could be implemented sooner and then upgraded later if desired. Phase one projects could include speed humps in the middle of blocks, bike cut-thrus in the angled street blockages on Rosedale, painting crosswalks and curb bump-outs.
There are some intersections that don’t have curb cuts such as the north side of Waterman at Nina and some cross walks don’t line up with the sidewalks such as the east-west sidewalks at Waterman and Des Peres. Speed humps located mid-block along Waterman and some other blocks built in phase one could be upgraded to mid-block crosswalks later in second phase.
Also painted crosswalks and curb bump outs at intersections could be upgraded to physical bump-outs and raised intersections.
The biggest phase one project recommended is at the Waterman/Laurel/ DeGiverville triangle.
There is a lot of pavement that induces poor driving habits.
The vision uses bump-outs and islands to reduce the space for vehicles and narrow crossings for pedestrians. DeGiverville would be one-wayed from Waterman to Laurel as it is on the 5800 block to reduce driver confusion.
There is no crosswalk across Laurel, so there’s some more work to do on this design. Phase three is maybe possibly looking into to considering the impacts of conceivably perhaps at least studying removing some of the street blockages as well as an assessment of the performance of phase one and two improvements These improvements, that should really be considered basic infrastructure all over the city, are most welcome. Of course the rub is funding. Funding will likely come from ward capital funds. Hopefully partners can chip in on some items such as the institutions and tax-incentivized developers in the area. Be sure to send feedback to the Alderwomen and the SDCC.
The study can viewed here: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-service/documents/design/upload/SDBTCS_FinalReport_WSP_12-30-2020_SinglePages-2.pdf Study link- https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-service/documents/design/upload/SDBTCS_FinalReport_WSP_12-30-2020_SinglePages-2.pdf
Original photograph caption
Priority corridors identified in the traffic calming study.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April–May 2021.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2021_04.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
