ST. LOUIS • Outside Terry Gannon's real estate office on Natural Bridge Road, schoolchildren walk home on uneven sidewalks, past nondescript buildings along the five-lane road. The street, which runs past the University of Missouri-50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ, is not pedestrian-friendly, she said.
"It's just kind of boring, " Gannon added. "The state never cuts the grass. People throw trash out their window."
She and other property owners in Normandy want more.
They are hoping for direction from East-West Gateway Council of Governments, which has selected their stretch of Natural Bridge, between Lucas & Hunt Road and UMSL, as one of four streets for the Great Streets Initiative.
The planning organization has hired consultants to work with property owners and governments to transform their streets into more walkable, bicycle-friendly areas with better traffic flow.
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East-West Gateway also is focusing on a short section of South Grand Boulevard - between Arsenal Street and McDonald Avenue- where a plan is being developed to slow the traffic and improve sidewalks and safety. A two-block street in Labadie, in Franklin County, is part of Great Streets.
And so is a five-mile stretch of Manchester Road, between Highway 141 and Highway 109, where five cities and the West County Chamber of Commerce are trying to keep storefronts occupied.
"The area isn't as vibrant as it could be," said Glenn Koenen, the chamber's vice president for government affairs.
The four streets were among 36 applicants vying to be part of the program, paid for with $450,000 in federal grants. The long-term goal goes beyond planting trees and window dressing. It's to get area planners thinking differently about the function streets serve, said David Wilson, East-West Gateway's senior manager for environment and community planning.
'A PLACE TO WALK'
Several decades ago, a transformation began along Delmar Boulevard in University City, turning it into the destination it is today. More recently, it has happened along Manchester Road in Maplewood and Washington Avenue in downtown 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ.
Elsewhere in the country, cities are looking for ways to revitalize their streets, said Les Sterman, executive director of East-West Gateway. His staff began talking about ways to use their resources to make areas more healthy.
"We had a lot of potential for creating much better places for people, and we weren't utilizing that," Sterman said. "Many of our communities are struggling economically. They got overwhelmed by the 'big box' era. Now people are asking for something different. They're asking for a place to walk."
Earlier this month, consultants with the engineering firm CH2M HILL met with about 25 Normandy officials, business and property owners along Natural Bridge to show them design concepts that could work on their road. Currently, the street is a hodgepodge of stand-alone small businesses, parking lots, thrift shops, a convent and fast food joints. The tower at the entrance to Pasadena Hills serves as a landmark monument.
Normandy officials are looking into selling City Hall so its property can be developed. A MetroLink station is a few hundred yards away.
Concepts for the street include narrowing Natural Bridge by two lanes and creating a pedestrian parkway on one side. Extended sidewalks on either side could support trees and public art.
"There's a way we can move traffic that's in much better harmony with Natural Bridge and the environment," Tim Page, a transportation planner with CH2M HILL, told the group.
NOT A SHORT-TERM FIX
The challenges on Natural Bridge are different than on South Grand, where businesses are thriving. There, property and business owners want to slow traffic, add brighter lights and replace trees with ones whose roots won't tear up the sidewalks, said Rachel Witt, executive director of the South Grand Community Improvement District.
People there like the idea of restricting Grand to four lanes, and building "bulb outs" at the end of parking lanes to make the street feel narrower.
Bulb outs extend sidewalk into the street at an intersection, making it impossible for the parking lane to be used for traffic. It also makes crosswalks shorter and easier for pedestrians to use.
It will take months, if not years, for the consultants and the communities to develop plans. Those involved say they're not after a short-term fix.
"A lot of people ask me, 'When is this going to happen?'" Witt said. "I'd rather get it right than rush into something."
And then there's the issue of funding. Each city or development district will have to figure out where to find the money once officials have a street improvement plan. Construction could be years away.
"Some are closer than others," Page said. "South Grand is closer to design and construction than Manchester."
The dozens of local officials and business leaders involved in the Manchester proposal are discussing concepts — nothing concrete yet. It could be years before they agree on a plan.
Gannon said she and other business owners hope changes to Natural Bridge come sooner rather than later.
"They're all hungry for something to happen," she said. "They want their clients to have a better perception of our city."