Big changes are coming to make Grand Boulevard safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and the city wants you to weigh in.
On Tuesday, the city unveiled plans for a redesign of Grand Boulevard, which advocacy group Trailnet has identified as one of the most dangerous streets in St. Louis for pedestrians in the past several years.
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Although virtually the entire stretch of Grand will be getting resurfaced, what the redesign will look like depends in large part on what part of the city you’re in. Scott Ogilvie, program manager for the city’s Planning and Urban Design Agency, says that in general the stretches of thoroughfare with greater traffic volume were less flexible to change.
North of Delmar Avenue, the redesign includes new bike lanes that will be separated from moving vehicles by parking lanes as well as what Ogilvie calls a “low vertical element,” sort of like bollards, but only about 6 inches tall.
In both north and south city, crosswalks along Grand will be shortened via bump-outs. New roundabouts and other traffic-calming features are intended to reduce racing, reckless passing and other dangerous driving practices. The proposed redesign also calls for a bike lane along the eastern edge of Tower Grove Park.
The city’s plans are intended to complement the Brickline Greenway Project, which will include a total redesign and reconstruction of North Grand between Cass and Natural Bridge. This area includes the notoriously dangerous intersection of North Grand and Montgomery Street, which one study looking at two decades of data found to be the seventh deadliest in the country.
Cindy Mense, CEO of Trailnet, praised many aspects of the proposed redesign, in particular the north city bike lanes.
But Mense notes that one stretch of South Grand relatively unchanged by the new proposal is the South Grand Business District.
“The most negative thing I can say about [the proposed redesign of] Grand, is that after you pass Grand and Arsenal, as you head into the South Grand Business District, there needs to be more,” Mense says.
In 2022, the area around that swath of Grand, home to restaurants including Steve’s Hot Dogs, the Vine, and many others, saw a spate of pedestrian deaths as a result of car collisions, leading activists to mount “complimentary helmets” along with signage to suggest people ought to wear one before crossing the street.
“They could negotiate removing some of that parking,” says Mense, referring to the street parking in the business district; its removal could free up space for cyclists and cars to better adjust to the bike lane coming to an end at Arsenal.
Ward 1 Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer struck a similar note, saying, “There’s a lot of improvement here, and I think there will be more.” She says that the protected bike lanes on North Grand are great, but wishes they extended into her ward, which includes Carondelet Park and Holly Hills.
Grand isn’t the only major north-south boulevard with big changes in store. The city unveiled plans for Kingshighway last month, which included high-visibility crosswalks, raised medians and curb extensions. A stretch of Kinghighway will also be getting a bike lane south of Nottingham Avenue near Bevo Mill.
Based on public feedback to that plan, the city reduced the number of lanes on Kingshighway near Tower Grove Park from six lanes to four—a road diet aimed at slowing drivers and making things safer for everyone else.
Get Involved: Conner Kerrigan, a spokesman for Mayor Tishaura Jones, says the city is now seeking feedback on the Grand plan, including at a session from 4 to 8 p.m. tonight at St. Mary’s High School (4701 South Grand Boulevard).
“Previous public input has led to real changes in these designs,” Kerrigan says. “The plans are almost finalized to reduce Kingshighway from six to four lanes around Tower Grove Park, a change that was the direct result of public input. We’re excited to continue these sessions as we finalize the design plans to make these roadways safer for everyone.”
If you can’t make the meeting, there is an online survey here.
The Bottom Line: In addition to Grand and Kingshighway, the city also plans improvements to Goodfellow and Union boulevards, Jefferson Avenue and a portion of South Broadway near 4th Street. In total, $46 million of federal ARPA money has been dedicated to the projects. Construction is slated to begin next year.
“We’ve basically won the lottery with these ARPA funds,” Schweitzer says, noting that without them, this level of development would likely take decades rather than years.
