ST. LOUIS — A critical stretch of 7th Street between Busch Stadium and America's Center in downtown St. Louis will soon get more than $3.5 million in improvements.
The renovations are about to start in September and have the support of major organizations such as the St. Louis Cardinals.
The project will build a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly connection between two major Downtown anchors, Ballpark Village and America's Center Convention Complex.
Kurt Weigle, the Chief Downtown Officer for Greater St. Louis, Inc., said it will include new streets, sidewalks, streetscaping, lighting, trees, and other enhancements.
"Better sidewalks. So, where the sidewalks are cracked or broken, we'll have better sidewalks. We'll have street trees, which makes it a much more pleasant place to walk on a hot summer day," Weigle said.
They also plan to add a new bike lane on the West side of Seventh Street with raised buffers between it and the driving lanes, connecting to the Brickline Greenway.
"We've got a lot of feedback from our stakeholders that they want to be able to bike to downtown and through downtown. The bike lane, too, will create some buffer between the cars and people walking on the street, so it'll feel safer for pedestrians in particular," Weigle said.
When asked what people can expect with these new renovations, Weigle said, "I like to paint the picture of a comfortable place for people to be in so it feels safe.
"It feels like you're protected from cars. There will also be street trees. There'll be pedestrian-scale lighting, so lighting that is the size of people brings that light right down to the sidewalk. So day or evening, people will feel safe walking the streets of downtown, starting with 7th Street," he said.
Weigle said the more than $3.5 million plan with a beautiful new 7th Street would also build on other momentum downtown.
"This is a great example of civic-minded businesses bringing the money that we bring to something like this to a project the city had been working on for a long time. We brought investor funds to this project, which is an important part. This is a good pilot for the rest of what we want to do downtown. We're already working with the city on other streets, such as Fourth Broadway Washington, to introduce many of these elements: more greening, more street trees, and better sidewalks to make it a better place for people," Weigle said.
But some downtown business owners are worried that the bike lane could cause problems for them.
Mickea Hicks, general manager for Hotel St. Louis, says she's concerned because the bike lane will cut their ballroom entrance off from the street.
"Our concern is this is where our Ballroom is located, so an entrance into our hotel. So if they take this space away when we have events on our street with minimum room anyway, our guests are going to have problems getting into the hotel," Hicks said.
Other business owners are worried the bike lane could cause problems for trucks dropping off deliveries and hotel guests using valet.
Hicks said this plan will also cut off their ballroom entrance where trucks drop off deliveries, and it will block their valet services and hotel guests and employees coming through that entrance.
"We use a valet parking service, so if they are outside the front of the hotel, the Ballroom will be an alternate entrance. If there are any changes to this, it will disrupt our day-to-day operations. If you disrupt our operations, then we have upset guests, and it hinders our operations at the hotel," Hicks said.
Weigle said the city ensured those concerns wouldn't be an issue for the downtown businesses.
"The city did a good job of looking at the standards across the country for installing bike lanes and making sure that there is parking in place and loading zones for businesses. All those things have been considered, and the design team came up with the best possible plan considering all those elements," he said.
The renovations will create a safe environment for people to walk, bike, and drive simultaneously.
"This is going to be a project that people look back to as the beginning of the new way of doing sidewalks and streets and streetscapes throughout all of downtown. This is a critically important first step for us. It is not the last step by any stretch. Downtown will not live or die based on this one project, but I think it's a significant symbolic step toward the future," Weigle said.
The Cardinals are entirely behind the plan, as are several other major companies, all with headquarters downtown.
"The Cardinals are going to be a beneficiary of this. They've also contributed financially to this project, so we're grateful for that. But I think anybody who wants to see the natural pathways of downtown, between some of our major anchors, become better, those are the people who are going to support this," Weigle said.
The Board of Public Service said construction will start in September and last until the summer of 2025.
"Folks have to be patient. Wait to get through the construction. Some of these streets will be closed off for a period of time. I'm glad that we're to that point now where it is moving forward, and I think it will create real benefits for people walking, biking, and driving downtown," Weigle said.