urbanSTL

i don't recall, but are people still going to be allowed to park on the riverfront after this is all finished? i was down there today and it kinda looks like sh*t. i understand there's a lot of construction going on, but the cobblestones are covered in garbage and parked cars. unbelievable. "hi! welcome to St. Louis. this is our historic riverfront where we park our cars."

Um, its under construction. So yeah, it might not look good for a while.

Yes, there will be parking there. There will be a parking entrance at the Poplar S bridge and one just north of the Eads

pat, i'm talking about between Sullivan and the river. and the garbage isn't construction garbage. it's just litter that never gets cleaned up—broken bottles, plastic bags, car parts, etc.

pat wrote:Yes, there will be parking there. There will be a parking entrance at the Poplar S bridge and one just north of the Eads

well that's gonna look fantastic. need a convenient place to park? here are some 250-year-old cobblestones! don't worry about getting oil all over them, we'll just tear 'em up and toss 'em like we did with the rest of our riverfront! oh, and don't forget to empty your ash tray on 'em before you leave!

sorry, but i walked from city garden to the river yesterday and i was embarrassed for the city. not because of the construction, but because of the sorry state of pretty much everything along the route. lack of sidewalks (on the north side of walnut between 4th and memorial for example), broken walk signals, barricades just hanging out on sidewalks where there was no visible construction going on, torn-up streets, garbage cans with their lids laying on the ground… the area around Kiener Plaza is particularly depressing. don't get me wrong; i completely love St. Louis, but we've got to do better.

Who knows, maybe the Rams will leave and we can allocate those tourism tax dollars instead to downtown streetscape improvements.

Lots going on right now. Favorite part of my day is watching whats new from the web cams.

http://www.cityarchriver.org/construction/webcam/

So I see from the web cams that they have cut down nearly all the ash trees along the sidewalks north and south of the Arch legs. Is it true that the other trees are not ash and do not need to be cut down, because they are not ash?

Looking at this most recent google map of the grounds, I assume the trees that have all turned red are the only ash trees.

https://goo.gl/maps/VCXJH

I should have posted the link a couple of days of Post Dispatch article updating the museum closure for construction of the new entrance and new western entrance. Thought it was good, informative article that not only clarified the issue of the free museum will be back when the new entrance is completed but also some insight on what to expect with the new museum as well as what has been happening fund raising wise.

I believe the article stated that the new entrance was costing $172 million with up to $150 million being from donations if I did the math right. Pretty impressive for how quite it has been in terms. I believe the other $20 million was split between the $13 million Arch/Parks sales tax and another $4.5 million chipped in by the Federal Parks service. I wonder if anyone has an idea on where the total donations stand at this point? Will K plaza happen next?

Personally, I think the new entrance and a expanded/updated museum is the best feature and long over due. I can also remember Danforth wanting to build/suggesting a new stand alone museum on Arch Grounds, assume with his name on it, before putting his sights on developing a plant science center. I put Danforth's museum in the glad it didn't happen column considering the rich history already there between the Courthouse and the Church.

Yep, that is the one. Thanks.

Since they didn't go with the beer garden anywhere, where is the best place to sit outside, have beer, and watch the river go by?

Can you BYOB and just hang out at the Arch Grounds? I can't find any info online. I know it's cool to do that at city parks, but obviously the Arch Grounds are different.

BYOBG. I suppose one could hang out on one of the excursion boats, but I was kind of picturing something like hill at Mount Pleasant Winery for a small portion of the Arch Grounds.

^ And I believe the master plan mentioned food carts/trucks along Lenore K Sullivan when that's complete, no? You can buy from there and either hang out at the riverfront or walk the one of the paths connecting LKS to the grounds itself.

I too would like to see, if not a dedicated biergarten, at least a sitting area with benches and tables somewhere overlooking the river. I don't think that'd be too much to ask.

-RBB

look at that connection between the city and the grounds....looks good

Man. A boulevard would look so amazing...

Yep. From the aerials, you can't really tell that it's an interstate highway there. It'd be nice if that were actually the case.

I see on the National Park service site for Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, under Parking, they have these words:

"Please note there is no dedicated parking for the Gateway Arch.

Use this map of downtown parking facilities to find parking downtown. It is a considerable walk from all parking points to the Arch. The Old Courthouse is located adjacent to many public parking areas within one to two city blocks.

Parking and Drop offs for Bus Tours:
Please see our park partner, GatewayArch.com's site for more information about drop offs for the Old Courthouse, Gateway Arch, riverboats and bus parking. "

The link goes to this map.
http://getaroundstl.com/attractions/parking/

I don't see any signs downtown telling folks where to park for the Arch. I thought there was going to be some kind of master agreement with parking folks for signage and maybe special pricing for Arch visitors. Some parking garages are not open at all if there is not event going on downtown. If someone is passing through town and wants to see the Arch, I could see the parking experience being frustrating. Is this the final plan? Does the Park Service just lose the revenue they used to get from the Arch parking garage?