Forest Park Great Streets Study
East-West Gateway, in coordination with the City of St. Louis and Forest Park Forever, have initiated a study under the guidelines of the Council’s Great Streets Initiative to develop a multi-modal access and circulation strategy that increases the safety, convenience, and accessibility to and within Forest Park, resulting in an improved visitor experience. Click here to read the press release announcement.
The Forest Park Great Streets project will recommend implementable projects and policies to improve regional and local access to Forest Park, improve circulation and parking within the Park, and recommend supportive land use strategies to address the needs of the diverse Park users.
Please click here to view the 100-page Final Report.
On Thursday, April 26, 2018, the project team led a public event to present a collection of project concepts and operational recommendations developed with input from focus groups and the community. Like all other capital projects in Forest Park, any decision to undertake a project originating from this Great Streets Study will be subject to a review process with the Forest Park Advisory Board.
On Thursday, October 19, 2017, a public open house was held where the project team introduced some of the key findings and recommendations from the Great Streets study. Examples of specific concepts that are being considered include:
Reducing traffic speed, adding new cross walks and improving existing crosswalks along Skinker Boulevard to create a safer experience for pedestrians and cyclists;
Reducing car lanes from four to two and adding a commuter-friendly, two-way bike way on one side along Lindell Boulevard;
Leveraging information technology to update visitors in real time about ideal routes or parking availability;
Making Steinberg Skating Rink, which is currently open only during skating season, a year-round destination with visitor amenities such as a beer garden, restaurant and warm-weather programming and recreation;
Beginning a bike-share rental program.
Reducing traffic speeds on Park roadways, creating a safer environment;
Improving pedestrian crossings across the streets on the Park’s periphery;
Introducing a new Forest Park circulator that can shuttle visitors to key destinations;
Utilizing the 750-space Festival & Parking Plaza above the Muny, which often sits empty on busy days, as a transit hub where drivers can park, then head out to other Park destinations via bike share or a shuttle;
Reconfiguring the Tamm Avenue bridge, which runs north-south toward the Saint Louis Zoo, to provide wider and safer pedestrian and bicycle access;
These project and policy recommendations are at this stage only concepts. Some will advance to become more detailed and then get built, while others will not. Like all capital projects in Forest Park, any project originating from this Forest Park Great Streets Study would be taken through the deliberate nine-step process with the Forest Park Advisory Board, whose members are appointed by the Mayor of St. Louis and represent the broader community of Park users.
If you were unable to attend the open house, but would like to see the materials that were presented, please email us!
If you would like to read the Market & Land Use Analysis Report and Existing Conditions Report, please go here.
If you have any questions or comments about the Forest Park Great Streets Study or the projects being proposed, please fill out the form below or send us an email.
Press coverage on the Forest Park Great Streets Study & Open House:
