Community members will learn more about a special effort to improve accessibility, convenience and safety within and around Forest Park and share their own ideas

Contact:
Katy Peace, Marketing & Digital Media Manager | kpeace@forestparkforever.org | 314.561.3290

St. Louis, MO, June 9, 2016 — East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the City of St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, and the nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever have announced the first of two public meetings to introduce to the community the Forest Park Great Streets study and gain public input. The first open house-style meeting will be held Wednesday, June 21, 2017, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Missouri History Museum’s Grand Hall, located at 5700 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63112.

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, accessibility to and within Forest Park resulting in an improved visitor experience.

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.

The project will develop recommendations that encourage visitors to access at a variety of locations and move throughout the Park with less reliance on personal vehicles. Recommendations for access and circulation will provide a system that includes all modes of transportation and integrates emerging technologies while respecting the Park’s historic natural and pastoral character. By applying the Great Streets approach to Forest Park, the result will be a vision and roadmap for how to improve the “total park experience.” This project furthers and deepens the work completed in 2016 by the Forest Park Connectivity and Mobility Study, moving closer to identifying initiatives and projects for potential implementation.

In January 2017, East-West Gateway contracted with the Design Workshop, a national design and planning firm, and other national experts to lead this study and the public engagement process around the Great Streets study. Design Workshop is working with a wide range of Park partners, study partners, stakeholders and community members to complete the Forest Park Great Streets study. 

The purpose of the June 21 meeting is to introduce the project and team, provide an update on the process and to gain public input. During the meeting, the planning team will facilitate a dialogue with citizens about issues and challenges regarding accessibility and mobility in and around the Park. The meeting will include a live keypad survey and hands-on planning exercises. A web survey will be released after the meeting.

The information garnered will be factored into the decisions and recommendations for this study. A second public meeting will take place later in the year to gain input on ideas for project implementation.

East-West Gateway Council of Governments fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Nondiscrimination Complaint Form, see ewgateway.org/titlevi or call 314.421.4220 or 618.274.2750. To request an accommodation for this meeting / event please contact Staci Alvarez or Roz Rodgers at least 48 business hours prior to the meeting / event at 314.421.4220 or titlevi@ewgateway.org.