Demolish RWE Parking Garage – Turn into a Mini-Sports Park with Underground Parking
From "Share Your Policy Ideas"
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Downtown St. Louis is sorely lacking a safe place for residents to play sports together. Tower Grove Park has a tennis/pickleball court setup that requires payment for admission. A new downtown park could take advantage of a similar pay-to-reserve model to help pay for a park attendant to keep things in order. In addition to pickleball and tennis, this park could maybe be big enough to include mini astroturf soccer fields and maybe basketball courts.
If we are trying to make downtown more residential, there has to be stimulating things for residents to do. While Arch Park is suitable for walking and Citygarden is nice for relaxation, there's currently no central outdoor sports hub. Given the popularity of pickleball, this park could significantly increase activity in the business district, making downtown feel more like a community.
The park could also incorporate underground parking. WashU has shown us that tucking parking below the surface allows us better utilize and beautify community spaces. These parking spaces could start as paid public spaces and eventually be reconsecrated as a residential parking if the RWE is ever turned into a residential building.
This may be a pie in the sky idea, but I thought I’d share my thoughts!