South Grand:
A Flavor All its Own
South Grand recognized as a Great Place in America from the American Planning Association
South Grand Boulevard’s story of success is the two-fold tale of an effective and beneficial Complete Streets initiative and the vocal, engaged St. Louis community that was instrumental in making it happen.
The concept of Complete Streets — all forms of transportation are given equal access and priority — is one that has found popularity and success in recent years across the nation and around the world. But complete streets are not easy to achieve and often face significant opposition from car-oriented communities and business interests. South Grand Boulevard is a testament to the symbiotic relationship that the business and residential communities have formed, resulting in a Complete Streets initiative that transformed the corridor for the better.
Before the corridor’s renovations in 2015, South Grand Boulevard traffic averaged speeds of 42 miles an hour. Accidents averaged 80 per year. Recognizing the threat this throughway posed to the neighborhood residents and property and business owners of the South Grand Community Improvement District lobbied for the adoption of their “South Grand Boulevard: Great Streets Initiative” in 2011.
The city decided to run a 30+ day trial of the program with the goal of enhancing the appearance of the street, providing greater opportunities for economic development, and increasing pedestrian safety without compromising traffic efficiency. After finding that 73 percent of the public supported the alterations after the trial period, city officials decided to make the plan permanent. The rate of accidents has been greatly reduced while commercial activity has soared due to the road diet; the number of travel lanes and effective width of the road is reduced in order to achieve systemic improvements.
South Grand Boulevard is an example of the many benefits communities can realize when they level the playing field between all forms of transportation. Without community members pushing for the program and articulating their needs and hopes, the South Grand Boulevard Great Streets Initiative may have never come to fruition.
South Grand Video
South Grand introduces a short video by The Arbor Group with music by The Sleeping Rubies. We’re pretty excited about it. Hope you are, too.
What Makes South Grand Great
Just south of the intersection of Grand and Arsenal starts the hub of the of St. Louis International Community. Home to rich cultural events, convenient services and flourishing shops, South Grand is an affordable, safe and fun place to play, work and live.
Where else in the city can you find a vegetarian-friendly café, an award-winning Vietnamese restaurant, a hip gin bar and neighborhood pharmacy all in the same block?
Top Reasons to Visit South Grand
- South Grand is a walkable community, creating tons of foot traffic to supply business with instant customers
- Walking distance from Tower Grove Park, one of the world’s most beautiful Victorian parks
- Close to downtown in central corridor just minutes from Highway 44 and Highway 40
- Contains a variety of distinctive restaurants and shops with influences from around the world
- Great place to live and work and is affordable
- South Grand offers free parking located for our visitors at 3500 Hartford. It offers 95 spaces and is accessible directly from Grand on Hartford.
The Latest from our Twitter Feed
Problem retrieving data from Twitter
