Safety improvements near Ted Drewes on Chippewa Street are done — nearly three years after first being proposed.
Those improvements include a crosswalk with a traffic signal, barriers separating customers from the street, lighting, bump-outs and moving the parking lot entrance. They also include a camera that’s tied into St. Louis’ Real-Time Crime Center, which is a police office that monitors video feeds throughout the city.
Some customers eating at Ted Drewes on Wednesday afternoon said they didn’t know changes had been made, but Katie Schneier grew up nearby and said she’s happy with the changes.
"It does seem like it should help a lot with safety and people trying to cross," Schneier said. "It’s a busy street, so the light and the fencing, I think, will be a big help."
Various parties have proposed traffic improvements for the Chippewa Street location of Ted Drewes since 2022, when two pedestrians were killed by drivers in separate incidents.
Later that fall, then-mayor Tishaura Jones proposed a traffic calming plan that included some improvements to the area. In March 2023, Jones signed the St. Louis Safer Streets bill.
Then, in December, a driver veered into a crowd in the Ted Drewes parking lot. Six people, including an off-duty police officer, were taken to the hospital.
Amya Strickland has been working at Ted Drewes for about four months and is happy with the safety changes. She said her friend, who has worked there for about a year, was working during the parking lot incident.
"I was really scared for her, but ever since I feel like it’s been a lot safer," Strickland said. "People feel a lot safer crossing the street."
The 19-year-old driver, Rasool Al Janabi, left the scene but later returned. The St. Louis circuit attorney’s office charged Al Janabi with five counts of leaving the scene of an accident causing physical injury; the case is still pending.
