Are these some of the possible negative environmental impacts of the proposed South County Connector on city neighborhoods? The preferred alternative has been narrowed down to the option which adds substantial commuter traffic to River Des Peres Boulevard in the city of St. Louis.
River Des Peres Boulevard is a street fronted by a large number private homes with multiple intersections leading into residential neighborhoods. This is especially true in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood. For homes fronting on River Des Peres Boulevard, it is already dangerous to pull in and out of driveways, especially during peak commute times.
How will this situation be impacted by adding 20,000-30,000 (or more?) cars per day to the street? It doesn't seem possible that adding more traffic to an already hazardous situation can improve things.
Are there any studies showing that residential property values increase when automobile traffic in front of the home substantially increase? That would seem very doubtful. Personally, althought we loved our neighbors and house, we moved off our old block because of an excess of speeding traffic. More traffic in front of your house is not what most people want.
Nonetheless, the South County Connector project is moving through the system. If built, it will add traffic to city streets. Yet, to date, there have been no meetings for the general public held in the City of St. Louis on this project.
There will certainly be more meetings on the South County Connector plan before finalizing the Environmental Impact Statement. Hopefully organizers will arrange a public meeting in the affected area of the city of St. Louis before they complete the planning process.
current project newsletter
12 comments:
Seems to me we just spent over 600 million building an easy way to get from River Des Peres to Clayton on Metrolink.
There are approximately 45 homes with their driveways entering on River Des Peres Boulevard between Morganford Road and I-55.
If the plan to mitigate the negative environmental impact on these homes is to have a buyout of these properties, it would cost about $9,000,000 ($200,000 apiece for the cost of acquisition and relocation).
Then there would be the cost of demolition of the homes (about 20,000 apiece) Adds another $900,000.
Then there would be the cost of widening or otherwise improving River Des Peres Boulevard from I-55to Lansdowne (guessing that would run in the $10,000,000-$15,000,000 range).
That brings the cost of the city part of the project to about $25,000,000 give or take.
There have been no estimates of these costs or possible environmental impacts or mitigation, so this is all purely speculation at this point.
However, if such an approach were taken, then the adoining neighborhoods would then have a higher speed, wider boulevard in their backyard or facing them from across River Des Peres.
Whether this new physical structure and higher capacity roadway would present a wider negative environmental impact is the sort of thing city residents, especially those living in impacted neighborhoods, need to know.
No thank you. Beautification efforts are proceeding very nicely on River des Peres...especially the portion between Morganford and I-55. The walk/bike path are used consistently, the pedestrian bridge is in place.
What part of River des Peres Greenway don't these planners understand? I foresee an enjoyable route to the Mississippi along River des Peres in the next ten years (and hopefully a Metrolink stop). This would effectively kill that and all past efforts of beautification are for naught.
If the County wants to heave up another unnecessary highway to avoid the city, then do it in your own area. Move it south to Weber and Bayless. Tear out more of your own building stock if you want. Maybe put some elevated lanes straight through Resurrection Cemetery. But leave our little city section alone.
I can't believe this plan should ever make it to a voting stage, but if it does...vote this down, city residents!
Thanks for your comment, Kevin. I was thinking about this some more and wondering, how could the County put forward a plan that involved negative environmental impact in the city of St. Louis and make it happen?
Well, the County probably can't, but that may not matter.
The South County Connector is a project of St. Louis County, MODOT, and the Federal Highway Department.
MODOT and the Federal Highway Department would have power to carry out projects in the city of St. Louis, so that may be the route this takes.
If there are buyouts or mitigation required, they could be carried out by the state or the federal government.
There are a lot of people in St. Louis city saying things like "this will never happen" or "there's no money to pay for this".
I would not be so sure. Once the environmental review is approved, then the project is ready to move forward. Road construction = jobs.
The biggest issue I have with this entire process to date is the lack of communication with residents of the city of St. Louis. I find it ironic and sad that County residents have identified the preferred alternative being the one that routes diverted highway traffic onto a city street.
Kevin, you bring up many good points about the beautification of the River Des Peres and the dramatically improved park and trail network.
So here is where we want to build a major highway connector?
I have to disagree. I lived off of RDP blvd for several years, and the current design is a nightmare. It is already used as a major thoroughfare, it just doesn't have the infrastructure to support it. Tear it down to bare dirt, doze the homes with driveways are on RDP (should never have built those)! Replace it with an at-grade boulevard, 6 lanes, concrete divider & full guard rails. Comnect to 44 on the north & rebuild 55 ramps on South. Rebuild the trail along the west side. Best money they could spend.
Scott,
If that happens, what is your take on the future of the new pedestrian bridges, stone gateways, the Springs, and bike paths?
Rick
PS in reply to Scott's post...
One thing I appreciate about his comment is that he's very open about possible mitigation - the buyout and demolition of homes on River Des Peres.
That option has not been put on the table by proponents of the County Connector, but may be suggested later.
If that is the ultimate plan, then the game changes. Would that make a difference in whether the plan has community support?
We'll have to wait and see.
Scott Pluff said...
I have to disagree. I lived off of RDP blvd for several years, and the current design is a nightmare. It is already used as a major thoroughfare, it just doesn't have the infrastructure to support it. Tear it down to bare dirt, doze the homes with driveways are on RDP (should never have built those)! Replace it with an at-grade boulevard, 6 lanes, concrete divider & full guard rails. Comnect to 44 on the north & rebuild 55 ramps on South. Rebuild the trail along the west side. Best money they could spend.
And I, in turn, disagree with you, Scott. Vehemontly so. 6 lanes, a divider and full guard rails? That isn't a boulevard, sir -- that's a highway. This is a neighborhood -- and a pretty decent and dense community at that. And we've all seen the effects of highways cutting through or around neighborhoods.
Germania and Carondelet Blvd. are perfectly suited to the traffic they currently carry. It's a strong connector already -- just not for those who require a consistent sixty miles an hour from garage to parking lot. Heck, I'd even suggest slowing it down more -- plant more tall, river's edge trees, install more stop signs at intersections, tighten up the width/shoulders on each side, and give more of the central spine over to passive/light activity.
For what it's worth, I spoke with a rep from the County planning team about this project today and confirmed that no public meetings have been held to date in the city and second that there are no plans to acquire property or demolish homes. The thinking is the two main routes drivers will use to connect to 55 from Lansdowne will be River Des Peres and Mackenzie.
Good to have a lively debate. My position begins with my lived experience of driving RDP Blvd. 1. Carries way more traffic than it was designed for. 2. Speeds average 55-65 mph despite posted limits. 3. Narrow lanes suddenly shift to the left or right, meaning if you don't follow the curve of the road you drive straight into oncoming traffic. 4. Drainage is a mess, with standing water after every rain. 5. In places, the 6o mph traffic is just 2 or 3 feet from the walking trail (my daughter was nearly run over one time walking on the trail, traumatic experience.) 6. At the one current stop sign (at Loughborough) peak-time traffic blows right through the intersection at 20+ mph without stopping. (A friend of mine was rear-ended at that intersection for having the audacity to actually stop.) It's almost comical at rush hour, you can watch 100s of cars run a stop sign--everyone does it. 7. Not to sound dramatic, but how many more people have to die along this stretch of road before something is done? A city cop friend of mine estimates that there is one fatal accident per year along this stretch, among the most dangerous roads in the whole region.
Any discussion of this road has to begin by acknowledging that it is currently a disaster that desperately needs a solution. We can disagree on what the solution might be, but let's not pretend like it's some treasure that needs to be preserved.
Scott-
Thanks for sharing the firsthand experience.
From what it sounds like, so far at least, improvements to RDP boulevard are outside the scope of the South County Connector project.
Maybe it will be one of those, "well we did this, so now we need to do this" sorts of things.
A good start would be to hold a public meeting inside the city of St. Louis.
Each country has encounter an accidents day by day crimes and people die but how can we reduce this things? All i know is its up to us.
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