...and overall traffic would move easier. Sure, it might sound crazy, but I bet it's true.
Some lights would need to remain on normal cycles, but countless others could be switched to the equivalent of "signalized" stop signs.
Granted, I don't have the scientific facts to back up the bet, just years of anecdotal evidence that every time a light is switched to flashing red, you almost always get through on the first or second waiting of your turn - much faster than you do waiting from a change from red to green. Why? Bottom line: St. Louis just doesn't have that much traffic.
Besides, given the overall extremely courteous nature of St. Louis drivers, it just might work.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Seismic Shifts Coming to St. Louis Political Landscape?
Could the battle for local control of the St. Louis police department be the catalytic event to trigger major structural changes to local government in St. Louis? For years, there has been a struggle over control over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Since the Civil War, the department has been controlled by a board appointed by the governor. And since at least the 1960s, St. Louis leaders, have been fighting to bring control back to the city. Now their call for local control has been joined by Civic Progress and Focus St. Louis.
This year, for the first time since the Civil War, a bill has passed in the Missouri House to return local control of the police department to the City of St. Louis. The Police Officers Association vehemently opposes this effort and has many political allies, both within and outside of the city limits.
The Police Officers Association holds that returning local control to the city will result in two things they don't like: the possibility of political interference with the police department from St. Louis city elected officials, and, of greater concern, local control of their pension system.
The Police Officers Association has an ally in a state senator from University City, Maria Chappelle-Nadal. Senator Nadal opposes local control.
In the past few days, Senator Nadal has raised two interesting ideas. The first was to insert language into Senate version of the local control bill to reduce the number of aldermen in the City of St. Louis from 28 to 14. And today the news is reporting that Senator Nadal is proposing a bill to call for a vote by citizens for the re-entry of the City of St. Louis into St. Louis County.
A return of the City of St. Louis into St. Louis County increases the liklihood of there one day being a region-wide metropolitan police department on the Missouri side of the St. Louis area. Such a system has the potential to save significant cost to Missouri taxpayers.
While STL Rising strongly favors having a local city police department in the City of St. Louis, where neighbors get to personally know their local police department representatives, the idea of a region-wide metropolitan police force is worth serious consideration.
And if all of this work by local leaders results in further streamlined yet strenghtened local government, then perhaps these will be remembered as times of great progress for the St. Louis region.
Since the Civil War, the department has been controlled by a board appointed by the governor. And since at least the 1960s, St. Louis leaders, have been fighting to bring control back to the city. Now their call for local control has been joined by Civic Progress and Focus St. Louis.
This year, for the first time since the Civil War, a bill has passed in the Missouri House to return local control of the police department to the City of St. Louis. The Police Officers Association vehemently opposes this effort and has many political allies, both within and outside of the city limits.
The Police Officers Association holds that returning local control to the city will result in two things they don't like: the possibility of political interference with the police department from St. Louis city elected officials, and, of greater concern, local control of their pension system.
The Police Officers Association has an ally in a state senator from University City, Maria Chappelle-Nadal. Senator Nadal opposes local control.
In the past few days, Senator Nadal has raised two interesting ideas. The first was to insert language into Senate version of the local control bill to reduce the number of aldermen in the City of St. Louis from 28 to 14. And today the news is reporting that Senator Nadal is proposing a bill to call for a vote by citizens for the re-entry of the City of St. Louis into St. Louis County.
A return of the City of St. Louis into St. Louis County increases the liklihood of there one day being a region-wide metropolitan police department on the Missouri side of the St. Louis area. Such a system has the potential to save significant cost to Missouri taxpayers.
While STL Rising strongly favors having a local city police department in the City of St. Louis, where neighbors get to personally know their local police department representatives, the idea of a region-wide metropolitan police force is worth serious consideration.
And if all of this work by local leaders results in further streamlined yet strenghtened local government, then perhaps these will be remembered as times of great progress for the St. Louis region.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Pujols...not looking good!
"Albert", "El Hombre", "the man", whatever you want to call him, is not looking too good thanks to his agent and recent contract negotiations flap with the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols is a great player. However, the handling of his "walk year" is not serving him well.
At the end of this season, if he does not sign a new contract with the Cardinals, Albert Pujols becomes a free agent. So, without a lot of explanation, Pujols imposed an arbitrary "deadline" on negotations of this week. The deadline came and went without an agreement.
The deadline became the top national baseball story. Dozens of reporters are hounding Pujols at spring training. Pujols is featured in sportscasts, standing in the center of a pool of reporters, cameras and microphones in his face, saying things like, "you guys don't have a clue", "if people think I'm greedy, they don't know me", and "we are laughing about this, and so are the Cardinals, I think".
Really? Albert, you're not helping yourself. These are rough economic times. The Cardinals have an imbalanced situation and you're debating between $200,000,000 and $250 or $300 million. Fans are paying $9 for a beer. Ownership is considering giving you an equity position in the team while Ballpark Village sits empty.
I'm over the whole thing. Really, was never too worried about it in the first place. Quick, can anyone even name the Cardinals likely starting infield? Probably not. But everyone can name Pujols. Albert, if you leave town for more money, lots of little kids might get their hearts broken. That's your choice. But for the rest of us, there's a lot more to life than your contract. Hey, you just keep telling everyone that they have "no clue".
When this is all done, you might want to find a new agent.
At the end of this season, if he does not sign a new contract with the Cardinals, Albert Pujols becomes a free agent. So, without a lot of explanation, Pujols imposed an arbitrary "deadline" on negotations of this week. The deadline came and went without an agreement.
The deadline became the top national baseball story. Dozens of reporters are hounding Pujols at spring training. Pujols is featured in sportscasts, standing in the center of a pool of reporters, cameras and microphones in his face, saying things like, "you guys don't have a clue", "if people think I'm greedy, they don't know me", and "we are laughing about this, and so are the Cardinals, I think".
Really? Albert, you're not helping yourself. These are rough economic times. The Cardinals have an imbalanced situation and you're debating between $200,000,000 and $250 or $300 million. Fans are paying $9 for a beer. Ownership is considering giving you an equity position in the team while Ballpark Village sits empty.
I'm over the whole thing. Really, was never too worried about it in the first place. Quick, can anyone even name the Cardinals likely starting infield? Probably not. But everyone can name Pujols. Albert, if you leave town for more money, lots of little kids might get their hearts broken. That's your choice. But for the rest of us, there's a lot more to life than your contract. Hey, you just keep telling everyone that they have "no clue".
When this is all done, you might want to find a new agent.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Big Pepper
For a variety of reasons, I found myself dining alone last night at El Paisano Mexican Restaurant in South City. Suffice it to say that the customer service function at ATT-UVerse has driven us out of our house.
Anyhow, so after looking over the menu while seated at a booth in the bar area of the now smoke-free restaurant, watching Manchester United get roundly spanked by a rival, I order the poblano pepper and pork tamale combination. I asked the waiter how big the pepper was.
With a nod of his head and a muffled grunt, he held his hands out in front of him, creating a space of about 4-5 inches between the palms of his hands. Good enough.
When the plate arrived, the poblano looked like a size 10 shoe. And delicious!
Anyhow, so after looking over the menu while seated at a booth in the bar area of the now smoke-free restaurant, watching Manchester United get roundly spanked by a rival, I order the poblano pepper and pork tamale combination. I asked the waiter how big the pepper was.
With a nod of his head and a muffled grunt, he held his hands out in front of him, creating a space of about 4-5 inches between the palms of his hands. Good enough.
When the plate arrived, the poblano looked like a size 10 shoe. And delicious!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Will NPR Drop Its Needle on St. Louis?
This week NPR is running a series on cities. Today's edition focused on Washington DC. In particular, the series is looking at changing demographics. In DC, a noticeable trend has been the return of white families to the city.
DC has been a majority black city for a long time. But that's been changing, and soon, DC will be less than 50% black. Meanwhile, suburban Prince George County has been a popular destination for middle income African-American families exiting DC. That county is becoming majority African-American. So in DC, there's a trend where white families are returning to the city and black families are moving away.
DC's Anacostia River is a dividing line where traditionally lower income, depressed neighborhoods are located. Low cost by DC standards, home prices in Anacostia are in the $250-$300,000 range. Many DC neighborhoods see prices 3 to 4 times that amount. With its low prices and sense of upside potential, Anacostia is becoming a vogue target area for developers and white home buyers.
In today's segment, NPR previewed that they will also be covering Portland, Oregon. Portland is often held out as the vanguard of progressive hipness and cool urbanism. NPR noted that Portland is one of the "whitest cities in the country". That surprised me. When people think of big cities in particular, or urban places in general, they usually don't think of them as being heavily white. They think of them as places of diversity. Portland has its own challenges: how cool it is to be known as one of the "whitest cities in the country"?
The DC story featured a delivery driver and his wife, a two income black family who had moved from Anacostia to Prince George County. The husband felt sad about leaving his old neighborhood, but moved away to get more house for the money, and because of pressure from his wife who had grown up in the suburbs. In Prince George County the family could buy a 4-5 bedroom home for the same price as a 2-3 bedroom home in the old neighborhood.
So what does all this have to do with St. Louis? When cities are compared, how will St. Louis fare? St. Louis' challenges are much different than Portland's or DC's. St. Louis isn't the cool destination that Portand is (but maybe it should be). And, unlike DC, St. Louis city neighborhoods, especially the blighted ones, don't outprice its suburban neighbors.
St. Louis is high cost in terms of construction, and low priced in terms of values. Like DC, for decades, St. Louis experienced heavy black and white flight from its neighborhoods, especially on the north side. Today St. Louis is experiencing renewal in many parts of the city. There is a noticeably white demographic at city booster events. "City Affair" gatherings are usually 90% percent white, and meetings for the renewal of the Arch grounds were about the same percentage white.
Cherokee Street, the emerging hip district of South St. Louis, is largely a mix of white and hispanic entrepreneurs, while the surrounding neighborhood is high percentage African-American. With an election for alderman coming soon, given the interesting demographic mix of the area, what will the lead issues of the campaign be?
Trends in St. Louis seem to be more elusive. It's hard to make broad generalizations. Things vary greatly from block to block and neighborhood to neighborhood. There are places such as Old North St. Louis and Cherokee Street which get a lot of attention in terms of their renewal, but geographically they represent a tiny percentage of the city. Look at the city's strategic land use plan and you see that roughly 75% of the city's area is designated "Neighborhood Preservation".
Maybe the story of St. Louis is that we have a good thing, and our goal is to keep it that way by working smart on a combination of things both large and small, those with the biggest impact and greatest leveraging?
DC has been a majority black city for a long time. But that's been changing, and soon, DC will be less than 50% black. Meanwhile, suburban Prince George County has been a popular destination for middle income African-American families exiting DC. That county is becoming majority African-American. So in DC, there's a trend where white families are returning to the city and black families are moving away.
DC's Anacostia River is a dividing line where traditionally lower income, depressed neighborhoods are located. Low cost by DC standards, home prices in Anacostia are in the $250-$300,000 range. Many DC neighborhoods see prices 3 to 4 times that amount. With its low prices and sense of upside potential, Anacostia is becoming a vogue target area for developers and white home buyers.
In today's segment, NPR previewed that they will also be covering Portland, Oregon. Portland is often held out as the vanguard of progressive hipness and cool urbanism. NPR noted that Portland is one of the "whitest cities in the country". That surprised me. When people think of big cities in particular, or urban places in general, they usually don't think of them as being heavily white. They think of them as places of diversity. Portland has its own challenges: how cool it is to be known as one of the "whitest cities in the country"?
The DC story featured a delivery driver and his wife, a two income black family who had moved from Anacostia to Prince George County. The husband felt sad about leaving his old neighborhood, but moved away to get more house for the money, and because of pressure from his wife who had grown up in the suburbs. In Prince George County the family could buy a 4-5 bedroom home for the same price as a 2-3 bedroom home in the old neighborhood.
So what does all this have to do with St. Louis? When cities are compared, how will St. Louis fare? St. Louis' challenges are much different than Portland's or DC's. St. Louis isn't the cool destination that Portand is (but maybe it should be). And, unlike DC, St. Louis city neighborhoods, especially the blighted ones, don't outprice its suburban neighbors.
St. Louis is high cost in terms of construction, and low priced in terms of values. Like DC, for decades, St. Louis experienced heavy black and white flight from its neighborhoods, especially on the north side. Today St. Louis is experiencing renewal in many parts of the city. There is a noticeably white demographic at city booster events. "City Affair" gatherings are usually 90% percent white, and meetings for the renewal of the Arch grounds were about the same percentage white.
Cherokee Street, the emerging hip district of South St. Louis, is largely a mix of white and hispanic entrepreneurs, while the surrounding neighborhood is high percentage African-American. With an election for alderman coming soon, given the interesting demographic mix of the area, what will the lead issues of the campaign be?
Trends in St. Louis seem to be more elusive. It's hard to make broad generalizations. Things vary greatly from block to block and neighborhood to neighborhood. There are places such as Old North St. Louis and Cherokee Street which get a lot of attention in terms of their renewal, but geographically they represent a tiny percentage of the city. Look at the city's strategic land use plan and you see that roughly 75% of the city's area is designated "Neighborhood Preservation".
Maybe the story of St. Louis is that we have a good thing, and our goal is to keep it that way by working smart on a combination of things both large and small, those with the biggest impact and greatest leveraging?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
City Identifies Source to Help Replace Earnings Tax?
In referring to a state law passed in the 1980s, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay may have found a major funding souce to offset a portion of the City's current earning tax.
According to the law, the state of Missouri is responsible for over $100,000,000 of the cost to operate the St. Louis police department.
On a recent newscast, Mayor Slay stated that unless Jefferson City returns control of the department back to St. Louis City, "we could send them a bill".
A St.Louis Police Officers Association representative called the tactic a political manuever. Slay replied "this is not a ploy".
When interviewed by Fox 2 News reporter Charles Jaco, Governor Jay Nixon had "no comment".
According to the law, the state of Missouri is responsible for over $100,000,000 of the cost to operate the St. Louis police department.
On a recent newscast, Mayor Slay stated that unless Jefferson City returns control of the department back to St. Louis City, "we could send them a bill".
A St.Louis Police Officers Association representative called the tactic a political manuever. Slay replied "this is not a ploy".
When interviewed by Fox 2 News reporter Charles Jaco, Governor Jay Nixon had "no comment".
Monday, February 07, 2011
Open Public Forum - St. Louis City Earnings Tax
When: 6:30 pm, February 17, 2011
Where: Old Post Office, Mall Level, 815 Olive, Downtown St. Louis
Sponsors: Downtown St. Louis Residents Association, League of Women Voters, the UPS Store, Emmis Communications, Webster University, the Holden Public Policy Forum
Presentation and Panel Discussion Featuring: Hon. Francis Slay, Mayor; Hon. Darlene Green, Comptroller; Mark Mantovani, President and CEO, NSI Marketing; Nancy Cross, Vice-President, SEIU St. Louis Local
Where: Old Post Office, Mall Level, 815 Olive, Downtown St. Louis
Sponsors: Downtown St. Louis Residents Association, League of Women Voters, the UPS Store, Emmis Communications, Webster University, the Holden Public Policy Forum
Presentation and Panel Discussion Featuring: Hon. Francis Slay, Mayor; Hon. Darlene Green, Comptroller; Mark Mantovani, President and CEO, NSI Marketing; Nancy Cross, Vice-President, SEIU St. Louis Local
Friday, February 04, 2011
Paint Louis
Years ago, there was a lot of interest in a project to paint the flood walls south of the Arch. It was called, "Paint Louis" and you can still see the work today.
What about painting murals on the monster flood walls along the riverfront between the Eads Bridge and the Poplar Street Bridge? These could be huge in size and a new draw for visitors to the riverfront.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Cleveland HS and Others Like It
Perusing the other urblogs around Saint Louis, STL Rising is very dismayed to learn, if indeed true, that when it comes to demolition, the historically significant buildings of the St. Louis Public School system are exempted from the city's preservation framework, including Cultural Resource Office and Preservation Board reviews.
As these handsome public school buildings are architectural centerpieces in many city neighborhoods, it's sad news indeed to learn that these physical assets are not protected from short-fused demolitions like most of the city's built environment.
As these handsome public school buildings are architectural centerpieces in many city neighborhoods, it's sad news indeed to learn that these physical assets are not protected from short-fused demolitions like most of the city's built environment.
Monday, January 31, 2011
History Museum Event Opens Discussion on Class
On Saturday, an overflow crowd gathered in the Lee Auditorium at the St. Louis History Museum for the start of the new series, Class: the Great Divide. The first installment in the series was a presentation by University of Iowa's Colin Gordon on his work Mapping Decline. If you're into maps and St. Louis history, this was the event for you.
Gordon takes his readers through a detailed history of restrictive covenants in St. Louis and the practices of the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange. It shows the history of white flight and ultimately black flight from St. Louis city. It chronicles the depopulation of St. Louis. And it shows the trend continuing in parts of St. Louis County.
The presentation challenges St. Louis about what we do now? The history is well documented. St. Louis was ground zero in terms of white flight and urban dislocation. While there is no question that the downgrading of neighborhood risk by the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange in the 1950s led to much disinvestment in North St. Louis, it is not as clear that restrictive covenants were the cause of white flight.
1950s St. Louis was a place steeped in racism, practicing legalized segregation. Block busting and panic selling caused more white flight than racial covenants or grading of areas by the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange. The challenge for St. Louis is where do we go from here?
STL Rising is hopeful that the sad history of racism and white flight in St. Louis is being rewritten by young people today who do not carry the racial baggage of their parents', grandparents', and great grandparents' generations. Previous generations did not leave a good legacy for our young people. Thankfully they do not seem to be repeating our mistakes.
Gordon takes his readers through a detailed history of restrictive covenants in St. Louis and the practices of the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange. It shows the history of white flight and ultimately black flight from St. Louis city. It chronicles the depopulation of St. Louis. And it shows the trend continuing in parts of St. Louis County.
The presentation challenges St. Louis about what we do now? The history is well documented. St. Louis was ground zero in terms of white flight and urban dislocation. While there is no question that the downgrading of neighborhood risk by the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange in the 1950s led to much disinvestment in North St. Louis, it is not as clear that restrictive covenants were the cause of white flight.
1950s St. Louis was a place steeped in racism, practicing legalized segregation. Block busting and panic selling caused more white flight than racial covenants or grading of areas by the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange. The challenge for St. Louis is where do we go from here?
STL Rising is hopeful that the sad history of racism and white flight in St. Louis is being rewritten by young people today who do not carry the racial baggage of their parents', grandparents', and great grandparents' generations. Previous generations did not leave a good legacy for our young people. Thankfully they do not seem to be repeating our mistakes.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Staggered Lanes for the Home of Stagger Lee?
When Stack O' Lee shot Billy near the St. Louis riverfront about a hundred years ago, a St. Louis legend was born that lives to this day in rock and blues clubs around the world.
Will the home of Stack Lee soon be home to staggered lanes in place of Memorial Drive, plus a widened depressed section with two new highway on and off ramps between the Arch grounds and downtown?
It's a little hard to tell based on the renderings, but, according to UrbanSTL, the plan to improve the Arch grounds includes a widening of the depressed section to build two new highway ramps.
Overall, the proposed plans are exciting, especially the work proposed around the Old Court House, the north end of the Arch grounds, the remake of Kiener Plaza, and the ecological improvements to the ponds on the grounds.
More info is needed to understand traffic flow and lane changes. Diverting vehicular traffic from the Old Court House area could be a very good thing.
Will the home of Stack Lee soon be home to staggered lanes in place of Memorial Drive, plus a widened depressed section with two new highway on and off ramps between the Arch grounds and downtown?
It's a little hard to tell based on the renderings, but, according to UrbanSTL, the plan to improve the Arch grounds includes a widening of the depressed section to build two new highway ramps.
Overall, the proposed plans are exciting, especially the work proposed around the Old Court House, the north end of the Arch grounds, the remake of Kiener Plaza, and the ecological improvements to the ponds on the grounds.
More info is needed to understand traffic flow and lane changes. Diverting vehicular traffic from the Old Court House area could be a very good thing.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
How long on the market?
There's a closed florist shop for sale on Chippewa between Hampton and Kingshighway. It's a nice enough looking building, but for whatever reason, the place has not sold in over a year. Any theories why?
Monday, January 03, 2011
Rams - Seahawks Game Very Revealing...
...not in the sense that the Rams have problems scoring touchdowns, but rather in viewing the aerial shots of downtown Seattle. Those views showed how downtown Seattle is cut off from its Puget Sound waterfront by the elevated Alaskan Viaduct highway structure.
City to River is proposing the idea of highway removal in downtown St. Louis. The City to River concept is to reconnect downtown St. Louis to its riverfront by replacing the depressed and elevated lanes of the soon-to-be-former lanes of I-70 through downtown with an at-grade boulevard.
Perhaps City to River should be setting its sights higher? Rather than simply highway removal, the Seattle project proposes a combined highway replacement with new connections to its waterfront. The price tag? Over $3 billion.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Highway Departments Designing Communities
We have two high profile situations in St. Louis where some of the most important planning work in our region is being led by highway departments. The latest is the South County Connector - a joint project of the St. Louis County Highway Department, MODOT, and the Federal Highway Administration. The second is the finalizing of the Arch redesign effort.
In the case of the South County Connector, the County Highway Department is leading the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of a project to connect Mid-County to I-55 via River Des Peres. At the Arch grounds, MODOT is working on highway access to the planned improvements coming to the Arch.
Federal dollars spent on highway projects trigger NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) reviews. The EIS process is the first step in satisfying NEPA requirements. In the EIS, project alternatives are identified, impacts and mitigation are analyzed, and, ultimately, a preferred alternative is chosen.
It's possible that the best alternative is deemed the "no project" alternative. However, you would not expect many highway planning efforts to result in a finding that "no project" is the best alternative. Planning efforts are expensive and they are intended to "pave the way" for new projects.
Planners frame the process. In the case of the South County Connector, the process is being framed to connect the Manchester/Hanley intersection to the Shrewsbury Metrolink station at Lansdowne and River Des Peres. From there, to get to I-55, commuters would travel down River Des Peres boulevard through existing neigborhoods.
In the case of the Arch grounds, planners analyzed the option of closing Memorial Drive in front of the Arch. Closing Memorial Drive is part of the approved environmental review in the new General Management Plan for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
The South County Connector is a project of the County Highway Department. The cities of St. Louis, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury are not proposing a new federally funded highway connector through their neighborhoods; the planners at the highway department are.
The final version of the plan to improve the Arch grounds will soon be revealed to the general public. It will be the first time the public sees the working drawings for how MODOT and the National Park Service plan to connect downtown, the interstate highway system and the Arch grounds.
At the start of the Arch planning process over two years ago, bad connectivity, largely based on the barrier created by the highway, was identified by the public as the number one problem with the Arch grounds. Soon we will see the results of the public process. At the end of the day, will St. Louis get a widened highway structure between downtown and the Arch grounds?
As the South County Connector project begins its planning process, there is no clear sense of the biggest problems facing the area to be served. County highway planners state that the biggest problem to be solved is to provide faster travel times between South County and the Clayton/Richmond Heights/Brentwood commercial center. Yet many South County residents disagree, saying travel times from their homes to mid-County are less than thirty minutes.
Traffic in the St. Louis region is very light by national standards. Is this because of good highway planning or low demands on the system? The streets of downtown St. Louis are said to have far greater capacity than they need. Tucker Boulevard is 8 lanes wide, and most downtown streets are one-way, higher speed routes. Is our vision as a region to have the fastest travel times for commuters, whether from South County to Mid-County or through the streets of downtown?
Short travel times hardly seem a good indicator of a region's competitiveness or quality of life. In some ways, it suggests the opposite. A little congestion can be a good thing. Slower is not necessarily a bad thing. There are many communities in St. Louis. What does it say about us when we give top priority to the community of commuters?
In the case of the South County Connector, the County Highway Department is leading the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of a project to connect Mid-County to I-55 via River Des Peres. At the Arch grounds, MODOT is working on highway access to the planned improvements coming to the Arch.
Federal dollars spent on highway projects trigger NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) reviews. The EIS process is the first step in satisfying NEPA requirements. In the EIS, project alternatives are identified, impacts and mitigation are analyzed, and, ultimately, a preferred alternative is chosen.
It's possible that the best alternative is deemed the "no project" alternative. However, you would not expect many highway planning efforts to result in a finding that "no project" is the best alternative. Planning efforts are expensive and they are intended to "pave the way" for new projects.
Planners frame the process. In the case of the South County Connector, the process is being framed to connect the Manchester/Hanley intersection to the Shrewsbury Metrolink station at Lansdowne and River Des Peres. From there, to get to I-55, commuters would travel down River Des Peres boulevard through existing neigborhoods.
In the case of the Arch grounds, planners analyzed the option of closing Memorial Drive in front of the Arch. Closing Memorial Drive is part of the approved environmental review in the new General Management Plan for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
The South County Connector is a project of the County Highway Department. The cities of St. Louis, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury are not proposing a new federally funded highway connector through their neighborhoods; the planners at the highway department are.
The final version of the plan to improve the Arch grounds will soon be revealed to the general public. It will be the first time the public sees the working drawings for how MODOT and the National Park Service plan to connect downtown, the interstate highway system and the Arch grounds.
At the start of the Arch planning process over two years ago, bad connectivity, largely based on the barrier created by the highway, was identified by the public as the number one problem with the Arch grounds. Soon we will see the results of the public process. At the end of the day, will St. Louis get a widened highway structure between downtown and the Arch grounds?
As the South County Connector project begins its planning process, there is no clear sense of the biggest problems facing the area to be served. County highway planners state that the biggest problem to be solved is to provide faster travel times between South County and the Clayton/Richmond Heights/Brentwood commercial center. Yet many South County residents disagree, saying travel times from their homes to mid-County are less than thirty minutes.
Traffic in the St. Louis region is very light by national standards. Is this because of good highway planning or low demands on the system? The streets of downtown St. Louis are said to have far greater capacity than they need. Tucker Boulevard is 8 lanes wide, and most downtown streets are one-way, higher speed routes. Is our vision as a region to have the fastest travel times for commuters, whether from South County to Mid-County or through the streets of downtown?
Short travel times hardly seem a good indicator of a region's competitiveness or quality of life. In some ways, it suggests the opposite. A little congestion can be a good thing. Slower is not necessarily a bad thing. There are many communities in St. Louis. What does it say about us when we give top priority to the community of commuters?
Monday, December 20, 2010
Why not use window stickers?
Missouri's peel and stick license plate renewals are notorious for the way they are so often stolen from your car's plates.
Why not give driver's an option of having a sticker on the inside of your rear window?
Why not give driver's an option of having a sticker on the inside of your rear window?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Most Dangerous (Sidewalk) City
STL Rising is no fan of "most dangerous city" lists, especially the bogus CQ Press rankings. Yet on this icy morning, we do want to call attention to a list of dangerous sidewalks in downtown St. Louis.
For the past 12 hours or so, light freezing rain has been falling in St. Louis. When it comes to *light* *freezing* *rain*, freezing is the operative word. It only takes a paper thin layer of ice to cause problems. And that's what we have this morning on some sections of downtown's sidewalks - primarily in front of vacant buildings.
Sidewalks in front of rehabbed, occupied and loved buildings of downtown are generally fine. There's plenty of ice melt in front of places like the Old Post Office, Culinaria, and the Railway Exchange Building. But in front of the vacant and disposessed buildings, not so much. So be careful when walking past some buildings, including the Arcade and the Chemical. The sidewalks in front of these two buildings have not been treated and they're dangerous. I almost busted my head slipping on the sidewalk in front the Arcade.
The sidewalk in front of the Paul Brown, loved and occupied is fine. But as soon as you pass the gangway from the Paul Brown to the Arcade, watch out. This warning would be of no use to out of towners. Even if they read the blog, they would likely have no idea the names of places like the Chemical Building and the Arcade.
Since these buildings are very likely delinquent in their CID fees, I wonder if they are not being serviced in the same fashion as other downtown properties? Or maybe the CID does not provide for ice and snow melting/shoveling. Maybe we should organize a collection to ensure snow shoveling and ice melt in front of the few remaining empty buildings in downtown STL?
For the past 12 hours or so, light freezing rain has been falling in St. Louis. When it comes to *light* *freezing* *rain*, freezing is the operative word. It only takes a paper thin layer of ice to cause problems. And that's what we have this morning on some sections of downtown's sidewalks - primarily in front of vacant buildings.
Sidewalks in front of rehabbed, occupied and loved buildings of downtown are generally fine. There's plenty of ice melt in front of places like the Old Post Office, Culinaria, and the Railway Exchange Building. But in front of the vacant and disposessed buildings, not so much. So be careful when walking past some buildings, including the Arcade and the Chemical. The sidewalks in front of these two buildings have not been treated and they're dangerous. I almost busted my head slipping on the sidewalk in front the Arcade.
The sidewalk in front of the Paul Brown, loved and occupied is fine. But as soon as you pass the gangway from the Paul Brown to the Arcade, watch out. This warning would be of no use to out of towners. Even if they read the blog, they would likely have no idea the names of places like the Chemical Building and the Arcade.
Since these buildings are very likely delinquent in their CID fees, I wonder if they are not being serviced in the same fashion as other downtown properties? Or maybe the CID does not provide for ice and snow melting/shoveling. Maybe we should organize a collection to ensure snow shoveling and ice melt in front of the few remaining empty buildings in downtown STL?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Huffington Post Article on Reclaiming Urban Spaces
link
Good article, much applies to St. Louis, but the part about a traditional street grid making it more difficult to reclaim community doesn't make sense to me. Street grids make for lots of places to build connections.
From the article:
Our experience with Michael and City Repair made us realize that our cities are based on the grid plan, and it is much easier for people to feel isolated and sadly be disconnected from their own neighbors. The neighborhood places for communication and gathering that develop naturally in non-grid cities must be specifically planned for in grid cities. Sustainable communities are built when people work together for mutual benefit.
Good article, much applies to St. Louis, but the part about a traditional street grid making it more difficult to reclaim community doesn't make sense to me. Street grids make for lots of places to build connections.
From the article:
Our experience with Michael and City Repair made us realize that our cities are based on the grid plan, and it is much easier for people to feel isolated and sadly be disconnected from their own neighbors. The neighborhood places for communication and gathering that develop naturally in non-grid cities must be specifically planned for in grid cities. Sustainable communities are built when people work together for mutual benefit.
Friday, December 03, 2010
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