Poll: How Should We Address Auto Congestion In Forest Park

Last week Loop businessman & Loop Trolley backer, Joe Edwards, said he thinks we’ll eventually see cars banned in Forest Park. He’d like to see an electric powered trolley (aka vintage streetcar) on tracks circulating within the park. I know weekend traffic in the park can be so bad the #95 (Hampton) MetroBus reroutes to avoid going through the park. Cars are banned/limited at times — like the annual Ballon Glow.

Parking along park roads or in surface parking lots can be difficult at times

Traffic can be obnoxious in Forest Park, ruining the pleasure of being outdoors to some. I recall flying back to St. Louis one night a few years ago and lighting in the parking lots stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise dark park.

Currently the Forest Park Trolley does a decent job for those of us who enter the park without a car.

The bright Forest Park Trolley loops around in the park and stops just north of the park at the Forest Park MetroLink station. Yes, it is a new low-floor MetroBus with a cartoonish wrap.

Still, the vast majority drive into the park rather than use public transportation. This has prompted the St. Louis Zoo to buy the former hospital site across I-64/Highway 40 for additional parking with plans for a gondola to transport patrons back and forth. By eliminating some, or all, of the surface parking between the zoo and the highway the zoo can expand to the south with more exhibits.

So what are some of the options for dealing with congestion?

• Bans cars at peak times or all the time
• Construction of a electric trolley on a track, as Edwards suggested
• Construction of an electric bus system with overhead wires like the trolley but no track
• Run the existing trolley bus more frequently

Some will object to overhead wires and/or tracks, but others object to all the cars.

So this is the poll topic this week, the exact question is: How should we address auto congestion in Forest Park? I’m allowing you to pick up to 3 choices from the list. The poll is in the right sidebar.

Please take a moment to vote in the poll then share your thoughts in the comments below.
– Steve Patterson

Poll: Your Thoughts on Ald Bosley’s Solicitation For Tuition Money?

Ald. Freeman Bosley Sr.

Last week we learned Ald. Freeman Bosley Sr. (D-03) sent a letter asking help covering $14,276 of a $38,890 bill to the private Xavier College in Chicago.

So the longtime city politician sent an unusual letter to friends and supporters, asking them to provide $14,274 he says is the outstanding balance of his daughter’s upcoming bill at St. Xavier University in Chicago.

“Although the help from scholarships and grants has paid for nearly twenty-five thousand dollars, the remaining balance is still a challenge,” Bosley wrote in the undated letter obtained this week by the Post-Dispatch. (stltoday)

You can view the letter here. Freeman Bosley Sr. is 78, his son, former mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. will turn 59 next month. Just how old is this daughter? Forty-five?

Bosley tells us that his daughter, Kenya Young-Bosley, who is turning eighteen next month, will attend St. Xavier University in Chicago this fall and eventually wants to go to law school. He says that she has maintained a 4.0 GPA and is in the top 2 percent of her class. (Riverfront Times)

Many bright young people attend public colleges, but Bosley seems to have a different view:

But it is a comment made to News Channel Five that continues to ruffle feathers. Bosley,Sr said, “Why would I want to send a child that can do that (get 97%) over four years over to a public university when her intent is to become a lawyer?

“It doesn’t make sense to send her out to Forest Park, now would it.” (KSDK)

“Forest Park” is a reference to St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. Most of us know there are numerous public colleges in Missouri such as University of Missouri, University of Missouri – St. Louis, and Harris-Stowe State University. Heck, at Harris Stowe she should feel right at home.

Bosley Jr. residence & dining hall at Harris Stowe was dedicated in 2011, click image for article from the St. Louis American

Bosley Jr. attended Saint Louis University, a private school, for undergraduate & law school. As mayor he helped Harris Stowe take over part of the land that was once LaClede Town, part of the urban renewal project that razed the area known as Mill Creek Valley.

Back to Bosly Sr.; apparently officials from the Missouri Ethics Commission say he didn’t violate any laws. Not surprising, Jefferson City isn’t keen on regulation of industry or politicians.

When questioned by numerous news outlets, Ald. Bosley indicated he would return any checks if he receives any.

Which brings me to the poll question for this week:  Ald Bosley sent a letter to supporters asking for help paying the remaining $14,276 private college tuition for his daughter he couldn’t cover. Reaction?

Has the media blown this out of scale? Is this a major violation of public trust? Vote in the poll in the right sidebar then add your comments below.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: New Construction Should…

I’m not a preservationist, though I often favor saving old buildings. I do so because they frequently exhibit the urban qualities I think creates a desirable built environment, while new construction rarely has any qualities I find redeeming.  Still, new construction is a must. But what should it look like?

[Reporter Tracy] Smith asked Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for Vanity Fair, how we decide what to save: “We want to save the best of every period, ideally,” he replied. “We also want to protect certain kinds of neighborhoods — like Beacon Hill in Boston, or Georgetown in Washington. That’s really important.

The dark underside of historic preservation is that we often preserve not so much because we love what we’re protecting; it’s because we fear what will replace it,” he continued. “And, unfortunately, we’ve been right a lot of the time.” (CBS News)

True, replacements for old urban buildings have often been urban disasters, turning their back on the sidewalk or placing vast surface parking lots between the sidewalk and entrance. In St. Louis if new construction is wrapped in red brick it often gets approved, regardless of form, proportion, etc.

New Town at St. Charles mimics older buildings in St. Charles & St. Louis

This 2008 building at Park Ave & Dolman near Lafayette Park is urban, but not detailed to convince anyone it is old. Or is it?

The CBS story showed new buildings that looked old, well enough to fool many. Some buildings around Lafayette Park are this detailed. Do you think that is good, bad or do you even care?

The poll this week is a rather philosophical one, a question of your aesthetic viewpoint. How do you think new construction should look? The poll is in the right sidebar, you can create your own answer if you don’t like the ones I’ve provided. I’ll present the results on Wednesday June 12th, along with my thoughts on the topic.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: What are your top three (3) brew pubs in the St. Louis region?

In a previous poll I asked about favorite brewery, but excluded brew pubs.  This week I want to find out the brew pubs favored by readers. This time I think I have all listed, but if not you can add an answer when taking the poll.

The poll is in the right sidebar until May 26th, results presented May 29th.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on Demolition of Cupples 7

South wall of the Cupples 7 warehouse

Last week the city announced the Building Commissioner will order the demolition of the  historic Cupples 7 warehouse if a savior doesn’t come foreword.

The city’s building commissioner is expected to file a demolition permit next week.

The seven story building will be demolished at the end of the month if a developer doesn’t purchase it first.(KSDK)

That’s not much time to find someone with deep pockets to save the structure. Interesting information also came out last week about finances.

Unless a new buyer emerges, the city will be out $850,000. That’s because former Treasurer Larry Williams took an option on the property from Montgomery Bank, lender to the development firm that was unable to follow through on its plan to put condos in Cupples 7. (stltoday)

It looks like Cupples 7 will be coming down because just stabilizing the structure is estimated by some to cost millions.

The poll this week seeks to find out if you support the city’s decision, vote in the right sidebar. See Saving Cupples 7: The Importance of Urban Context for more photos.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: We Get The Infrastructure…

I got the idea for the poll this week from the comments on the post from last Monday: Former River Roads Mall Site Vacant, the Few New Buildings Aren’t Pedestrian Friendly. One person thinks we have what we want, if we didn’t we’d move somewhere else. 

I disagree, but I want to see how you feel about it. This week I ask that you select the sentence that comes closest to matching your view. Here are the options:

1. We get the infrastructure in our communities that most of us want and use.
2. We get the infrastructure that was commonplace years ago, but outdated today.
3. We get the infrastructure that makes developers the most money.
4. We get the infrastructure we want only if we fight for/demand better.
5. We get the infrastructure we get because most people don’t know other options exist.
6. Unsure/No Answer.

The poll, in right sidebar, will randomize the order in which these appear. Infrastructure in this context means the built environment: roads, sidewalks, parks, buildings, etc.

Discuss in the comments below.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: How Do You Feel About Jury Duty?

Most likely you’ve been called to the courthouse to participate in a jury pool.

Jury pool waiting room for the 22nd Circuit Court in St. Louis

The poll question this week is how do you feel about this? Do you look forward to participating in our justice system or do you try to get out of it? The poll is located in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: How Should Missouri Treat Marijuana?

Views on marijuana use are changing rapidly, all age groups have shown dramatic increases in support for legalizing it:

Fully 65% of Millennials –born since 1980 and now between 18 and 32 – favor legalizing the use of marijuana, up from just 36% in 2008. Yet there also has been a striking change in long-term attitudes among older generations, particularly Baby Boomers.

Half (50%) of Boomers now favor legalizing marijuana, among the highest percentages ever. In 1978, 47% of Boomers favored legalizing marijuana, but support plummeted during the 1980s, reaching a low of 17% in 1990. Since 1994, however, the percentage of Boomers favoring marijuana legalization has doubled, from 24% to 50%.

Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, came of age in the 1990s when there was widespread opposition to legalizing marijuana. Support for marijuana legalization among Gen X also has risen dramatically – from just 28% in 1994 to 42% a decade later and 54% currently.

The Silent Generation continues to be less supportive of marijuana legalization than younger age cohorts. But the percentage of Silents who favor legalization has nearly doubled –from 17% to 32% – since 2002. (Pew Research for People & Press) 

Below is the visual view of the above information.

From Pew, click image to view source

Right now no state bordering Missouri allows for medical or recreational use, but Illinois may soon have medical marijuana:

The sponsor of a measure that would legalize marijuana for people like Bauer says he plans to call the plan for a vote no later than next week.

Representative Lou Lang, a Democrat from Skokie, says his plan has the strictest regulations in the country.

Patients would only be allowed to purchase the marijuana from qualified vendors, who could only purchase from certified growers. (WUIS)

Would a neighboring state prompt a change in Jefferson City? Probably not.

The poll question this week asks how Missouri should treat marijuana, the existing illegal is one of the choices in the poll. My thoughts on Wednesday April 24th.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Favorite St. Louis Brewery?

Eight years ago today beer drinkers rejoiced:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature repealed the Volstead Act, legalizing 3.2 percent beer. It also paved the way for the December ratification of the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment and deep-sixed Prohibition altogether.

The Volstead Act, which is how the National Prohibition Act was widely known, was pushed hard by religious and temperance groups and passed Congress in 1919 over the veto of President Woodrow Wilson.

The prohibition movement had been active in the United States for 80 years before its adherents finally succeeded in ramming through an outright national ban on alcohol. The original movement lost some steam during the Civil War (soldiers drink; deal with it) but was revived with a vengeance by the Prohibition Party and Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. (Wired)

Remaining breweries in St. Louis were also relieved to be able to legally produce beer once again after 13+ long years.

Fast forward to today and beer is a popular beverage in St. Louis with breweries &  brewpubs in many parts of the region. Which brings us to the poll question for this week: What is your favorite St. Louis Brewery?

The list of breweries was taken from STL Hops:

• 4 Hands Brewing Company
• Anheuser-Busch
• Exit 6 Brewery
• O’Fallon Brewery
• Saint Louis Brewery (aka Schlafly)
• Urban Chestnut Brewing Company

The poll is in the right sidebar. Check out the St. Louis Beer Map for breweries, brewpubs, beer bars, etc. Of course, if you are 21 and choose to drink, please do so responsibly.

– Steve Patterson

Readers Say Botanical Garden & Zoo Are Favorite ZMD Institutions

Last week readers selected their favorite two institutions in the Zoo-Museum District (original post) .

Missouri Botanical Garden, June 2011

St. Louis Zoo

Here are the results:

Q: Which TWO (2) institutions in the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District are your favorites?

1. Missouri Botanical Garden 98 [31.61%]
2. Saint Louis Zoological Park 94 [30.32%]
3. Saint Louis Art Museum 77 [24.84%]
4. Missouri History Museum 22 [7.1%]
5. Saint Louis Science Center 18 [5.81%]
6. Unsure/No Answer 1 [0.32%]

The botanical gardens are my favorite, but I’ve spent a lot of time at events at the history museum. I haven’t been to the zoo in 20 years, but I’ll go again this year.

- Steve Patterson