Ask And Ye Shall Receive, Three Days Later
On the 26th I posted that I was wondering what ever became of the CBD traffic study from August. Yesterday, the 29th, MayorSlay.com posts an update.
Perhaps a coincidence but perhaps not…
– Steve
On the 26th I posted that I was wondering what ever became of the CBD traffic study from August. Yesterday, the 29th, MayorSlay.com posts an update.
Perhaps a coincidence but perhaps not…
– Steve
I’m typically not one to simply send my readers to another blog on a subject I’d normally cover but I want to make sure people see this. Toby Weiss has brought attention to a horrible bike parking situation at one of our major institutions in town – The Missouri Botanical Gardens.
Their 2003 Annual Report (last available online) shows annual revenue in excess of $30 million and assets of $165 million. Keep this in mind when you see what kind of bike parking they provide!
Click here to read Toby’s post and view pictures of the sorry state of bike parking at the gardens! While you are there check out her other postings because she has a great site.
– Steve
Few topics raise so much debate as public mass transit. Some, mostly wealthy suburbanites that profit from sprawl, suggest we shouldn’t subsidize mass transit (leaving money to subsidize their sprawl). Others strongly advocate expensive light rail systems including our own MetroLink. Still others advocate an expansion in bus service as a means of reaching more people, in particular those that can’t afford private cars. And finally you have streetcar advocates looking to use their retro charm to invigorate areas while providing transportation.
In July Post-Dispatch reporters Shane Graber and Elisa Crouch questioned the $550 million being spent on eight more miles of MetroLink:
So, what if that $550 million could have been spent on, say, improving bus service instead? As it is, about 70 percent of St. Louisans who use public transit ride the bus anyway. More bus service, some customers might argue, might have been a good thing.
Metro tells us it costs $78 to keep one bus in service for an hour. That includes everything: fuel, maintenance, operator salary and those bus stop announcements that no one can understand.
But Metro says about half of the passengers who ride MetroLink make between $50,000 and $75,000 a year. Only 17 percent of bus riders make that much. In fact, more than half of them make less than $15,000.
Graber and Crouch continue their argument with some interesting math:
So for $550 million, here’s how many more buses Metro could have put on the road every day of the year for 16 hours a day: 241 new bus routes for five years; 120 bus routes for 10 years; 80 bus routes for 15 years; or 60 for 20 years.
That is a lot of buses. Perhaps too many? But their point is well made. Light rail is very expensive and doesn’t always serve the population that needs it most.
I’ve been utilizing our bus service in combination with my bike quite a bit over the last few months. I’ve been very impressed with the cleanliness of the buses, their on-time rate and the friendliness of my fellow riders. The economic difference between riders on the bus and light rail is pretty apparent but in the end not a deterrent. But the stigmatism of the bus is alive in many people’s mind.
Streetcars are basically a bus on a fixed rail. Well, in truth, the bus was a streetcar removed from the rails and given a diesel engine. People universally seem to love streetcars. Even new streetcars that don’t have the retro look. Something about the rail and the overhead wires. Not even the wires so much. Seattle’s buses become electric in the city, connecting to overhead wires. It really comes down to the fixed rail.
You’d think the flexibility of the bus would be more appealing but I believe we all have this secret love of railroads and the rails. The streetcar is the most accessible form of rail transportation. Light rail is superior to streetcars in that one train can hold many more passengers. Each operator carries more passengers a day than would an operator of a streetcar or bus. This is ultimately the big argument in favor of light rail. However, the cost to get those people from place to place is high.
Before people start attacking me let me say that I love our MetroLink system and I’m glad we are expanding it. But I’m wondering about the wisdom of expanding the system further. I’m not suggesting we stop building our mass transit system, just changing from light rail to streetcar.
Part of my reasoning is purely selfish. Where I currently live MetroLink will never be convenient. In about 20 years I might have a stop about a mile West of me that will take me downtown. Twenty years! I’ll be pushing 60 years old by then. Sorry, but I’m not that patient. The #40 Broadway bus is just three blocks to the East and it gets me the six miles to downtown in very short order.
I see the future Northside MetroLink route as being a critical component to repopulating and reinvigorating North St. Louis. But can we afford to wait the 15+ years for it to be finished? As much as I love light rail I think we’d be better off substituting streetcars along the Northside and Southside routes. We can have an efficient system in place years earlier and for millions less. Streetcars offer the lower cost per passenger of buses while increasing ridership through their magical charm.
Ultimately, the sooner we get more mass transit in place the better off we’ll be as a region. Streetcar lines would reach more people in more neighborhoods than light rail. And, after all, that is the goal of mass transit.
– Steve
Thank you! The editors of the Riverfront Times have named Urban Review – St. Louis the “Best Civic-Minded Blog:”
Steve Patterson bills his Urban Review-St. Louis as “an urbanist’s critique on the City of St. Louis and the St. Louis region.” Yeah, everybody’s a critic, but Patterson’s got cred. He was a design-build designer who became a city real estate agent; he knows the built environment, he knows the neighborhoods. While the rest of us bitch about what developers and regulatory boards do, he actually attends the meetings, contributes his thoughts and opinions. And he always puts his mouth and money together: He ran for alderman of the 25th Ward, and he’s a passionate cyclist (use the blog’s search engine to piece together The Bike Rack Rants) who became a certified bike-safety instructor. Patterson goes everywhere, investigates everything and imparts important information clearly. He’s a pragmatic optimist pushing for St. Louis even when it pushes itself into the ground. We care more when we know more, and Urban Review-St. Louis has our back.
November will mark the one year anniversary since I started blogging. I’ve really enjoyed going to meetings, meeting readers and sharing my thoughts on the built environment. The rise in the number of blogs on the city and architecture is inspiring. More and more people are talking about what makes a city a great place to live and that is a good thing!
The “Best Of” issue is on news stands and can be seen online here.
– Steve
A couple of weeks ago I posted about a brochure from A.G. Edwards that scares employees to they avoid the areas surrounding the headquarters and most likely much of the city. A few people commented how Saint Louis University, also in Midtown, sends out information on local crimes, having the same effect.
Today St. Louis University’s Director of Public Safety Jack A. Titone sent out the following:
September 28, 2005
Attention Saint Louis University Community
Crime AlertAt about 5:50 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, at an off-campus location, a woman not affiliated with the University was the victim of a “Strong-Arm Robbery.” The victim was walking to her car parked on the Drake Apartment’s parking lot when an unknown suspect suddenly snatched her purse.
The suspect then jumped into a vehicle and fled the area. The St. Louis Police Department is investigating the incident. The victim was not injured, and no weapon was displayed.
The subject is described as a black male, 40 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, medium build, large belly, wearing a white t-shirt and gray pants. He was last observed entering a beige Lincoln Town Car, bearing Missouri license plate No. 667LGC.
The driver of the vehicle only is described as a black male with short hair. The vehicle was last seen traveling at a high rate of speed west in the 3400 block of Olive Street. As of this alert posting, the subjects remain at large. If you observe this vehicle, please call 911 immediately.
Although this purse snatching did not occur on campus or involve a member of the University community, the department of public safety is bringing this to your attention because it is the department’s philosophy to keep you informed of incidents that occur near the campus.
DPS recommends that members of the University community utilize their escort service late at night. To arrange an escort, please call (314) 977-3000.
Jack A. Titone
Director of Public Safety
When I was in college I never got emails like this. Of course, that is due to the fact that email didn’t exist back then…
Crime happens. It happens in the city and it happens in the suburbs. People need to be aware of their surroundings. But scaring faculty, staff and students to the point they avoid the areas around the campus only serves to create vacant sidewalks and encourage more crime. If the blocks around the campus were thriving with students you’d see a drop in crime because it would be harder for criminals to get away without having tons of witnesses. Purses are generally not snatched on populated sidewalks.
And while we are on the subject of SLU’s “public safety” department I’d love to see them 1) use their seatbelts when driving on public streets as required by Missouri law, 2) use their headlights when it is raining, snowing or getting dark – again as required by Missouri law and 3) ride their patrol bicycles per the rules of the road. Yes, as required by Missouri law.
SLU is doing its students, staff and faculty as well as the entire City of St. Louis a disservice. It is pointless to be located in the city and do things that prevent the city from deriving any benefit. We don’t get property taxes from the many properties SLU owns. If we scare people away so they spend their money in the suburbs it doesn’t really do any good for them to be here.
– Steve