Vespa Petitioning to Convert Some Auto Parking to Two-Wheel Parking

Vespa is the most well known of scooter makers and you’ll see plenty of the Italian jobs on the streets of St. Louis. But they are also pretty determined to create an even bigger market for themselves and their competition. They realize parking is an issue keeping more people from using a small and efficient scooter over the family SUV. Enter the Vespa Petition, or Vespatition:

Parking for All! Sign the Vespatition to convert some automobile spaces to two-wheel spaces!

By signing the Vespatition, you are promoting the conversion of some automobile parking spaces to two-wheel spaces. The results will be publicized and sent to your local mayor.

Just as parking spaces for compact cars and handicapped parking stalls have increased efficiency and convenience in urban and suburban communities, officially designated two-wheel parking facilities can do the same.

Government agencies should consider removing the two-wheeler from the four-wheeler parking space and placing it in its own, scaled down zone. This is a simple concept that can be embraced by city councils, urban planners, local merchants, contractors, shopping center management and private businesses whenever parking for motor vehicles is provided.

Here are some suggestions for motorcycle/scooter parking that we are proposing:

Street-legal parking – convert a number of existing parking spaces every couple of streets to motorcycle/scooter parking

•Spaces can be metered or un-metered
•The smaller size of two-wheel vehicles allows them to fit into unoccupied areas on streets and sidewalks, creating efficiencies in urban planning and increasing city revenues (if metered).
•Six motorcycles, scooters or limited-access motorcycles carrying from six to twelve people can be parked in the area normally taken up by one automobile. If, however, no motorcycle parking facility is provided in the area, one would possibly find those six motorcycles occupying up to six separate automobile spaces.

Convert unused space – cement curbs of a certain size can be converted to two-wheel parking. A specialized parking area for motorcycles and scooters not only leaves more space for the automobiles, but also caters to the riders’ needs by providing a well-lit, convenient and secure location in which they may confidently leave their vehicle. Such facilities can be small in area and can usually be located near a building entrance or at the end of a parking island.

Parking garages – designate parking spaces in municipal garages for two-wheel vehicles. Create a more equitable rate structure for two-wheel vehicle parking in private garages.

Sidewalk parking – permit scooters and motorcycles to be parked in designated areas on sidewalks and locked to structures which currently accommodate bicycles.

Designating scooter/motorcycle parking is one of the most urban things we could do in the St. Louis region. This ranks up there with actually having designated bicycle racks! This petition from Vespa is part of their Vespanomics website — a platform on oil dependence and how two-wheel transportation can help with the issue. It only has a few links to their main website — it is not a thinly veiled attempt at the environment just to sell you a scooter. In fact, Vespa has done a good job overall about being inclusive of other competing brands.

Local and national government leaders are charged with establishing transportation policies that address both short-term and long-term problems, are environmentally responsible and truly benefit the American consumer. With the support of federal, state and local governments, new options like scootering can bring immediate and substantial economic and environmental benefits to Americans and the communities in which they live.

To facilitate the adoption of scootering, U.S. Mayors and other elected officials should consider providing dedicated parking for scooters and motorcycles.

Now is the time to broaden the dialogue about America’s addiction to oil and its dependency on foreign imports in a way that includes technological as well as behavioral solutions.

I ask that everyone of you reading this take a minute and click on the above link to sign the petition. Doesn’t matter if you have a scooter or not or where you live. Just fill out the form to help support a more friendly policy toward parking for two-wheeled vehicles.

Of course if Vespa sends this to Mayor Slay they are kinda wasting their time as the Mayor’s office has little control over parking in the city. Our planning agency has little say either! No, parking in St. Louis is the responsibility of the Treasurer! Yes, Treasurer. Presumably accounting types know best when it comes to parking. The logic being parking is a revenue source so that belongs to the Treasurer. Not sure when this became part of the city’s charter but it is F’d up if you ask me. Larry Williams has been Treasurer of St. Louis since 1981. As you might expect, he ran unchallenged in the last election in 2004.

While we are on parking, we need to switch from individual meters and marked spaces to the more free-flowing parking model of progressive cities and institute a “pay-n-display” system for paying. The reason is short cars like mine do not need anywhere near as much as a Chevy Suburban or a Hummer. With more and more shorter cars around we can likely squeeze in another space per block. With four sides to a block and a good 40 blocks in the CBD we could easily get another 160 cars right in front of local businesses. Of course, using some of this newfound space for scooter/motorcycle parking would be wise.

Related Prior Posts:
•St. Louis Region Needs to Address Parking for Scooters & Motorcycles, April 2006
•Parking on Washington Avenue — Finally!, February 2006

Again, please sign the Vespatition!

– Steve

St. Louis Region Drops Again in Forbes Ranking

This year St. Louis ranked 31st among 40 metropolitan areas as “Best Places for Singles” according to Forbes magazine. Our best ranking was 14th in 2001 but since then we’ve continued to sink in the rankings, now falling into the bottom 10. It should be noted this is for the metropolitan area of St. Louis, not simply the City of St. Louis.

To simplify things I compiled the chart, at left, showing where the St. Louis region ranks overall and in their various categories. As you can see we’ve been steadily dropping in the overall rankings since 2001. But a closer look reveals the good and the bad.

Below are each of the subcategories with the Forbes methodology in italics, followed by my thoughts on each.

Overall:

To determine the best city for singles, we ranked 40 of the largest continental U.S. metropolitan centers in seven different areas: nightlife, culture, job growth, number of singles, cost of living alone, coolness, and for the first time, online dating. Each metro is assigned a ranking of one to 40 in each category, based on quantitative data. All categories are weighted equally, with the exception of the number of singles, which received a double weighting. The ranks are then averaged to determine the final rankings.

We’ve got a lot of great things going on in the City of St. Louis right now with lofts and new restaurants and trendy bowling alleys opening but our region, we must accept, is boring. We are a region of “comfortable” suburban housing mixed with sterile office parks connected by massive highways. Tax base aside, the region is pretty much a drain on the City of St. Louis.

Culture:

Our cultural index is determined by the number of museums, pro sports teams and live theater and concert venues per capita, as well as the university population, in each metro. Data provided by AOL CityGuide and Montreal International.

I’ve yet to consider pro sports as having anything to do with “culture” but that is only one part of this criteria. This is the one section where we’ve been the most consistent over the years. Phoenix ranked #1.

Nightlife:

Nightlife is based on the number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs per capita in each standard metropolitan area. Data provided by AOL CityGuide.

This is a category where we are doing a lot of ups and downs from year to year. From the information provided I’m not sure if this is because our data is changing or if other city’s data is changing and thus moving everyone around in the rankings. Most likely it is a combination of both. Cincinnati ranked #1.

Singles:

The number of singles is based on the percentage of a metro’s population above the age of 15 that has never been married. Given the importance of this data, the singles category carries twice the weight of any other category. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Per the rankings this just isn’t a singles region, or perhaps many have been previously married. No surprise but New York ranked #1.

Job Growth:

Job growth rankings are determined by the projected percentage of job growth over the next five years for each metro. Data provided by Washington, D.C.-based Woods & Poole Economics.

Now we are getting to the real issue. Our job growth in this region sucks big time! The region must come together to evaluate why this is true and what are possible solutions. The old guard will continue to cite another bridge over the Mississippi River and other nonsense that simply keeps the politically connected sprawl machine working. While the city’s earnings tax may keep business out of the city, I’m not sure it would have an impact on the region’s job growth numbers. Whatever the reasons, this must be addressed. Las Vegas ranked #1.

Cost Of Living Alone:

Our proprietary Cost Of Living Alone index is determined by the average cost of a metro area’s apartment rent, a Pizza Hut pizza, a movie ticket and a six-pack of Heineken. Additionally, we factored in entry-level salary data. The majority of the raw data for the cost of living index was provided by Arlington, Va.-based ACCRA. Salary data provided by the New York-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Ouch! I’m guessing here but I’d say our entry-level salaries have not kept pace with the average apartment rental rates. Either that or Pizza Hut has had to dramatically raise prices in St. Louis to cover the cost of hiring Queen Latifa for their commercials. Seriously though, while many may not think so I do believe we are building ourselves into a situation of higher and higher living costs relative to our incomes. Salaries simply have not kept pace with the increased property values, at least in the city. This is reflected in some very costly cities ranking ahead of us, including Seattle, NYC and San Francisco. Atlanta ranked #1.

Online Dating:

Due to the increasing popularity of online dating, we added this new measure to our methodology this year. The ranking is determined by the number of active profiles in each metro, per capita, on dating site Match.Com. Data provided by www.match.com.

OK everyone, get online so we can move up in the rankings for 2007. Yeah, right…. Boston ranked #1.

Coolness:

Coolness is determined by an area’s diversity and its number of creative workers (i.e., those whose jobs require creativity, such as artists, scientists, teachers and musicians). Kevin Stolarick, of Catalytix and Carnegie Mellon University, provided the data based on work he has done with Richard Florida, of George Mason University, and Gary Gates, of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

This is the one that shocked me, the ranking being much higher than I expected.

So what do you see in the numbers? Or what are they missing about our region that can’t be quantified?

– Steve

TOD Sites Abound in St. Louis

Transit Oriented Development, TOD, is a big topic in planning circles. The basic concept is to concentrate development activity around transit such as a subway or light rail station. A good mixed-use project with retail, office and residential can keep a station busy and transit cost-effective. A developer too can maintain/increase profits while building a bigger project.

To date I don’t think we’ve done the best job maximizing the existing MetroLink light rail stations. We are starting to see some work near stations in Illinois but the density is still relatively low. Granted, many of our stations were built in existing areas, some of which are quite urban. For example, downtown was already full and as lofts fill up former offices and warehouses we can be sure rail transit access had something to do with that.

We do have several areas of our light rail system that could benefit from increased development. The first comes to mind is 8th and Spruce, just west of the new Busch Stadium. Here the Metrolink line curves to change from east-west orientation under the highway to north-south under 8th. A new corner building with MetroLink running in the basement could prove popular. With the stadium station in place just across Spruce access would be a cinch. Don’t look for any underground parking with the train in the middle of the footprint but we must get to the point where not every place has dedicated parking. Besides, that is part of the point of transit. In this new building I’d have street-level retail/restuarant space facing both Spruce and 8th, a couple of floors of office space and then residential. Maybe it is at most 6-8 stories high. Still, that would do a wonderful job of urbanizing a prominent corner as well as adding density to a transit stop that doesn’t see much activity outside of game day. This new construction and users could compliment the renovation work in the adjacent Couples Station area.

A similar opportunity exists just to the west, between 14th and 18th along Clark St. Between the Civic Center Station (14th) and the Union Station Station (18th) is development nirvana (see map). At the immediate corner of 14th & Clark we’ve got a nice grove of trees leading to the station platforms. I could see a new building design just to the west, facing Clark, that leaves this corner plaza intact. However, I’d get out the chainsaw for the right building(s) on the corner at 14th. The problem here is the big curve is closer to street grade than I’d like and lowering it might be too costly. But, from what was once 15th to 16th you’ve got a clean shot over the tracks. Same for 16th to 18th.

Concentrating more residences near 18th and Clark would create more daily users for Union Station (so it is not entirely dependent upon tourist traffic). Offering downtown residential units without included garage space might also offer affordability to those that want a car-free lifestyle but cannot currently afford to live near a MetroLink station. Of course, garage space could be built on the main and a few upper levels with retail along the street-face and office & residential over the parking. A mix of housing in numerous price ranges might be the best solution.

While I’d have no opposition to a mid or high-rise tower I don’t think it is necessary either, at least not from a design perspective. Clark and the adjacent numbered streets would have had 3-6 story buildings originally. This creates a nice friendly scale along the sidewalk for pedestrians. Even is part of the structures did get taller a shorter height at the sidewalk would still be best.

The cost-effectiveness of construction over a functioning transit line is the big problem with this plan. The cost of the required concrete tunnel may necessitate more floors just to help break even. The concept is certainly worth detailed analysis.

As Metro (Bi-State) most likely owns the right-of-way used for MetroLink a developer would need their blessing. This would involve a lease or sale of the development rights over the right-of-way. This money could help ease the currently strapped transit agency while providing new users for the system.

Moving west out of downtown I think a new stop at Jefferson Ave is needed. The replacement bridge over the tracks is currently being planned so adding a transit stop during construction would be a simple affair, relative to retrofitting to an old bridge. The site to the east of Jefferson facing Scott (and the UPS facility) is ideal for concentrated development around a transit stop (map). With a new interchange at I-64 and 22nd Street it might actually be possible to connect Scott Ave with 21st or 20th street making it possible for those living at this new area to walk to Union Station. All this is adjacent to the proposed Chouteau Greenway. I’ve already covered the TOD possibilities at Grand in a prior post.

I think our developers do a good job converting existing buildings but when it comes to new construction I think they tend to seek out large tracts. The idea of building on smaller parcels just hasn’t quite sunk in yet. This land near these transit stops is not serving anyone at the moment but if developed could help Metro, the new occupants, adjacent retailers and restauranteurs and the City of St. Louis.

– Steve

The Return of Electricity (and Old Habits?)

The experience of a simpler way of life this week, courtesy of mother nature, was unexpected and frankly, unwelcomed. I like my computer, wi-fi, fax machine, air conditioning, washing machine, dishwasher and food refrigeration thank you very much. Television I can do without.

The funny thing is I have three TVs in the house; one in my home office, one in master bedroom and one in the living room. A bit much for just one person don’t you think? I cancelled my satellite service at the beginning of the year and have only one antenna. I can’t recall the last TV program I watched at home. I did just get Netflix (2 week free trial) so I will be using the living room TV to watch videos, (or just use the new 20″ iMac in the office). Still, I don’t see myself watching many movies at home.

Interestingly, my first Netflix DVD arrived on Wednesday, the day the electric went out. The title I selected on Tuesday? Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. So Thursday afternoon I’m sitting at Hartford Coffee with my laptop and headphones watching this documentary tale of corporate corruption and energy manipulation. How poetic. I knew I’d get angry the first time I saw this film but as my home was without power I could relate to those in California who were without power during rolling blackouts as Enron’s traders exploited power plants and electric availability for a buck (ok, thirty billion bucks).

I spent Wednesday night at home in the heat. A breeze would have helped but my old storm windows and older wood windows just don’t operate as well as they should. If more would work property I could have gotten a slightly better breeze. My house, a 1917 corner storefront, never had a sleeping porch but many houses of the era did. A sleeping porch is something I’ve wanted for a long time and may seek out in my next property.

After finishing the Enron documentary on Thursday I accepted reality that I’d be without electric for days, not hours and thus sought out a hotel. It seems everyone else came to that conclusion long before I did as no rooms were available in the entire region. All the hotels either were booked or without electricity themselves. Many friends were without electric and I didn’t want to inconvenience others as well as give up personal privacy. So, I decided to look upon the outage as an adventure and check out a place outside our region. Looking over a map I considered Jefferson City, Columbia MO, and Rolla but settled on Mt. Vernon, IL. Roughly 90 minutes east of St. Louis on I-64 heading toward Louisville KY I thought this would be a good choice.

The Days Inn promised a king bed, indoor pool and wireless internet. It delivered that in a highly suburban setting just off the highway along chain hotel and restaurant row. As it was late I went to Chili’s for dinner rather than seek out a local place. Local flavor would have to wait until Friday.

With the exception of high humidity Friday started out great. Unlike the night before, I sleep great and awoke refreshed and ready to explore. I checked the map on Google before leaving the hotel and knew what to expect: the main drag, Broadway/IL-15, became one-way eastbound through downtown with Main St. to the north serving as one-way westbound. As I approached downtown the one-way street began and drivers were encouraged to quickly make their way through, not stop and linger. Big mistake, big.

Downtown Mt. Vernon was once quite charming with the attractive stone courthouse occupying the center square bounded by Broadway on the south, 9th on the east, 10th on the west and Main on the north. Today two of the four sides of the square have been bastardized with horrible buildings. Another side is half urban with a dreadful bank ruining a prominent corner. Still, much potential exists in the fabric that remains.

I enjoyed lunch at a new upscale restaurant open downtown (9th St. Grill) and as I finished I began to see the clouds approaching. Walking around getting photographs it began to sprinkle then rain. I made my way to a local country & western clothing store on the square (Main & 10th) just as the rain really began coming down. As I shopped the music on the store radio stopped for an urgent notice — Mt. Vernon was under a tornado watch (or was it a warning?). The wind and rain soon picked up and it was clear I would not be leaving the store until the storm passed. I finished my purchase (they were having a sale!) just before the power went out leaving me, the owner and her young son in the dark. The storefront windows began to shake as the wind continued to pick up speed so in the dark we made our way to dressing and storage rooms behind the counter. Thankfully the windows didn’t break out but it didn’t look good. During this time I talked to the owner about Mt. Vernon.

Turns out she is on the board of their downtown development group (website). So as the winds downed trees and ripped awnings off nearby buildings we talked traffic control and other things they are examining. This woman (I didn’t get her name in all the commotion) is untrained in urban planning but she had a keen sense of what it takes to create a friendly and thriving downtown. An architect whose office is in the a great old bank across the street is president of the group.

After the storm passed I drove back toward the hotel. Trees, signs and awnings where down the entire way. Areas of streets and parking lots were flooded. Traffic signals were out. This looked way too familiar! I kept hoping that somehow the hideous suburban area with mostly underground electric service would still have power. But no, the entire area except for a single gas station and an Arby’s were without power. The gas station a few doors from my hotel sustained substantial damage to the canopy over the pumps. I figured I’d have better luck being in St. Louis without electric so I packed and returned.

A friend had offered me her couch and I arrived at her downtown loft just as she was getting home from work Friday afternoon. Downtown, it seems, is pretty immune to such outages with only 9 customers in 63101 without service per Ameren’s map. The next morning we headed from the 10th Street lofts to Printer’s Lofts for an early breakfast and to watch the final stage of the Tour de France before Paris. If you hadn’t heard, American and Mennonite Floyd Landis won this year after helping Lance Armstrong for the U.S. Postal Service team 2002-2004.

Another downtown friend left for a week in Florida on Saturday afternoon so I moved my things over to her loft in the Railway building. Ah, privacy. And internet. And a big shower. And a nice gas range in the granite island. Today I decided I was going to cook as I had been eating out a bit too much. I had called my home fax around noon and still no power. Later I started cooking and at 2pm decided it was time to call home again (about every two hours seemed right). It worked, starting a pot of beans did the trick as I got the high pitched sounds of my fax machine.

I may spend another night in the loft, giving my A/C time to cool off my house after I go and get all the windows closed. Also, I need to check the internet service to make sure it is working OK before I take my computers (yes, plural) home.

I was talking with a long-time friend and Seattle architect today and we discussed if I’d learn from this experience or return to mostly oblivious power user. Hard call at this time but that manual mower I bought a year ago after Katrina hasn’t seen much action this year. My Honda scooter, however, has taken me nearly 2,000 miles in local traffic.

This week I was shopping for a new George Forman grill or similar. I of course checked out local stores like Casa Semplice on 10th Street but I wonder if I want yet another electric appliance. I already own nearly every electric kitchen device known to man so will another make my life better or simply more dependent upon the power grid? The computer and fax are not going away but I can certainly get a nice grilling plate for my gas range rather than an appliance to do the job. Yes, this assumes the continued availability and relative affordability of natural gas.

What have all of you taken away from this experience?

– Steve

Democrats Ignoring Best Way to Create Energy Independence

Earlier this week I received the following from Claire McCaskill, a candidate for U.S. Senate from Missouri:

ST. LOUIS — U.S. Senate Candidate Claire McCaskill will visit Fenton, Cape Girardeau, and New Madrid on Wednesday, July 19th, Macon, Columbia, Osage Beach, and Rolla on Thursday, July 20th, and Marshall, Kansas City, and Nevada on Friday, July 21st. Meeting with local farmers, consumers, and community members, she will discuss her plan to bring down the price of gas at the pump and end our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

At a time when Missouri families are suffering from record gas prices, Claire believes we need to strive for energy independence. Our addiction to oil poses a threat not only to our pocketbooks, but to America’s national security as we rely on unstable regimes for our oil. A responsible energy plan will protect consumers, encourage alternative fuels, and reduce our reliance on oil through developing renewable sources of energy and improving end-use efficiency. It will also help revitalize Missouri’s rural economies.

“Now more than ever, it is necessary for the United States to get serious about energy independence,” said McCaskill. “Alternative and renewable energy sources offer the greatest hope for our energy security. Investment in these technologies will not only reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but also stimulate the Missouri economy since our state is a national leader in ethanol production.”

McCaskill’s plan for energy independence will feature detailed measures to protect consumers from price gouging, promote ethanol, alternative fuels, and renewable energy, increase fuel economy, and improve energy efficiency. When Claire goes to Washington, she will be a Senator on the side of Missouri farmers and consumers, not big oil.

“Bring down the price of gas at the pump?” Is she kidding? The “solutions” are what people want to hear — we’ll grow ethanol so farmers will be happy and everyone can keep driving their Hummer. Vote for us and everything will be just fine. BS! Re-read the above — not a single word about actually reducing the use of energy through increased mass transit or discouraging suburban sprawl. All the “solutions” are simply replacements for oil and perhaps modest improvements to the fuel efficiency of future new cars.

I’m going to vote for McCaskill simply because I believe Jim Talent represents an evil wing of the Republican party. But, I am not voting for her nor for the Democrats. The Democrats don’t want to tell the public the truth anymore than the Republicans do: we use too damn much energy as a society and we cannot afford to continue doing so!

– Steve