Poll: new $11/month trash fee per unit

If you own property in the City of St. Louis you are probably aware of the new trash collection fee:

Mayor Francis Slay has signed a new $11-a-month fee for trash pick-up in the city.

This is the first time time residents will have to pay an additional fee for the service, which was previously funded with tax dollars from the city’s general revenue. But bulk pick-up and yard waste are included, as is single-stream recycling, a new service.

The fee, which will be included on water bills, is charged per unit. Opponents said it would hit elderly residents the hardest, especially those who may live in a two-family building they own. Water rates also went up 12 percent on July 1. (Source: St. Louis Public Radio)

Many are not pleased, others say it is a fair way to help offset a major budget shortfall.

The city struggled for a way to avoid charging for trash collection, said Barbara Geisman, executive director of development for the mayor’s office. But with the city facing a serious budget shortfall and with officials wanting to add a citywide recycling program, that wasn’t possible, she said.

In alleys, new blue containers for recyclables would join yard waste containers and containers for trash.

“You can put your cans and your paper and your glass all in that blue dumpster,” Geisman said.

The existing twice-a-week trash pickup, weekly yard waste pickup during spring, summer and fall and monthly bulk refuse pickup would continue.

The program would affect about 139,000 houses, apartments and condominiums. Buildings that now have private pickup would not be affected. (Source: Suburban Journals)

Condo associations, like mine, have always paid for private trash collection and recycling.  The poll this week is trying to get a sense of how you, the reader, feels about the issue.  The poll is located at the top of the sidebar to the right.

– Steve Patterson

Delmar Loop continues expanding to the East

The Delmar Loop commercial area has been moving East of Skinker Blvd. for a few years now.

Completion of the Pageant and the revisions to Delmar (four to two lanes, wider sidewalks) helped kick off the positive changes.  Feds also just helped out future growth:

ST. LOUIS, MO (St. Louis Public Radio) – A $25 million grant from the federal government means the Delmar Loop Trolley will become a reality soon.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the funding Thursday as part of the Obama administration’s Urban Circulator Program. (Source)

While I don’t like the replica look for the trolley vehicles, I’m thrilled to see the return of streetcars to the St. Louis region.

Older anti-urban structures such as this Church’s Chicken at Delmar & Skinker will eventually be replace with a building up the sidewalk and more than one level in height.

– Steve Patterson

Washington Ave is now flooded with light

The former St. Louis Centre pedestrian bridge over Washington (between 6th & 7th) is totally gone now.  Also gone is the bay of St. Louis Centre that projected over the sidewalk along the South side of the street.

The difference is dramatic.

Traffic and one sidewalk is now open.  Monday I will post about my thoughts about bringing more life to Washington Ave between the Eads Bridge and 10th St.

– Steve Patterson

Gardening inside St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution

In March I visited St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution (Unexpected green on St. Patrick’s Day) to check out the installation of some garden plots.

Prisoners would volunteer to do the work with the food donated to local food pantries, per the requirements of the grant.  You heard about MSI recently:

Two 17-year-old prisoners, Eric Glenn Gray and Kurt Michael Wallace, escaped from the Workhouse in North St. Louis early Wednesday morning. They were apprehended late that afternoon. Gray and Wallace were discovered hiding in a vacant house in the 5900 block of Wabada at 5:45 p.m. and arrested without further incident. (Source)

So I inquired as to the status of the garden plots.

I was pleased to see pics of the items growing in the plots.  Conditions are less than ideal, inmates don’t stay long, watering is not easy, etc.

The area where they are gardening is quite large — I can picture a large gardening operation.  This would require intensive square foot gardening and drip irrigation.  I’d like to see the inmates grow much of their own food.

– Steve Patterson

Readers want more payment options for on-street parking

The poll last week was about on-street parking and the answer with the biggest number of votes was more payment options.

Q: On-street parking downtown is free after 7pm weeknights and all day Saturday & Sunday. Thoughts? Pick up to three answers:

1. More payment options like bills, plastic or via phone 75 [27.17%]
2. Too many blocks lack any on-street parking. 40 [14.49%]
3. Extend the 2-hour limit to 3 or 4 hours on blocks with few storefronts. 33 [11.96%]
4. Enforce the 2-hour time limit but not during events like festivals or sporting events 21 [7.61%]
5. Perfect as is 21 [7.61%]
6. Regardless the city needs to enforce the 2-hour limit to encourage turnover 20 [7.25%]
7. Downtown parking meter rates & times should be the same as other areas in the city 18 [6.52%]
8. Downtown on-street parking should be free 24/7  – 16 [5.8%]
9. On-street parking shouldn’t be free on Saturdays 9 [3.26%]
10. On-street parking should stay free after 7pm weekdays but not on the weekends 8 [2.9%]
11. On-street parking should stay free on the weekends but weekdays should be paid until 9pm 7 [2.54%]
12. Other answer… 6 [2.17%]
13. No opinion/unsure 2 [0.72%]
14. On-street parking should be removed so we have more room for traffic flow.  0 [0%]

The six other answers were:

1. lower the costs to visit downtown and more people will come.
2. Enforce the limit, but get rid of the ugly garages that eat up downtown space
3. Meter parking should be free after 6PM
4. On street parking should be free after 5:00 on weekdays and all weekend.
5. Prices should fluctuate based on demand at any given time
6. It’s fine

So what do I make of these results? That the biggest group don’t mind paying to park on the street, they just want more options than change.  If you park in an area that allows more than two hours of parking it requires a lot of quarters, dimes and nickels.  I personally buy a $10 roll of quarters every so often just so that I make sure I have enough.

Cities with modern parking policies have “pay-n-display” machines rather than our 20th century meters.  Pay-n-display eliminates meters at each spot — in fact there are no specific spots — you can get more cars in a given amount of street.  After paying the fee with cash, coin, or credit you affix a receipt inside your car window.  Other systems allow you to extend your time via your cell phone.

The second most popular response was “Too many blocks lack any on-street parking.”  This is a big peeve of mine, in particular the north side of the 1100 block of Washington.  The lane that should have on-street parking in front of the bowling alley, hair salon, pizza place and diner is reserved for “turning movements” — all that traffic that goes north on Tucker.  I’ve made two short videos of this block to highlight the lack of traffic during the weekday rush hour.

March 2010:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_e_CqFA4fk

September 2009:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAFVOnngoTc

It is clear there is disagreement on downtown’s parking policy.

– Steve Patterson