Treasurer Jones Seeking Integrated Parking Management Bids, To Hold ‘Town Hall’ Events

I’ve now attended three meetings of the St. Louis Parking Commission (July, September, October). Here are the minutes from the prior meetings that were distributed:

• June 2013
• July 2013
• August 2013 — meeting cancelled
• September 2013

These minutes are not available online so I scanned and uploaded them. Hopefully they will, in the interest of transparency, upload these in the future.

The “Liberty Meter” parking meter test being conducted in the Central West End has been mentioned each time.   In October specific reports were handed out showing payments by coin vs credit card. Unfortunately, the numbers don’t add up. The August total for credit card payments was copied into September, and other totals & percentages are incorrect.  Still, from the data presented we can see the use of credits cards during this trial are higher than the previous trial a few years ago on South Grand. We can also see credit card use has been increasing each month. It’s hard to know for sure given the spreadsheet errors.

Since I sold my car 18 months ago I haven’t had a chance to use these new meters, but I still think I’d prefer payment machines to individual meters. Anyone have any thoughts?

At the October meeting they went into closed session to discuss a recently issued Request for Proposal for an Integrated Parking Management System:

The City of St. Louis Treasurer’s Office is soliciting proposals from qualified companies to furnish and potentially install an easy-to-use on-street parking system that allows payment flexibility and convenience for users while allowing real-time monitoring, reduced cost of operating, increased flexibility in changing rates and increased compliance.

It was also announced that four “Town Hall” events are scheduled for the coming weeks:

The City of St. Louis Treasurer’s Office will host four town halls dedicated to the current and future state of parking in St. Louis. The Treasurer’s Office issued an RFP for parking meter management and processing on October 4 in efforts to modernize operations.

“We promised the citizens of St. Louis that all existing contracts would be reviewed and examined for their operational and financial efficiency. This is another step we’re taking to propel the office from the 19th Century to the 21st Century,” said Treasurer Tishaura Jones.

The town halls will provide more information on the RFP selection process and opportunities for citizens to provide feedback on the direction of parking in St. Louis. The RFP selection will consist of two phases. During the first phase a review committee will rank and score the proposals based upon the evaluation criteria. The Treasurer’s Office will select a limited number of vendors to proceed to the second phase which requires vendors to perform a six (6) month on-street field test evaluation of their equipment before a final selection is made. The field test will include installing parking equipment on both sides of one or more contiguous city blocks. Based upon the results of the trial and citizen feedback, the Treasurer’s Office may decide to proceed with an offer to one or more companies to furnish and potentially install units on a long-term basis throughout the City.

The town halls will take at the following locations:

Schlafly Branch Library, 225 N Euclid Ave.

Wednesday, October 23, 6:00pm-7:00pm

Central Library, 1301 Olive St.

Tuesday, October 29, 6:00pm-7:00pm

Carondelet Park Recreation Complex, 930 Holly Hills Ave.

Wednesday, November 6, 6:00pm-7:00pm

O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex, 4343 W Florissant Ave.

Tuesday, November 12, 6:00pm-7:00pm

Unfortunately, all are scheduled for 6pm on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Due to work schedules, not everyone will be able to attend. With four events it would’ve been nice to see four days of the week covered rather than just two, as well as other times besides 6pm-7pm.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: In The Future, What Will You Call The I-64/I-55 Span Across The Mississippi River?

Last week one of our busiest bridges was renamed/rededicated:

The span, colloquially (but inaccurately) known as the Poplar Street Bridge, was originally named for Dickmann, a former St. Louis mayor. It was renamed Monday for Clay, the former Democratic congressman from St. Louis.

In a rededication ceremony downtown, with Gov. Jay Nixon, Mayor Francis Slay and other dignitaries looking on, Clay and his son, current U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, pulled away a black veil to reveal the white-on-green sign announcing: “Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge.” (stltoday)

This will make the traffic reports on TV & radio significantly longer, if the new name is used.

When I moved to St. Louis 23+ years ago it took me a while to figure out what the “PSB” was. Ah, Poplar Street Bridge…but it was actually the Bernard F. Dickmann Bridge. Confusing.

The poll question for this week asks what name you’ll call the span in the future. Here are the choices in the poll:

• Bernard F. Dickmann Bridge
• Poplar Street Bridge
• PSB
• Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge
• Other

These will be presented in a random order in the poll (right sidebar).

— Steve Patterson

Participatory Budgeting Has Arrived In St. Louis

Imagine residents in your ward coming together to suggest ideas on how to ward spend capital improvement funds. Dream on, right? People are apathetic and don’t participate, according to the usual narrative. Well, residents of the 6th ward don’t have to imagine, they just need to show up with ideas — and they have been. On Wednesday I got to witness the 2nd participatory budgeting assembly in the 6th ward, a very reaffirming experience at a time when democracy is breaking down nationally. Watch this brief video for an overview and go to pbstl.com.

If you’re a resident of the 6th ward and want to participate, you’ve got a few more opportunities this week:

1. Monday, October 14th
   Stray Dog Theater
   2348 Tennessee Ave
   6:30pm-8:30pm
2. Wednesday, October 16th
   Lafayette Park United Methodist Church
   2300 Lafayette Ave
   6:30pm-8:30pm
3. Saturday, October 19th
   Barr Branch Library
   1701 S Jefferson Ave
   10:00am-12:00pm

Have an idea but can’t attend? No problem, email your idea.

Once all the ideas are collected, volunteer budget delegates will work with city departments to turn them into projects, with real budgets. Then, in April 2014, 6th ward residents will get a chance to vote to see what gets funded. Will they pick one $100,000 or five $20,000 projects?

No matter what gets funded, citizens are participating in their community.

— Steve Patterson

Saint Louis University Law School Shuttle

One reason for trying to build the St. Louis Streetcar is to reduce the number of polluting buses on the streets, in particular, from shuttles for the new Saint Louis University School of Law (my review of the building). The law school is open and the diesel-powered shuttles are very visible.

Here’s a quick summary of the route:

Scott Hall Shuttle You can access Scott Hall from the main university and designated law school parking via a new shuttle. Hours and information can be found here. The shuttle will connect Scott Hall to the main University campus, Salus Center and the law school parking at Schnucks Culnaria and 1215 Olive St. surface lot. The final shuttle runs from Scott Hall at 10:10 p.m. with drop-offs at Culinaria, the 1215 parking lot and finally at Busch Student Center. (source)

And here’s visuals:

Seems excessive too me, especially when they sit and idle, spewing diesel fumes. Guess law students won’t mix with the general public with such an elaborate shuttle system at their disposal. Presumably, though, amy SLU faculty, staff, or student, can ride it.

— Steve Patterson

Adolphus Busch Died A Century Ago

St. Louis has a long history of brewing beer and one of the most influential, Adolphus Busch, died 100 years ago today.

In 1906 Adolphus Busch caught a cold that turned into pneumonia.  After this, he grew increasingly weaker until his death from a heart attack on October 10, 1913. (Historic Missourians)

The story of how this immigrant became a historic figure in St. Louis & Missouri is interesting to me:

Eberhard Anheuser, who left Germany in 1843, settling first in Cincinnati and before moving to St. Louis. Trained as a soap manufacturer, he eventually went on to own the largest soap and candle company in St. Louis. Although he had no brewing experience, he became part owner of the Bavarian Brewery, which had first opened its doors in 1852. By 1860, Anheuser had bought out the other investors and the brewery’s name was changed to E. Anheuser & Co.

Adolphus Busch was born in 1839, the second youngest of 22 children. At age 18, he made his way to St. Louis via New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Adolphus began working as a clerk on the riverfront and by the time he was 21, he had a partnership in a brewing supply business.

It was through this enterprise that Aldolphus Busch met Eberhard Anheuser, and soon Adolphus was introduced to Eberhard’s daughter, Lilly. In 1861, Adolphus Busch and Lilly Anheuser were married, and shortly after that, Adolphus went to work for his father-in-law. He later purchased half ownership in the brewery, becoming a partner.

At that time, most beer in the United States was sold in the community in which it was brewed. Adolphus was determined to create a brand that would transcend the tradition of local brews and appeal to the tastes of many different people. In 1876, he and his friend, Carl Conrad, created an American-style lager beer that succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. Adolphus coined the label “Budweiser”, a name that would appeal to German immigrants like himself, yet could be easily pronounced by Americans. Budweiser was a success and eventually, became the company’s flagship brand. (Source – age verification required)

Youngest of 22 kids! Busch was 21 when he married 17 year-old Lilly Anheuser in 1861.

The Busches often traveled to Germany where they had a mansion, the Villa Lilly, which was named for Mrs Busch, in Lindschied near Langenschwalbach, in present-day Bad Schwalbach.

He died there in Lindschied in 1913 while on vacation. He had been suffering from dropsy since 1906. His body was brought back in 1915 by ship to the United States and then a train to St. Louis and he was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. (Wikipedia)

Between 1863 and 1884, Adolphus and Lilly Busch had thirteen children—five boys and eight girls.  Three girls died in infancy, but the remaining five, Nellie, Edmee, Anna Louise, Clara, and Wilhelmina, all married either German or German-American men and lived into late adulthood.  Clara married Baron Paul von Gontard of the German empire, and became a famous trendsetter in the city of Berlin.  Anna’s husband, Edward Faust, and Nellie’s husband, Edward Magnus, eventually served as vice presidents in the brewery.  Of Busch’s five sons, one, Carl, was born with disabilities and required special care, while three others, Edward, Adolphus Jr., and Peter, died of appendix-related medical conditions by mid-adulthood.  Only August A. Busch lived past his mid-thirties.  He became second in command to Adolphus at the brewery, and eventually took over the brewery’s leadership after his father’s death. (Source)

Learn more at Bellefontaine’s 2nd Annual Beer Barons Tour on October 19th, purchase tickets here.

— Steve Patterson