Four Flavors for the St. Louis Riverfront

Tuesday night St. Louisans got a first glimpse at four concepts for remaking the drab riverfront. It was a long meeting with much information to take in. My first plan was to run home and write a late night post. Instead, i decided to see if my initial reactions would still hold true after thinking about them for a couple of days. Most did.

The design team has posted a 7.9mb PDF version of Tuesday’s presentation. Throughout this post I will make references to page numbers in this doccument. Before getting into the specific proposals I want to discuss some background and basic assumptions of the design team. First is a prior post of mine from July – click here to read my earlier thoughts.

The National Park Service owns the Arch and grounds and is not open to changes. This leaves Lenore K. Sullivan Blvd at the base of the grounds and the cobblestone bank as areas open for redesign. The peaceful beauty of the Arch and its grounds is a big draw — roughly 4 million visitors per year. Yet the lack of anything either contemplative or dynamic on the actual riverfront means the area remains dead unless a special event is planned such as Fair St. Louis on the 4th of July weekend.

The four concepts are (p52):

… Continue Reading

Suburban Resident: Bicyclists don’t pay to use roads

I could not believe the ignorance behind this letter to the editor:

Letter to the editor: Bicyclists don’t pay to use roads
Wentzville Journal
09/21/2005Bicyclists don’t pay to use roads

In response to Jim Seyer’s letter in the Sept. 11 Journal, you proved Mr. Hepperman’s statement is right.

As Missouri taxpayers who own automobiles, we pay sales tax, fuel tax, personal property tax, and real estate tax to pay for the uses of the roads. Then we stand in line every two years to register our automobiles. We must also have insurance on these vehicles before we are allowed to drive on public roads.

The taxes that you pay don’t give you the right to ride your bike on the roads. If you look on your tax receipt, you will see that personal property includes: passenger cars, trucks, trailer. R/Vs, buses, motorcycles and other motorized vehicles. Do you claim your bicycle on your personal property tax form?

Driving in the State of Missouri is a privilege not a right. If you feel that you have the right to ride your bike, then claim your bike on your taxes, register it to be licensed and have it inspected every year or two. Also follow the laws of the road by riding single file so not to impede traffic. You should have a license plate that is visible.

Mr. Hepperman wasn’t claiming to own the rood, he was trying to help you understand that bicyclists on public roadways are a hazard to everyone, including yourself. But when we try to pass bicyclists on the road — that our taxes pay for – you people act like you own the road.

Patrick Dyer
Lake Saint Louis

Public roads are public rights of way. Without public roads we would have to negotiate with private property owners for their permission to cross to buy a loaf of bread. The use of the public right of way is not a privilege but a right. However, driving a motorized vehicle within the public’s right of way is a privilege!

First, all of Mr. Dyer’s complaints about taxes just doesn’t add up. Does he really think his fuel taxes, registration and personal property tax pay for the roads he uses? Sorry bud, not even close. Who pays for all the interstate highway building and utility infrastructure required to keep suburbia alive? The rest of us. He should be thanking everyone that rides a bike because we are leaving more room in the budget to support his choice of private car.

But if he wants people to pay their fare share I’m all for it. Lets start with public schools. I have no kids nor will I ever. I’ve been paying taxes for over 10 years because parents aren’t paying their fair share of education for their kids. And what if all the fuel taxes generated from the City of St. Louis were to stay only in the City of St. Louis? Same for St. Louis County. St. Charles County would collapse under its own weight.

Mr. Dyer is so wrapped up in the auto centric society he can’t see the folly of his “logic.”

– Steve

Happy Cycling

I didn’t plan to do week devoted to bicycling. It just worked out that way. If you missed the earlier posts just use the archives links on the main page to find them or use the search function.

I wanted to do a long post on bike safety but time just doesn’t permit that today. Instead I will give you a few pointers and some links for further reading.
• Ride on the road, not the sidewalk
• Ride with traffic, not against
• Wear a helmut – make sure it is properly fitted
• Follow the rules of the road – bikes are vehicles.

A few links of interest:
• St. Louis Regional Bike Federation – great local organization (I’m on the board so I am a bit biased)
• Local Bike Instructor, Martin Pion – great guy. I took his “Road 1” course in 1999.
• League of American Bicyclists – national organization, certifies instructors like Martin.
• Missouri Bike Federation – excellent advocacy group for the entire state.
• Bike Cult – fun site, check it out.

• Carrie Zukoski’s recent story in the Healthy Planet.
• Urban Biker’s Tips & Tricks – excerpts from the book of the same name. An excellent resource.

And if you are curious I’ve got a simple little page with pictures of my bikes, some bike rides, and pictures of the bike racks at all St. Louis Public Library locations. Check it out at www.orange-bike.com.

Have a good weekend and happy riding!

– Steve

We need more parking!

St. Louis Regional Bike Federation