Curbs Ignored As Potholes Get Patched
With our recent weather potholes are a problem, but other road infrastructure continues to deteriorate without getting much attention.
Granted, driving past a broken curb isn’t going to damage your wheels, tires, or suspension the way a pothole might. I’d like to know when and how these two curbs will get repaired.
Are there worse curbs elsewhere in the city? Is there a list? Do these only get addressed when a major streetscape project happens?
— Steve Patterson
These pics show a glimpse of the overall massive infrastructure deficit in the city of St. Louis. Each ward only gets about $300,000 per year to pay for infrastructure projects. $300,000. Generally, alderman, in consultation with the street department and other city departments, set those priorities. The funding has very little to do with targeted redevelopment efforts. It’s our city’s classic struggle of funding redevelopment vs. maintaining services to the entire city.
And this illustrates a big part of the problem – allocating funding by ward instead of prioritizing needs and spending on a citywide basis. Wards are based on residential population, while some of the biggest infrastructure needs are in non-residential areas. Spending $300,000 in St. Louis Hills / 16th ward goes a lot further when the infrastructure’s in better shape to start with!
That said, the best way to address this, a fairly “non-sexy” issue, would be to pair it with a more “attractive” ballot initiative. One idea – a(nother) dedicated sales tax for a new Rams stadium combined with several million dollars for curbs, gutters, curb ramps and sidewalks. Another idea – legalize (and tax) marijuana in the city (using the Colrado model) and use those revenues to fund infrastructure repairs. And I’m sure there are many, many other creative solutions – we just need to get past true “equity” and fix the problems that really need to be fixed!
No more sales tax initiatives!
Man, those are some bad examples. Not as bad, but I was rather surprised this fall by the very poor condition of the sidewalk on S. Grand north of Magnolia up to Shenandoah.
i have had 2 tires destroyed by broken metal coping on curbs in marine villa and the southhampton. yes, i should try to not bump into the curb when parallel parking, but a simple bump shouldn’t result in a 2″ gash in a tire sidewall.