Sunday Poll: Support or oppose MSD plan to raze vacant buildings to reduce water runoff?
In the news recently:
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District wants to spend $13.5 million of its own money to tear down vacant properties. Grassy lots would let stormwater slowly percolate into the ground instead of rushing into the combined sewer system that serves much of St. Louis.
While it could take several years to spend down the money, even the longest spending scenario would amount to a near doubling of St. Louis’ demolition budget. And areas where MSD sees the most benefit in terms of runoff and watersheds also are the areas – primarily in north St. Louis – where the city’s vacant properties are concentrated. (Post-Dispatch)
So I want to know if this is something you support or oppose?
This unscientific poll will remain open until 8pm.
— Steve Patterson
Interesting conundrum and a telling relection of a decaying region – if the properties were occupied and paying sewer fees, would MSD be so quick to tear them down? It reminds me of when Denver Water paid me to replace water closets with water-saving ones. It was cheaper to reduce consumption than to increase capacity.
To extend what you have said, the logical conclusion is that in the future MSD is against any redevelopment in St. Louis so they can piss away the money in the unsustainable county system they designed.
MSD is an incompetent organization that is raping St. Louis.
Basically MSD with this policy is saying they want the city to fail in the future so they can maintain the status quo with EPA.
The only saving grace for the City of St. Louis is that they have not had too much money for demolition, although many, many good buildings and neighborhoods have been ruined by terrible choices in demolition.
There is no strategy about saving neighborhoods, demolition is random, although key buildings are often torn down, like old corner storefronts. It is as if the destruction of neighborhoods is purposeful in some ways.
Certainly a rational discussion about what and why to save certain buildings in certain neighborhoods is valid. Organizations like Better Family Life might be included in those discussions for instance.
But to be demolishing buildings to help paper over the extreme incompetence of MSD is wrong and yet another failure in the decision making by MSD that diverts funds from sewers to demolition. I mean how absurd is that proposal? So what MSD is saying is they can’t support density in the city because of their incompetence.
The city supporting this outcome is just as ridiculous.
These people don’t have clue.
It is the opposite way we should be going. We should be finding ways to reuse buildings, rebuild neighborhoods, strengthen transit and take actions to actually improve the lives of people.