Readers: Increase the Number of Syrian Refugees Coming to St. Louis

Most would agree the influx of Bosnian refugees to St. Louis 20+ years ago was positive — we had plenty of room — still do.

The Bosnian population in St. Louis, Missouri, numbers over 60,000, making it the largest Bosnian community outside of Bosnia. Nearly all of the members of this community came to St. Louis as a result of the war and genocide perpetrated in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. Bosnians were allowed to immigrate to the U.S. as refugees, and St. Louis became a preferred destination due to the availability of jobs and inexpensive housing. St. Louis’s population has continued to grow due to secondary migration of Bosnian refugees from other parts of the U.S. Increasingly, what began as a refugee community is becoming a part of the social fabric of St. Louis, as Bosnian refugees have become citizens, and as a younger generation has increasingly self-identified as Bosnian-American. (Fontbonne University)

The fact the majority identify as Muslim hasn’t been an issue. Yet, somehow, people desperately trying to escape religious extremists in Syria are unwelcomed by our own religious extremists. Thankfully the majority of this blog’s readership is open minded:

Q: Should the number of Syrian refugees coming to St. Louis be changed?

1. Increased significantly 27 [45.76%]
2. Unlimited 13 [22.03%]
3. Kept unchanged 7 [11.86%]
4. Increased somewhat 6 [10.17%]
5. Cut to zero 4 [6.78%]
6. Unsure/No Answer 2 [3.39%]
7. TIE 0 [0%]
   1. Reduced significantly
   2. Reduced somewhat

This was sort of a trick question — no specific number has ever been set. The Slay administration seems open to as many as possible.  Available housing, jobs, etc all play a role.

Be cautious about your sources, especially if they’re seeking the GOP nomination:

Fiorina said the “vast majority of (Syrian) refugees are young, able-bodied men looking for work.”

She repeated the essence of a claim that wasn’t accurate a month earlier and isn’t accurate today. A slight majority of Syrian refugees are female, and men age 18 to 59 comprise about 22 percent of all Syrian refugees.

We rate Fiorina’s claim False. (PolitiFact)

I agree with Sen. Elizabeth Warren — we cannot turn away Syrian refugees.

— Steve Patterson

Loop Trolley Cannot Use Two Existing Cars Owned For A Decade, Seeking Bids To Restore A Different Type

Construction of the 2,2 mile Loop Trolley continues, the track work in most of the Western portion was largely completed by November 10th.

The issue of what vehicle will operate on them, however, remains an issue. A decade ago Citizens for Modern Transit restored two vintage cars, which sat outside along the Delmar Loop and in front of the Missouri History Museum. They’ve since been removed from display.

When the Loop Trolley opens late next year you won’t see either of them on the route.  The why requires diving into some technical issues, but I’ll try to simplify it.

The Delmar Loop is called that because decades ago the original Westbound streetcar made a loop around buildings and then returned Eastbound toward downtown. Similar loops existed in Dutchtown & Wellson.

When the new Loop Trolley was conceived it was to do a circle on the West end near the University City Hall and loop around the Missouri History Museum. Looping the track allows the driver to stay in one position to operate the vehicle in both directions.   This meant the vehicles only needed driver controls at one end — single-ended.

But the Loop Trolley route was simplified to meet budget, ironically, it won’t loop!

Like our light rail, both ends come to a dead end. To go the other direction, the operator must switch to the other end — double-ended.  Thus, the Loop Trolley needs double-ended vehicles.

Seattle’s King County has five vehicles that will work, they’ve been in storage since they ceased their waterfront streetcar line a decade ago:

Metro’s green and yellow waterfront streetcars used to run on a track along Alaskan Way and part of S. Main Street. The streetcars were powered by electricity. They were built in Australia for the Melborne and Metropolitan Tramways Board between 1925 and 1930. The cars are double end, double truck, and designed for two-person operation.

Manufacturer: Melborne shops or James Moore
Fleet Numbers: 272, 482, 512, 518, 605
Seats: 43 passengers
Length: 48 feet
Two of the 1928 Australian streetcars began service along Elliott Bay between Pier 70 and Main Street in 1982. Three more streetcars joined the fleet between 1990 and 1993 when Metro extended the line to the International District. The streetcars featured Tasmanian mahogany and white ash woodwork, capturing the elegance of travel in a bygone era.

The waterfront streetcar line is named after George Benson, former City of Seattle and Metro Council member. Known as the “father of the Waterfront Streetcar,” Benson was the driving force behind development of the historic streetcar line.

Our Metro is seeking restoration bids:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS 16-RFP-102339-DGR
LOOP TROLLEY SEATTLE CAR REHABILITATION

HERITAGE TROLLEY REFURBISHMENT

Loop Trolley Transit Development District (LTTDD) requests Proposals for the refurbishment of One (1) Melbourne W2 vehicle and the Option (at the District’s discretion) of One or Two more Melbourne W2 vehicles. The Work shall also include shipment of the vehicles, delivery of manuals and drawings, and testing as described in the Technical Specifications.

Site Visit:

A site visit will be held at 1:00 pm on December 7, 2015. The meeting will convene at the Metro King County’s Frye Warehouse, 1501 Sixth Ave. South, Seattle, WA (across Sixth Ave. from the bus yard).

Proposers will be given access to the cars at this time so they may put together their proposals.

Clarifications may be addressed at this time but technical questions and responses will be handled by Amendment.

Questions Due:
December 14, 2015 by 2:00 p.m. St. Louis Time.

Proposals Due:
January 19, 2016 by 02:00 p.m. St. Louis Time.

So they want the price to restore just one Melbourne W2 car, with the option to restore one or two more.  If you’ve ridden Memphis’ trolley then you’ve likely been on a Melbourne W2 car, one caught on fire in 2013.

Restored cars cost a fraction new modern ones do, but they’re also costlier to operate.

— Steve Patterson

Cincinnati’s Modern Streetcar

Last month I visited Cleveland to check out the best Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route in the country, see Cleveland’s Healthline Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Part 4. Earlier this month I was back in Ohio, this time in Cincinnati.

During my 3-day visit for a Streetsblog meeting we checked out the upcoming Cincinnati Streetcar. Expected to be operational by the end of September 2016, the tracks, overhead wires, & platforms are all in place.

Their streetcar will run north-south on their grid of streets. Where we’ve butchered our grid, theirs remains largely intact, albeit mostly one-way couplets. I traveled over a mile on each of four parallel streets: Elm, Race, Vine, & Walnut. Their rights-of-way are also much narrower than ours are now — they didn’t have someone like our Harland Bartholomew aggressively widening streets by forcibly taking the front bay of buildings.

What we call a trolley or streetcar, Europeans call a tram.  Same thing, different name.

The vehicles are CAF Urbos 3, which are 100% low floor. If Cincinnati decides to do a light rail line out to the suburbs in the future they can use the same vehicles. Yes, modern streetcars use the same vehicles as light rail. The difference comes in how the route is designed. Kansas City is using the same vehicle for their streetcar line, which will also open next Fall.

If we do street-running light rail, or a streetcar, these would be in consideration. To meet requirements for federal projects, they have at least 60% US content.

Like most cities, Cincinnati had streetcars in the 19th century, a subway was started but abandoned. Cincinnati hasn’t had rail transit in decades. See their official stteetcar page here.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should The Number of Syrian Refugees Coming to St. Louis Be Changed?

In September we learned St. Louis would welcome refugees from the Syrian civil war.  Last week governors in numerous states changed their minds about accepting these refugees.

Which brings us to today’s poll question:

The poll is open until 8pm, the answers are presented in random order.

— Steve Patterson

Wellston Loop Family Reunion & Exhibit Saturday November 21, 2015

An event ia taking place tomorrow afternoon in a once-thriving commercial district: The Wellston Loop.

“Wellston Loop Family Reunion & Exhibit” will take place on Saturday, November 21 from 1 to 3pm. A sidewalk exhibition of recent photographs and historic documents will highlight the community. The event will offer free food, drink, music and videos. The primary venue will be the former J.C. Penney Department Store (on the National Register of Historic Places) at 5930 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63112.

We’re inviting members of the surrounding community (past or present) who would like to share stories, photographs or videos of the neighborhood (Wellston Loop, Hamilton Heights and Wells/Goodfellow) from any era to submit them for inclusion and display.

Another significant building in the former shopping district is the Wellston streetcar transfer station from 1909. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. This building has recently been awarded funding for a complete historic restoration scheduled to begin December 2015. It is the only building of its kind (streetcar station building) left standing in St. Louis.

See the Facebook event Wellston Loop Family Reunion & Exhibit for more detail.

For further reading. see Reflections: In Wellston, a ‘family reunion’ explores faded riches, realities – and possibilities.

— Steve Patterson