Lemay Ferry (MO-267) Is A Pedestrian Nightmare

Yesterday I posted about the horrible pedestrian environment along the #12 MetroBus route in St. Clair County. I took that bus on Wednesday the 16th. That night, Fox2 ran a related story (Disabled man hit 3 times on Lemay Ferry, due to lack of sidewalks):

Tony Berding says he’s been hit 3 times by vehicles on Lemay Ferry.  Berding is disabled, and lives in a senior apartment complex in the 3600 block Lemay Ferry Road in South St. Louis County.  He uses a motorized wheelchair to travel to a nearby Quick Trip and Kmart.

Berding was struck last Thursday while traveling on a narrow shoulder along northbound Lemay Ferry.

That evening a reader messaged me about the story, but I didn’t have time to watch. The next morning I got a message from Berding’s sister, so I watched — horrified watching her brother use the narrow shoulder to get to the store. We messaged via Facebook, then text, and finally on the phone. This is about real people at risk because of how we have chosen to build our physical environment.

Lemay Ferry in South St. Louis County is far more urban than the area I traveled through in St. Clair County, I’ve taken the #73 MetroBus numerous times, most recently the morning of August 25, 2015:

What I hadn’t done is roll along the part of Lemay Ferry mention in the Fox2 story. After looking at it on Google Street View I saw just how physically impossible the West side of Lemay Ferry was, the East side isn’t great — but it’s passable. I decided I’d have to drive to photograph. Before doing so I did some research.

Fox2 said St. Louis County indicated they couldn’t afford to buy land for the right-of-way to build a sidewalk on the East side. Two problems here: Lemay Ferry is also known as MO-267 — it’s maintained by MoDOT, not the county.  Secondly, the right-of-way is 80 feet wide — more than enough width for four travel lanes, a center turn lane, and sidewalks on each side! More on this later, let’s take a look at the problem.

So why not just move? When you’re disabled and low-income housing options are very limited.  It has been 25 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law — St. Louis County & the Missouri Dept of Transportation need to prioritize this.

Below are two examples of dividing the existing 80′ right-of-way so still have four drives lanes & a center turn lane.

My guess is decades ago Lemay Ferry was a 2-lane road that got widened after people & businesses began moving to south county from south city. It went from a rural 2-lane to a 4-lane with center turn without any consideration for pedestrians. The 80′ right-of-way might have been in anticipation on more lanes of traffic — the land was subdivided before I-55 was even a dream.But MO-267, aka Lemay Ferry, is used by pedestrians. People use transit. Not all residents own cars.

It hasn’t kept up, but it needs to change.    Before someone gets killed!

— Steve Patterson

Most Bus Stops On A St. Clair County Route Not Designed For Pedestrians

Last week I decided to visit downtown O’Fallon IL so I could see & photograph their old city hall — which is for sale. It is just a 24-28 minute drive from my loft in downtown St. Louis but my husband and I share a car, which he uses has for work. Transit was my best option, but it would be 90 minutes each way. The first half via MetroLink light rail, the second via MetroBus.

The MetroLink stations/platforms are all wheelchair accessible, as are all MetroBus vehicles. The weak link is MetroBus stops. With thousands of stops throughout the region, a transit agency can only do so much to improve municipal/county rights-of-way. I assumed I’d be ok once I reached downtown O’Fallon so I didn’t look ahead at the stops along the way.

But on the bus I began to snap pictures as the bus stopped — in some cases as we went past stops. For those unfamiliar with riding a bus, they don’t stop at every bus stop. If you want off you must pull the cord to let the driver know you wan the next stop. A bus also stops for those waiting to board. Light rail, however, stops at every stop because they’re limited and spaced far apart.  Still, the bus stops are needed because throughout the day each and every stop will likely be used at least once.

Below are some of the images I took from the #12 MetroBus heading East from the Fairview Heights IL MetroLink station to the O’Fallon City Hall. The bus was near seated capacity when we departed the station.

I reviewed the entire route on Google Street View, my stop in downtown O”Fallon was the 82nd stop after leaving the Fairview Heights MetroLink station. We traveled through Fairview Heights, Shiloh, O’Fallon, and likely unincorporated St. Clair County.

If you care to take a look, here’s a link to all the stops. Only a few I’d consider to be ADA-compliant.

• 1st stop
• 2nd stop
• 3rd stop
• 4th Stop
• 5th Stop
• 6th
• 7th
• 8th
• 9th — sorta ok grass
• 10th (grass)
• 11th ok
• 12th ok/grass
• 13th no sidewalk/grass
• 14th no sidewalk/grass ditch
• 15th no sidewalk/grass
• 16th sorta ok, grass between sidewalk & curb
• Left onto Commerce Lane
• 17th no sidewalk/grass
• 18th bad curbs/grass
• 19th no sidewalks/grass
• 20th no sidewalk/mulch
• Turn left onto Plaza Dr
• 21st — awful between road & interstate highway
• turn right onto N Ruby Ln
• Turn right onto Ludwig Dr
• 22nd — hotels, sidewalk this side only, narrow grass
• 23rd sidewalk this side only, narrow grass restaurants
• 24th more restaurants, sidewalk both sides
• 25th ditto
• 26th sidewalk ends at bus stop, Drury planter
• 27th no sidewalk, just grass & curbs. Drury
• Turn right onto IL-159
• 28th — shoulder, worn grass sloping down
• turn left onto St. Clair Square
• 29th mall entry, shelter. No route to outparcals
• 30th — no sidewalk, grass curbs not accessible at all
• turn left onto Lincoln highway
• 31st ditto
• 32nd no sidewalk up to stop, little at corner
• 33rd — sidewalk, tiny grass strip
• 34th ditto
• 35th ditto
• 36th ditto, in O’Fallon
• 37th ditto
• 38th ditto
• 39th ditto
• 40th ditto
• 41st ditto
• 42nd ditto
• 43rd ditto taco bell
• 44th no sidewalk grass curbs
• turn right on Hartman Lane
• turn left on Central Park
• 45th sidewalk grass strip restaurants
• 46th ditto Chevy’s
• 47th sidewalk grass strip retail
• 48th ditto
• 49th ditto
• 50th no sidewalk this side, grass curbs can’t reach
• 51st sidewalk Menard’s
• 52nd no sidewalk this side, curbs/grass can’t reach
• Shiloh IL, Sturm left on Green Mountain Road
• 53rd no sidewalk, sloping grass shopping center
• pedestrian
• Turn left on Regency Park, back in O’Fallon
• 54th new construction
• 55th sidewalks, no access to businesses
• 56th sidewalk this side, not other. no access to hotel
• 57th sidewalk this side only, hotels
• 58th – no sidewalks either side, curbs/grass
• 59th sidewalks, grass strip
• turn right on us 50
• 60th shoulder drainage ditch
• follow 50 right curve
• 61st ditto
• 62nd — wide grass strip, new ramps to CVS
• 63rd wide grass strip between street & sidewalk
• 64th grass strip
• Turn right onto Cambridge
• 65th ditto
• 66th ditto
• 67th ditto
• 68th narrow grass strip
• 69th ditto
• 70th wide grass strip
• Turn right onto Green Mount
• 71st ditto
• 72nd ditto
• Right onto State at traffic circle
• 73rd — no sidewalk, just shoulder & drainage ditch
• 74th ditto
• 75th ditto
• 76th no sidewalk this side, curb & grass.
• 77th ditto
• Entering downtown O’Fallon
• 78th good — attached sidewalk
• 79th ditto
• 80th ditto
• Turn into bus transfer center
• 81st good — attached sidewalk
• Turn right onto S. Vine
• Turn right onto 3rd
• 82nd wasn’t able to exit here.

Basically this is largely impossible for those of us who are disabled, but a miserable experience for the able-bodied. None of this was built with any consideration for pedestrians — everyone is expected to drive everywhere.  The reality is not everyone can drive. Physical, mental, emotional, and financial issues are some of the reasons why not everyone drives.

Sadly, this is the rule — not the exception. We’ve built so much that’s hostile to pedestrians and impossible for some of us. Tomorrow a similar example from St. Louis County.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Support or Oppose New St. Louis County Minimum Police Standards?

Twelve of the 90 municipalities in St. Louis County don’t like the county’s new minimum police standards, see Dozen municipalities file formal challenge to St. Louis County police standards ordinance. There are 57 police departments in St. Louis County. A good topic for today’s poll.

Usually I randomize the poll but someone suggested on polls with a logical order that they be presented as such, so this week everyone will see the answers in the same order. As always, the poll closes at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

When City Hall Being For Sale Is A Good Thing

The right buyer can buy city hall — O’Fallon Illinois’ former city hall.

From their request for proposals:

The City of O’Fallon is soliciting proposals from qualified developers and/or organizations willing to invest funds to purchase and improve Old City Hall and bring it back to a productive use that will integrate well into the neighborhood. Old City Hall is an approximately 4,500 square foot GFA, two-story brick building originally constructed in 1890. It is a locally designated landmark which requires review of changes to the exterior of the building, but does not affect remodeling of the interior of the structure. All proposals should seek to preserve and enhance the architectural character of the building. Proposals that involve demolition will not be considered. The building is located inside the Central City TIF district, created in June 2015 (more information available at www.ofallon.org/economic-development-division). As publicly-owned property, the site has no Equalized Assessed Value, which allows all property taxes to be considered increment.

Currently, Old City Hall and O’Fallon Fire Station #1 are together on one parcel (PARCEL ID 04-29.0-120- 008). All proposals should note how much of the adjacent land and parking area, if any, is desired as part of the proposed redevelopment project. The City anticipates that the resulting lot would likely be no more than 0.27 acres (see attached map). The City also expects that the property will have to be rezoned from the current SR-3

(Single Family Residence District) to another appropriate district to accommodate the types of uses likely to be proposed as a part of this RFP process. It will be the responsibility of the selected developer to obtain any and all necessary zoning changes, variances, building permits, and other approvals to facilitate the development of this property.

Old City Hall most recently housed the O’Fallon Fire Department administrative offices, but has only been used for storage since 2009. As the property has been out of use for many years, the City does not have much definitive information about the current condition of the property. As mentioned in the Environmental Conditions section below, the City is aware of the presence of asbestos and mold. The building also has other issues including: degrading/rotting wooden windows, tuckpointing and masonry repair, necessary repairs and upgrades to bathrooms, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. The property will be sold “as is.”

I’m glad demolition will not be considered!  Hopefully they’ll get some creative proposals.

— Steve Patterson

Special Taxing Districts in St. Louis

Recent curiosity about special taxing districts has been a can of worms — the number of them just within the City of St. Louis is overwhelming. Plus, they’re not all alike. Some are Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) based on Missouri law, others are special business districts established by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.  Another type is transportation development districts (TDDs).  Some collect sales taxes, others property taxes, possibly some collect both. Some collect money from business licenses.

These are different than Tax Increment Financing (TIF). From a 2012 Post-Dispatch story:

Local governments and school districts worried about a cash crunch have put extra scrutiny on the use of TIF, which uses future tax revenue generated by a project to help fund its construction. That can sap money from other needs down the road. CIDs and TDDs, on the other hand, don’t touch the tax base. They simply add a new tax on property owners, shoppers or both extra for an extra layer of service.

They are also popular because they’re flexible. Developers and neighborhood groups say CIDs are a way to raise money for things that cash-strapped city governments can’t afford. Many point to the Times Square Business Improvement District, created in the early 1990s by business owners to help clean up the New York City landmark, as an example of their potential. And similar examples exist in St. Louis. Like in The Grove. (Pennies add up as special taxing districts proliferate)

As an 8+ year property owner in the Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District I’ve voted on the ongoing management — a state requirement to get approval by a percentage of registered voters. However, the accountably and transparency of these vary greatly.

In 2016 I’ll look into the differences between these districts.

— Steve Patterson