Following on the excellent report by KMOV Channel 4 TV earlier tonight (see post), I will be a brief guest on the Mark Reardon show on KMOX radio, AM 1120 talking about the same issue. That will be in the 11 o’clock hour.
KMOV News (Channel 4) will be airing a story tonight on their 6pm news about city employees parking on the public sidewalk along 14th Street (see prior post). I met with KMOV’s Russell Kinsaul this afternoon on 14th to discuss the issue. He gave me a copy of a statement received from Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce. You will recall that I emailed her Friday afternoon prior to posting my story on this subject a couple of hours later. To date, I have not heard back from Ms. Joyce.
I will post a copy of the statement and some additional thoughts after the story airs tonight on the 6pm news, KMOV Channel 4.
UPDATE 1/8/2007 – 6:20pm
This story was Channel 4’s leading story if you don’t count the breaking news of a double stabbing in North St. Louis. As mentioned in their story, and referenced above, Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce issued a statement about this issue:
Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention, as I was unaware that vehicles from this office were parking in this manner.
The Circuit Attorney’s Office has historically been assigned parking spots along 14th Street. My staff has informed me that the parking spots allocated to the Circuit Attorney’s Office on 14th Street are occassionally occupied by other city vehicles. To correct the situation, I will do the following:
- I have directed my staff to never, under any circumstances, park on the sidewalk, even if our spots are illegally occupied by someone else; and
- I have asked and will continue to ask the city police to ticket and tow unauthorized vehicles in our parking spots or on the sidewalk; and
- I will speak to other city agency leaders to request their staff members don’t park in our parking spots on 14th Street.
Click here to view the statement in PDF format, with thanks to Channel 4 for providing me a copy of the statement even though I made such a request Friday afternoon. All in all this is a good statement, it says she was unaware of the issue and then lists specific steps that are being taken to address the oversight.
But I want to look at the bigger picture here for a moment. Their office has “historically been assigned parking spots along 14th Street.” Ok, that is nice. Assigned by whom? Does the Treasurer’s office who runs the City’s parking garages and members have authority over all on-street parking? When the Circuit Attorney’s Office moved two blocks East to the other side of Tucker was the parking situation not evaluated?
I love the fact that an elected official must inform her staff that it is not OK to park their cars and SUVs on a sidewalk. This would seem to be common sense in my book. And finally Joyce is going to speak with other leaders and ask them not to park in their spots. This goes back to the question about numbers of spaces, who assigns them and how often this is evaluated. Yet another example of poor parking management downtown.
UPDATE 1/8/07 @ 10pm – link to KMOV story & video.
Walking along 14th Street between Market and Walnut, across from the Kiel Opera House/Scottrade Center one finds an unusual sight, cars parked on a sidewalk. This is not, by the way, some fluke I happened to catch. No, this is routine parking for city employees, mostly those in the Circuit Attorney’s office. I have driven past this numberous times and not really noticed but recently Ecology of Absence did a post on this subject so while I was down there today I snapped a few pictures (ok, 24 in total).
Above you can begin to see cars along the sidewalk, taking up more than half its width. Vehicles are also parked in the right turn lane. The adjacent Municipal Courts building (left in above image) is currently vacant and awaiting renovation into a hotel.
In total six vehicles were parked along this stretch of sidewalk, all displaying a notice on their dash indicating “official business.” All were from the Circuit Attorney’s office except for a couple which were from the Sheriff’s office and one from the St. Louis Redevelopment Authority. The SUV above was my favorite, the owner did a great job of centering the vehicle so as to make it hard for someone using a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get by.
Above is an example of the type of authorization shown on the dashboard of these vehicles. I can see allowing some liberty on the streets when out on official business but not as a license to park on the sitewalk.
This is the best shot, the sign reads, “Reserved Parking Circuit Attorney’s Office Only. Tow-Away Zone.” So you or I should not park on the sidewalk or we might get towed for preventing other vehicles from parking on the sidewalk. All this across the street from the home of the St. Louis Blues and a block from a major transit hub, what must visitors to our city think of us?
I sent an email to Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce before 3pm this afternoon asking for any comment on this issue, at this time I have not heard back from her.
[UPDATE 1/8/07 @ 3pm: St. Louis’ KMOV Channel 4 is doing a story on this issue on their 6pm news (1/8/07). See follow-up post.]
I had not heard the phrase “Market Street Interconnect Project” until I was reviewing board bills for introduction tomorrow at the Board of Aldermen. From Board Bill 338 to be introduced by Lewis Reed (D-6th Ward):
An Ordinance, recommended and approved by the Board of Public Service of the City of St. Louis (the “Board of Public Service”), establishing a public works and improvement project for the design and construction of the Market Street Interconnect Project between Compton Avenue and Tucker Boulevard (the “Market Street Interconnect Projectâ€); and authorizing and directing the City of St. Louis (the “City”) by and through its Board of Public Service to let contracts and provide for the design, construction, materials, and equipment for the Market Street Interconnect Project, authorizing the Board of Public Service to employ labor and consultants, pay salaries, fees and wages, acquire real property interests, and to enter into supplemental agreements with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, Federal Highway Administration, utilities, and other governmental agencies for the Market Street Interconnect Project all in accordance with the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 110, et seq.)
It looks as though the design & construction of the project is estimated at $1.55 million with the city’s 20% match being $310,000, the balance coming from federal transportation money. I’ve read through the entire bill and nowhere does it actually state what the project is. I can tell it involves Market Street from Tucker (aka 12th) to Compton (basically end of Market) but beyond that I have no clue.
Along the route is the 22nd Street Interchange, just West of Union Station. From MoDot:
The I-64 at 22nd Street Interchange is the key entry into the St. Louis Central Business District (CDB). It will stimulate development of vacant land and reuse of older, underutilized buildings. The current interchange configuration consists of high-speed ramps, which take up a significant amount of state owned land that could be made available for higher density uses compatible with surrounding activities and supported by transportation infrastructure. The location of the interchange area is in the Locust Business District, a Special Taxing District and political subdivision of the State of Missouri, which is in the process of carrying out initiatives to revitalize the residential and business opportunities in the area and improve the economic well being of the area.
Reworking this old space-consuming interchange should be a top priority for the city, and a natural fit while looking at anything along Market Street. A competition is also being planned for the tired Gateway Mall area so I don’t know how the Market Street Interconnect Project fits in with those intentions. I certainly known the length of Market from Jefferson to Compton, adjacent to A.G. Edwards is depressing and unwelcoming. I suppose we’ll know more about this once the design is complete and they ask for public input.
I hate admitting I am wrong, but when it happens I face the music and admit as much. All these past few months that I have been showing you the poor planning at Loughborough Commons I assumed nobody with the city reviewed the construction documents for ADA compliance. After all, ADA is federal civil rights law, not a local building code. But, a regular reader was kind enough to point me to St. Louis’ Office on the Disabled, part of the Department of Human Services.
The following are the list of duties for the Office on the Disabled, per their website:
I spoke earlier today with Dr. Deborah Dee who heads the Office on the Disabled. Dee indicated Loughborough Commons was reviewed by her office and that all projects are reviewed as part of the city’s “one stop shop for permits.” To what extent does this absolve the developer, architect, engineer and Alderman for the numerous problems at this still unfinished $40 milllion dollar project? Without a doubt it certainly changes the picture and calls into question the permit review process within city hall.