Taste of St. Louis Today Through Sunday, Tours of Peabody Opera

The annual Taste of St. Louis kicks off today and runs through Sunday, from their press release:

The Taste of St. Louis is a celebration of food, art, music, and the culture of the great city of St. Louis. The 2011 Taste will feature celebrity chefs, 45 of St. Louis’ best restaurants along Sauce Magazine’s Restaurant Row, the Chef Battle Royale on the Lumiere Place and River City Casino Culinary stage, The Kids’ Kitchen, free music concerts on the Main Stage, and the Art & Wine Walk.

This year is a bit different because the main stage will be west of 14th — in front of the new Peabody Opera House. I attended the Taste of St. Louis press conference a few days ago at the Peabody. Wow, unbelievably impressive. Hats off to the generations before us that built such a magnificent structure during the Great Depression. It’s amazing what $79 million can do for a building that has been vacant for more than 20 years.

The official opening performance at the new Peabody isn’t until October 1st but this weekend you can see inside for free as part of the Taste of St. Louis weekend.

Last year Taste introduced EGS – Event Greening Services:

With a current attendance of more than 300,000, the Taste was the first event in the region to pioneer aggressive, eco-friendly practices in multiple areas of our operations. We’ve received a lot of media attention for our greening efforts, and, with the help of our community, plan to continue to build on these efforts each year.

I thought it worked well last year, even more waste should be recycled this year.

The event is held in the Gateway Mall’s “Civic Room” (aka Soldiers Memorial) at Chestnut & 13th. Thankfully their site doesn’t give driving directions but suggests using Metro. Unfortunately, they only mention MetroLink, not MetroBus.  Everyday in St. Louis more people are transported via MetroBus than MetroLink but everyone acts like it doesn’t matter.  If you live in the region you have public transit options to get downtown for this great event. They might include MetroBus, MetroLink or both. North, south, east or west of downtown there is public transit that will get you to the event.

Some MetroBus options:

• From North city: 4, 30, 32, 41, 70, 74, 94, 97
• From North county to downtown: 74; to Hanley MetroLink : 35, 44, 47, 61, 75
• From West city: 10, 32
• From West county to MetroLink: 56, 57, 58, 91
• From South city: 8, 10, 11, 40, 70, 73, 80
• From South county to downtown: 73 to MetroLink: 17, 21, 46

Many options! For everyone, except those in Madison County, can use Google Maps or Metro’s Trip Planner to determine your route options. Those in Madison county see Madison County Transit for various bus routes to 5th & Missouri MetroLink. Note that some bus lines use Market and/or 14th, they will be rerouted slightly due to Taste, but you will still get closer than if you drove.

Got bike? Bike parking will be at Tucker & Chestnut.

Have a great weekend — see you at the Taste of St. Louis!

– Steve Patterson

A Voice for All Transit Riders in St. Louis

Today, on the 62nd anniversary of the formation of the Bi-State Development Agency, we are pleased to announce the formation of the Transit Riders Union of St. Louis (TRUSTL) which will fight for the public transit needs of the citizens of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area riding MetroBus, MetroLink, Call-A-Ride or Madison County Transit.

Members of the TRUSTL steering committee began meeting a few months ago to address a growing need for a unified voice for all transit riders in the St. Louis region. As riders, we have all complained to Metro about one thing or another sometimes getting positive results, other times as if our needs were falling on deaf ears. We decided the time to organize as transit riders was now to insure the needs of all riders are heard and respected.

We want to have a way to hear what other transit riders have to say about the quality of the service and insure Metro listens and responds appropriately to our needs.

TRUSTL’s purpose is to promote and defend public transit in order to:

• restore urban vitality
• ensure transportation equality
• improve overall quality of life

TRUSTL has established a Transit Riders’ Bill of Rights which we will use as a guide to our actions. We believe all transit riders in the St. Louis Metro Area have the right to:

• Equitably reliable, affordable and efficient transit for all riders
• Cooperation between all transit agencies in the region to allow for fluidity and simplicity of travel
• Transparent and easily used lines of communication between transit agencies and riders with mechanisms in place to address and respond to rider concerns
• Helpful, courteous service from employees of all regional transit agencies
• Safe, clean and regularly maintained transit facilities throughout the entire Metro region
• Accurate signage and up to date transit information made available aboard all buses, trains, transit stations and connecting bus stops
• Current schedules, routes and ridership data available online

Members of the TRUSTL Steering Committee include:

• Justin Chick (Transit Turning Point)
• Herbie Markwort (Gateway Streets & Next STL)
• Steve Patterson (Urban Review STL)
• Charles Purnell (STL Legend)
• Eddie Williams (Formally of MATRA-STL)

See you in transit!

-Justin, Herbie, Steve, Charles & Eddie

1907: “Colored” St. Louis School Principal Misquoted by the Press

In researching the Dumas Public School, razed long ago, I came across an interesting tidbit about the school’s principal, Arthur D. Langston. The following appeared in the New York Times on December 8, 1907:

URGES NEGROES TO BE POLITE
Colored School Principsal Advises His Race — Corrects Statement.

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 7. – Prof. Arthur D. Langston, Principal of the Dumas Public School of St. Louis, in addressing the Missouri Negro Republican League delegates here a few days ago, was erroneously reported as having said that  “no negro should occupy a seat while a white woman stands, and dirty negros should not be allowed on the street cars at all.”

In his address Prof. Langston said: “Colored people and whites associate more intimately in the street cars than in other places; therefore, it becomes a matter of great importance that we conduct ourselves properly in “every way on street cars.  Let the negro make the white man ashamed by never occupying a seat while a lady is standing.”

Wow, huge difference between the two! Mr. Langston (1855-1908) died the following April at the age of 52, he is buried in Nashville TN.

– Steve Patterson

Reaching the St. Louis County Library

I was thinking of attending a meeting being held tonight (7pm-9pm) at the headquarters of the St. Louis County Library located at 1640 South Lindbergh Blvd. The meeting is a St. Louis Aerotropolis Forum sponsored by the Citizens Alliance for Missouri Patriots (a closed Facebook group) that I’m NOT a member of:

Alliance of Tea Party and Patriot Group leaders and organizers in the State of Missouri who wish to combine forces in working together for our state’s sovereignty, who adhere to and believe in our founding fathers’ constitutional principles, government fiscal responsibility, individual unalienable rights, and a free market system. CAMP does NOT represent any one political party, but only the People of Missouri.

Here is the description of the Facebook event:

Concerned about the China Hub issue to be brought before our state legislators in the upcoming special session? For those in the local St. Louis metro area or across the state, you are invited to join us in hearing our panel of speakers who will be discussing and debating this topic which will affect every citizen in Missouri.

Scheduled panelists are Audrey Spalding from Show Me Institute, and David Roland from Missouri Freedom Center.

We are currently awaiting confirmation on panel speakers from the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association who are working to bring the China Hub to St. Louis.

The forum will be held in the library auditorium starting at 7pm and ending promptly at 9pm.

Scheduled Host is Mr. Rodney White, retired businessman, local author and speaker.

Please invite your neighbors, family, and friends who are wanting to know more about this new government tax credit.

I’d like to hear this perspective,  I have three choices on how to get to the meeting:

1. Drive my car
2. Ask for a ride with someone else.
3. Take public transit

Let’s look at each option.

1) Drive my car

This is the option 99% of those attending will use. But I try to use my car as little as possible, plus I have a narrow window between 6pm-9pm when I can drive to get the best insurance discount. I’d have to leave the event early if I drove to be home by 9pm.  And yes, Progressive knows exactly when I drive  because of the device I voluntarily plugged into my diagnostic port. Google Maps says the drive is 12.6 miles long and would take 18 minutes if I use I-64 or 13.7-14.2 miles (& 29-33 minutes) if I use surface streets.

2) Ask for a ride with someone else

This is a good option, one I wish more people would use rather than driving themselves. I know only one person on the attending list, but I know Ed Martin online only and I’m not sure I want to ask him or be at his mercy.

3) Take public transit

Finally my favorite option! I have two choices to reach the library via transit. The option that gets me there closest to the start time takes the longest (59 minutes) and would involve using MetroLink and two buses. The other option takes 50-56 minutes depending upon when I leave.  This is twice as long as if I drove but from my view this is time I can read, check email, observe the city, etc.

Since I’ve never been there in my power chair before I need to investigate the route in detail. The option that includes only one bus is more appealing than having to transfer from one bus to another so I looked at taking the #58 bus from the Clayton MetroLink/MetroBus station.

Seems simple enough, “walking” 3/10th of a mile is no big deal in my chair.

But when I looked at the aerial image and the street view is when problems became clear.

The street view shows curbs on both sides of the driveway, which means no deal.  In looking back up at the aerial it seems the near side may have been fixed, but the far sides of the drive is unknown. This route is too uncertain.

The other option is to take the #58X Express Bus to Big Bend & Kirkwood Rd then transfer to the #48 northbound on Kirkwood/Lindbergh.

I’m pretty sure the stops are not as shown, but still the area has good sidewalks, ramps and crosswalks. I just need to figure out where to board the 48. Oh, just a bit to the north.

And here we see a common problem. A large pad is provided as well as a shelter but the pad isn’t connected to the sidewalk. Suburban sidewalks are often just for show, not actual use, so having the sidewalk actually connect to points pedestrians would actually use is just radical thinking I suppose.  My chair can deal with the grade change and grass but someone using a manual chair, walker or cane might have difficulty.

The great thing is the #48 stops right in front of the library. I should be good from this point, right? Wrong!

Where the bus stops there is no pedestrian route to the entrance. Perhaps a proper pedestrian access route exists somewhere in either direction?

If I were to risk my life trying either vehicle drive I still have no clue where to find a ramp to reach and accessible entrance. Even the able-bodied would take a chance if they walked in one of the driveways. Walking to the library seems as American as apple pie, but not in St. Louis County apparently.

I checked out their accessibility page:

Buildings and Bookmobiles

What physical accommodations exist for persons with physical limitations?

• Handicapped-accessible parking
• Ramp entrances
• Power doors
• Elevators
• Accessible aisles and routes inside the buildings
• Accessible restrooms, water fountains, and public telephones
• Low service desks
• Specially-designed school bookmobile with wheelchair lift

No thought is given to pedestrians at all. My example is extreme in that I’m coming from a long distance. What about someone, like a senior or a child, in Kirkwood? What is the reverse route?  Public buildings like libraries should demonstrate to others what is expected. Oh, I guess it does, they don’t expect pedestrians. But people do use these bus routes and stops and every transit rider is a pedestrian on at least one end of their trip.

St. Louis County and municipalities continue to spend money on sidewalks and ADA ramps but they fail to connect the dots! These new & improved sidewalks are mere roadside decoration  to give the appearance of walkability & accessibility.

I contacted the St. Louis County Library on the 26th about their lack of a pedestrian access route and they are tagged on the tweet of this post.

– Steve Patterson

Readers: MetroLink Light Rail was a Good Investment

This morning I’m meeting a friend at the airport so we can catch up on the ride to his downtown hotel. Sure, he could take a cab or ahotel shuttle or I could drive out there to get him, but why?

Our light rail connection to the airport is outstanding. We’ve enjoyed the connection since 1993. When I flew to Seattle in 2009 their airport light rail wasn’t yet complete.   Flying into LaGuardia Airport in 2005 I took a bus into Manhattan, NYC’s excellent rail system didn’t reach the airport.

No doubt the airport connection helped garner so many favorable responses in the poll last week, Poll: Was MetroLink a Good Investment?:

Q: MetroLink light rail opened 18 years ago, was it a good investment?

1. Yes, it is an important part of our region’s transportation system. 180 [79.3%]
2. Other answer… 19 [8.37%]
3. No, likely cost too much given the ridership 16 [7.05%]
4. Possibly, need data to know 10 [4.41%]
5. unsure/no opinion 2 [0.88%]

Here are the numerous other answers:

1. If it went faster I would easily say YES. Right now it is a VERY “nice to have”
2. Yes, although we need more lines for it to be truly effective.
3. Good starter line but not designed to take advantage of STL’s Urban Form
4. Yes, but it needs more lines to make it fully functional
5. No, because it’s taking away from the bus system.
6. It’s a good start, we need a north south line in high density residential nabes
7. It’s a needed part of trans. system, but need data to know if good investment
8. Yes, but it needs to be expanded to MidAmerica to grasp the airport’s potential.
9. ghetto link
10. Good investment, but really need to encourage TODs to maximize investment return
11. Overall yes but NIMBYs have strongly compromised its potential and overall worth
12. Yes, but the subsequent failures have hurt: lack of extension down 40, etc.
13. a good investment subsequently wasted by failure to expand to critical mass
14. It would have been but not as it stands.
15. No. It is too limited to be useful.
16. Only if they build more lines
17. Yes, but we need to do better.
18. yes, but it still needs improvement in service hours and number of stops
19. Without turnstiles, we have no idea how much revenue we are losing.

Here are some of my thoughts:

• Light rail is one of several types of fixed rail transit, others include heavy rail and streetcars. Each has it’s place. Light rail into Illinois and to the airport was a good investment because we had the right-of-way, bridge, and tunnels to support the construction.
• The extension further into Illinois was also a good investment as the distance is substantial, getting many cars off the roadways with minimal infrastructure since the line used existing at-grade right-of-way.
• The extension to Shrewsbury, however, was not a good investment. Expensive tunnels and flyover bridges drove up costs enormously. The distance covered is not that great.
• The lack of turnstiles made sense in the late 80s when the original line was being planned, ridership was unknown and the additional costs to construct a closed system would have been too much. I don’t think much revenue is lost by those who don’t pay, but not having a reloadable card option (yet) is a huge disadvantage.
• Light rail is typically run in it’s own right-of-way so therefore it isn’t where you need it to be – in the street next to your destination.
• Light rail doesn’t belong in street right-of-ways, that’s what a streetcar is for.
• I see very limited need for additional light rail in the region.  An extension into Madison County Illinois would be nice.  Connecting north county via existing right-of-way from Clayton or airport area makes sense too.  Extending into south county from Shrewsbury also makes sense.
• I oppose street running light rail going through north & south St. Louis to get county riders downtown.
• We will never again have a streetcar system serving all neighborhoods in the city and light rail only serves a very small portion of people.  Bus service, therefore, is the main mode of transit.
• Light rail distracts Metro and funding from bus service, which has been getting the short end of the stick for too long.

– Steve Patterson