Parking Garage Repairs Halted, Emergency Structural Condemnation Issued

In December I told you about a downtown parking garage closed since July 2014, see: Parking Garage Undergoing Time-Consuming Multi-Million Dollar Restoration; Businesses Closed, Jobs Lost. Since December the big crew of workers dwindled to a just a couple and then last week nobody — the work stopped and the gate was locked.

My assumption is the repairs were becoming a blank check project the owners finally halted. Now what? I’m concerned the out of state owner will just walk away.  Ideally I’d like to see a new building constructed on this corner, if the St. Louis Streetcar project gets funded a new building would be feasible. I’m sure some would like to see this garage repaired or replaced with a new garage. I suppose that would be marginally acceptable.

What wouldn’t be acceptable, however, is a surface parking lot, this intersection needs the massing.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: St. Louis’ Earnings Taxes…

Our federal, state, and for some of us, St. Louis City, tax returns must be postmarked no later than Wednesday. For today’s poll I thought Id ask about the St. Louis earnings tax. If you live OR work in the city you must pay 1%. Live in another state and play baseball, hockey, or football for opposing teams that play the Cardinals. Blues, Rams? You must pay 1% of the income earned in St. Louis.

Taxes are never popular — few are as controversial as our local earnings tax. So take the poll in the right sidebar — you can pick one or two answers — you can provide your own if you don’t like the choices offered.

— Steve Patterson

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Good News Friday: Metro Mobile App

Last week our transit agency, Metro, released its first mobile app — called Metro On The Go:

You asked for a Metro app — and now you have it! Metro On The Go, the official mobile application of Metro transit, is now available. You can download it for free from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Metro On The Go lets you plan your trip on Metro transit, check schedules for MetroLink and all 75 MetroBus routes, and tap into real-time vehicle data so you can see when the next bus will arrive — all from the palm of your hand. (NextStopSTL)

The app is available for Android & iOS mobile devices. I’ll share my thoughts on the iOS version later in this post, but first I want to bring up an issue before others do. Some may say things like “not everyone has a smartphone”, “not everyone can afford a smartphone”, “this is elitist”, etc.  These people likely have broadband at home and choose to not have a smartphone — for others the reverse is the case:

10% of Americans own a smartphone but do not have broadband at home, and 15% own a smartphone but say that they have a limited number of options for going online other than their cell phone. Those with relatively low income and educational attainment levels, younger adults, and non-whites are especially likely to be “smartphone-dependent.” (Pew Reseach — U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015)

From the same source:

Lower-income smartphone owners are especially likely to use their phone during a job search. Compared with smartphone owners from households earning $75,000 or more per year, those from households earning less than $30,000 annually are nearly twice as likely to use a smartphone to look for information about a job — and more than four times as likely to use their phone to actually submit a job application.

Similarly, “smartphone-dependent” users are much more likely to use their smartphones to access career opportunities. 63% of these smartphone-dependent users have gotten job information on their phone in the last year, and 39% have used their phone to submit a job application.

Young adults (85% of whom are smartphone owners) are also incorporating their mobile devices into a host of information seeking and transactional behaviors. About three-quarters of 18-29 year old smartphone owners have used their phone in the last year to get information about a health condition; about seven-in-ten have used their phone to do online banking or to look up information about job; 44% have consumed educational content on their phone; and 34% have used their phone to apply for a job.

The app can be useful, but is it? In short — yes! In just days my initial complaint has already been addressed.

I wasn’t able to test the Android version, my husband went back to iOS in the Fall of 2013.  The ‘Trip Planner’ isn’t as responsive as the Google Maps app. Still, for most of my transit use I need to know the next departure of the #10 at 16th & Olive or the #97 at 16th & Washington. This will come in handy when I’m at places and want to know when the next return bus home arrives.  Thanks Metro!

— Steve Patterson

Cutting Corners Costs Time & Money: 1424 Washington Ave

Four months ago today I noticed work going on at 1424 Washington Ave., so I began documenting exterior changes, mistakes, fixes, etc. as I’d pass by. Check it out…

A lot of concrete & money was wasted, if only they’d done it right the very first time!  A quality development by the Three Stooges McGowan Brothers.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: MetroBus & MetroLink Are Equally Safe

I’ve been a regular rider of public transit in St. Louis for a few years now, I’ve never felt unsafe or witnessed any crime. Still, a recent assault on a train has many concerned.

Talking to people over the years some would only ride MetroLink light rail, they’d never consider MetroBus. I’ve asked [white] people if they’d ridden public transit, a common answer was “Yes, MetroLink.” Most are shocked when I tell them I use MetroBus far more often than MetroLink.

The vote count Sunday was low, but I liked the fair results:

Q: Which mode of public transportation do you think is the safest in St. Louis?

1. Tie/equal 11 [45.83%]
2. Bus (MetroBus) 6 [25%]
3. Light rail (MetroLink) 5 [20.83%]
4. Unsure/no answer 2 [8.33%]

Despite the hysteria on the local news, both MetroLink & MetroBus are largely safe modes. I’d be more worried about driving on I-270 than being assaulted on public transportation. I’ll leave it to others to dig through piles of data.

— Steve Patterson