Reopening 13th Street, The Good and The Bad, Suggestions

When the Washington Avenue streetscape project happened more than a decade ago, 13th & 16th Streets shouldn’t have been completely closed to vehicles. Rather than become wonderful pedestrian spaces, they became dead isolated spaces.  Sixteenth between Lucas & Washington Ave is still closed to traffic, but 13th Street was recently reopened.

So the St. Louis Police and the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis consulted with adjacent building owners, not the actual people impacted by a change, and got the city to act quickly to open a street designed to be closed to traffic. This will allow officers to direct eastbound motorists to turn right on 13th (now one-way southbound) to relieve congestion.

The two block stretch of Wash Ave from Tucker to 14th was designed as a festival street, to be closed to host special events. Because 13th Street to the south had been closed to traffic and 13th to the north just a single lane after most of the right of way was taken for restaurant patios there was no way to close just one block — both had to be closed regardless of the size of the event. Now, with 13th southbound open, it’ll be possible to close just one block for a smaller event.

I support reopening our street grid, it has been chopped up all over the city. My issue is with how this happened. It didn’t happen in a transparent manner, with input from many. Once again we failed to engage citizens in meaningful dialog, instead thinking building owners can speak for residents & business owners.  They cannot, and don’t.

Here are my suggestions for what still needs to be done:

1. Do something to direct motorists turning onto 13th from Wash Ave to stay centered so they stay on the ramp, not drop off the curb; planters, vertical reflective lane markers, etc
2. Add parking meters on the west side for 24/7 parking except weekends when used by valets or taxicabs.
3. Designate the corner next to Wash Ave as motorcycle parking, free or at charge if striped and numbered.
4. Put up temp orange signs on Wash Ave & St Charles St to alert everyone about the recent change.
5. Consult actual citizens, not just building owners, next time.

This is not to say residents of the immediate area should’ve been allowed to veto the change, just have been included in discussing the problems and possible solutions.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on St. Louis County Sales Tax Pool

The City of St. Louis left St. Louis County in 1876 because it didn’t want to share its wealth with the rest of the county, now Chesterfield wants to do the same thing:

Frustrated by the lack of action by the state legislature on a proposed change to the St. Louis County sales tax distribution system that would let his and other cities keep more revenue generated within their boundaries, Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation is threatening that his city may look at steps that include seceding from St. Louis County and joining St. Charles County. (stltoday)

Responding to the idea of Chesterfield switching counties, officials from both counties dismissed the idea. The article also explains the sales tax system:

The tax pool system was set up in 1977. Municipalities were either designated “point of sale” cities allowed to keep the revenue from the one-cent tax or “pool” cities drawing amounts from a common fund according to population. The pool also includes the county’s unincorporated areas.

Chesterfield was required to be a pool city when it incorporated in 1988. In 1993, the Legislature required point-of-sale cities to divert some of their money from the tax to the pool. Of the county’s 90 municipalities, 57 are pool cities. (stltoday)

More detail on the change 21 years ago:

The system was modified in 1993 to require point-of-sale cities to divert money to the pool. Many leaders of point-of-sale cities have called it a bad deal ever since. The system was intended as a compromise between municipalities with big shopping centers and those without, all of which have residents who go shopping. Richmond Heights, home to the Galleria, is a point-of-sale city. Florissant and University City are in the pool. (stltoday)

Chesterfield isn’t alone, mayors from other “point of sale” cities want to keep all/more of the revenue generated within their municipal boundaries. The poll this week seeks to find out what readers think, if anything, should be done to the current system. The poll is in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Details on ICM/Summer Rocks Parking Agreement

Until St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones lives up to her campaign promise about transparency in the Treasurer’s office, I’ll continue to collect and publish their documents for public review.

Here are three more Parking Commission documents:

• Minutes March 2014 (obtained via Sunshine Law request)
• Minutes April 2014 (distributed at May 2014 meeting, scanned)
• Parking meter study through April 2014

The minutes from both March & April discuss a possible parking agreement with ICM/Summer Rocks, the new group that pushed the Taste of St. Louis & St. Louis Blues Week out of downtown St. Louis. As of the May Parking Commission meeting no agreement has been finalized, the folks at Scottrade Center (ie: Blues) weren’t happy with the agreement. Once an agreement is in place I’ll request a copy.

Another Jones campaign platform was not wanting to be St. Louis’ “Parking Czar.”

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— Steve Patterson

Balancing Sidewalk Seating & Walkability at Culinaria

I love outdoor seating, see Lunch Al Fresco from last month, but I also think public sidewalks should remain passable. Achieving both requires effort to create an ideal balance. When the downtown grocery store Culinaria first opened in August 2009 there was a good balance, but over time the walkability was sacrificed in favor of twice as many tables & chairs. Take a look:

I was glad to see fewer tables, but I knew they could be arranged better. Also, the remaining tables were the larger round tables that seat four, the smaller rectangle tables for two were gone. I think I’ve convinced them to remove a couple more round tables and bring back four of the rectangular tables. This will give another option for customers while maintaining the same seat count.  The seating area, and sidewalk, are now more generous and comfortable for everyone.

Working on better bike parking now.

— Steve Patterson

A Look at the Riverview Transit Center

I recently changed buses at the Riverview Transit Center (map) on my way to visit the Lewis & Clark Library and Tower, my first time at this MetroBus Transit Center. I took the #40 (Broadway) from downtown, then caught the #27 (North County Connector) to finish my journey. I’ve changed buses at several transit centers, this is the best I’ve experienced in St. Louis.

With the notable exception of the restroom, bus riders still aren’t treated as well as light rail riders. The light rail platforms have heaters to keep passengers warm waiting for the next train and all platforms are non-smoking. It would be nice to use public transit without being assaulted by cigarette smoke. Next week I’ll take a look at the Civic Center Transit Center.

— Steve Patterson