Fifth Anniversary of the Gateway Transportation Center 2008, Future High-Speed Rail to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport

During the last five years Amtrak has seen a steady increase in ridership.

The timing was perfect, although Amtrak’s FY 2009 showed a dip in ridership from 2008, it was still above 2007 levels.

I’ve taken trains out of this station five times now: Kansas City (x2), Jefferson City, Bloomington-Normal, Dallas. Bloomington-Normal was Memorial weekend 2012, our station was way too small for all the rail & bus passengers that weekend. The trip to Dallas was in July 2012, I continued to Fort Worth & Oklahoma City on Amtrak, returning to St. Louis via Greyhound bus.

Thinking about this post I was curious how our station compared to others in Missouri, Illinois, and nationally. Turns out St. Louis had more than double the traffic as the #2 station in Missouri, Kansas City.

Amtrak serves 46 of the 48 continental United States, no service to Wyoming or South Dakota. Of the 46 states served, and the District of Columbia, Missouri ranked 18th in FY13, Illinois 4th.

Clearly, our proximity to Chicago doesn’t hurt. Plus, Missouri and Illinois have both been making track upgrades which have resulted in reduced travel time. Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari told me the usage at the St. Louis station “has exceeded expectations.”

The Lincoln Service between Chicago and St Louis saw a 10 percent jump in passenger count, for the largest increase for any route in Illinois. It also saw a 22 percent jump in revenue. (Source)

The St. Louis station took years to be planned, funded, and opened. Now we need to plan a facility to handle high-speed rail traffic. How will a high-speed train cross the Mississippi River, a new rail bridge? Could it serve the region from a location on the Illinois side, or must it cross into Missouri? You think I’m dreaming, but I’m not:

The study concluded that a 220-mph HSR service from O’Hare Airport through downtown Chicago to Champaign-Urbana and on to St. Louis and/or Indianapolis is feasible and would be likely to cover its operating costs without subsidies. Express high-speed trains would travel from downtown Chicago to Champaign in approximately 45 minutes, to Springfield in approximately one hour and twenty minutes and to St. Louis or Indianapolis in approximately 2 hours. The study assumed that trains would run every half-hour during peak times and hourly at other times. The economic analysis of the HSR system showed potential substantial benefits to Illinois, including the creation of 409,000 to 792,000 job-years during five years of construction and creation of 10,890 to 13,820 jobs per year during the first 10 years of operation. In addition, analyses of several different cost and revenue scenarios indicated that the HSR system is expected to be operationally profitable. However, as with many large public transportation projects, the initial cost to build it is substantial and would require public and/or private sector funding to cover the initial capital cost.

Various public-private partnerships (PPP) have been successfully used to finance HSR overseas and the viability of adapting these to the US environment should be explored. An incremental or blended approach completed over a longer time period would reduce initial capital costs and provide other nearer-term transportation benefits, while simultaneously improving intercity transportation quality and travel times. This is similar to the approach commonly used internationally and should be studied further. (UIUC w/links to study)

Two hours to Chicago? Count me in!

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Sesame Street Was a Positive Influence on Their Perception of Urban Neighborhoods

When Sesame Street debuted in November 1969 I was and wasn’t the target audience. Just shy of turning 3, I was the ideal age for the new educational show, but I was a kid in a new middle-class suburban subdivision in the sprawling city of Oklahoma City.

Think about the decade of the 1960s, leaders assassinated (JFK, MLK), race riots in cities, etc.  The show was targeted at poor inner-city kids, helping them learn and to feel good about their own neighborhoods — which didn’t look like Mr Roger’s Neighborhood (1968) or another show from 1969, The Brady Bunch.    I’m not the only person who’s written about growing up with Sesame Street:

Sesame Street was my first experience of a city. I had no idea where it was set when I was a kid, or even that it was in a city at all. I tended to imagine all settings as more or less equivalent to the small Midwestern city where I grew up. I was shocked as an adult to learn that Harriet the Spy, to take one example, was an Upper West Sider. As far as I was concerned, she lived down the block. I didn’t realize how centralized American culture is, how little of America Sesame Street depicts. I didn’t realize my life was considered provincial.

Sesame Street is supposed to represent a Manhattan street, which should be obvious to anyone who’s watched the program — though it wasn’t to me until I asked the show’s art director, Victor Di Napoli. I was thinking that it might be located in, oh, I don’t know, Brooklyn or Philadelphia (it’s actually filmed on a soundstage in Astoria, Queens). The folks at Sesame Street actually disagree over which specific Manhattan neighborhood the show depicts. Di Napoli, a longtime Sesame Street staffer, says it’s always been based on the Upper West Side, though Joan Ganz Cooney, Sesame Street’s founder, said during a 1994 talk at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York that she’d wanted to call the show 123 Avenue B — in the late ’60s, this now prosperous part of the East Village was called Alphabet City, and was considered part of the Lower East Side.

Whether or not I understood Sesame Street’s setting, it stuck in my head as a model for how people should live: close to one another, in a place where neighbors knew, liked, and watched out for each other, where chance encounters were common and meaningful. And I’ve sought that out repeatedly in my adult life. (How to Get to Sesame Street)

And based on the unscientific poll results many of you were also positively influenced:

Q: How did Sesame Street influence your childhood perceptions of urban neighborhoods?

1. Positively 69 [37.91%]
2. Very positively 66 [36.26%]
3. Neutral 21 [11.54%]
4. Unsure/No Answer/Not Applicable 21 [11.54%]
5. Negatively 4 [2.2%]
6. Very negatively 1 [0.55%]

Nearly 75% indicated Sesame Street positively or very positively influenced their perceptions of urban neighborhoods. The comments on the original post are interesting, some doubting the influence of the show and others saying they too wanted to experience such a way of living.

Historic Art Deco Storefronts Removed From Board of Education Building

The former St. Louis Board of Education Building was built in 1893, but in the late 1930s the storefront spaces on the ground floor were replaced with new Art Deco fronts. The National Register Nomination lists the period of significance for the building as 1893-1953, so these storefronts are considered historic even though they’re not original.  The building is now loft apartments.

The quotes in the post are from the nomination linked above:

Overall, most of the building retains a high degree of historic integrity. The primary elevations have seen few changes and most of the exterior storefront modifications took place during the period of significance. The only other major exterior change is the loss of the pressed metal cornice, removed in 1942 during the historic period.

In March I was worried when I saw the plywood up at the entrance to the main Art Deco storefront. But perhaps it was just to protect the vitrolite and curved glass…

Here’s more detail on the exterior:

The remaining openings on the first floor (901-909 Locust and 401-409 North Ninth Street) are either display windows or entrances into the businesses that once occupied the first floor of this building. The original configuration of first floor openings generally alternated between display windows and recessed storefront entrances with display windows on one or both sides. Minor changes to these storefronts were noted in school board records as early as 1910. Major renovations in the 1930s transformed the original wood-framed first floor storefront entrances and display windows into distinctive examples of the Art Deco style with new Vitrolite storefronts and aluminum transom windows along the east elevation and in two bays (901, 903 Locust) on the south elevation. Art Deco modifications were completed on the 905 and 907 storefronts in 1937. An Art Deco entry, storefront and lobby was installed at 911 Locust in 1935, including a revolving door, but the revolving door was replaced in 1948 with paired glass doors within the revolving door enclosure. Additionally a single storefront was created at 905-907 Locust by removing the lower portion of the load-bearing pilaster and replacing it with a half-round, steel column. Modernization of the storefronts again took place in the 1960s, removing some of the Art Deco period features, mostly by replacing some of the doors and display window framing along Locust with the aluminum framed units seen today. The second floor windows of these bays are triple window units with fixed transoms.

The city’s Cultural Resources office attempted to get the owner to retain the storefronts but ultimately had no authority to prevent their removal.  While I loved the design of these Art Deco storefronts I also knew they were an obstacle to getting tenants in the spaces. It’ll be interesting to see new storefronts in this building.

Will they be wood like the 19th Century originals or a modern design? I’d favor a modern storefront system at this point, with busy retail stores or restaurants behind them.

— Steve Patterson

Please Shut Down NLEC

Tomorrow the city’s Board of Public Service will continue hearing testimony in response to a petition calling for New Life Evangelistic Center’s hotel license to be revoked. Both sides have been presenting their arguments for weeks now.

Six years ago I bought a loft exactly two blocks to the west of NLEC. I was aware of the complaints about NLEC at the time but I also believed we can’t let one problem property owner ruin an entire neighborhood.Over the last six years I’ve become more familiar with NLEC, the homeless, and other homeless service providers. Those entities that provide needed services are not created equal.

Larry Rice has convinced many that he’s the only game in town. NLEC is, in fact, a very last resort for many — they’d rather sleep outside than on one of his cots. When NLEC kicks everyone to the curb at 6am the others begin providing meals, counseling, computers, showers, etc.

From my balcony I can see the building that houses another homeless agency one block south of me. The Bridge is a day shelter and provider of meals, they have a professional security staff that monitors activity inside and out. They work with their neighbors to improve the safety for everyone. NLEC says they’re not responsible for anything that happens outside their facility.

To the west of me is the Horizon Club:

Horizon Club is a 24-hour drop in center for individuals without homes, operated by DD Resources. It is also funded by Housing and Urban Development through the St. Louis City Department of Human Services. The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, both seek to end homelessness.

Horizon Club offers membership and guest services to people without homes, especially those with disabilities. The Horizon Club features computer games, internet access, and satellite television as well as showers and lockers. This center is a safe place to spend time relaxing in a quiet recreation.

These other agencies are all trying to get the homeless off the streets, to improve their lives. NLEC, I believe, wants to keep the homeless on the streets — that helps them look needed and get donations. I think they’re fooling themselves to think they’ll end homelessness, though. Every time you get someone off the streets someone else will become homeless. I accept that I’ll always have homeless around my loft building.

Shutting down NLEC is the right thing to do for everyone except Larry Rice and his staff. The other homeless service providers can come out from behind NLEC’s shadow, the homeless will get more than a baloney sandwich, a bible, and a cot without a pillow or blanket.

Those wishing to let the Board of Public Service know how they feel about NLEC should email the board secretary, Cherise Thomas.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Should Missouri Allow Same-Sex Couples To Marry Before Being Required By The Courts?

Missouri and same-sex marriage made the national news last week:

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) said Thursday that he would sign an executive order to allow gay and lesbian couples who were legally married in other states to file joint tax returns with the state Department of Revenue, a move likely to prompt a legislative reaction from the Republican-dominated legislature.

Nixon told reporters Thursday that because the couples will be able to file joint returns with the Internal Revenue Service, the Missouri Department of Revenue should accept those returns as well. (Washington Post)

Missouri requires couples to file in Missouri as they do their federal return(s).  Those who file individual federal returns must file individual state returns with Missouri, those who file a joint federal return must also do so in Missouri. This worked until the IRS said legally married same-sex couples can file together regardless of their state of residence.

This as two more states recently joined the list recognizing same-sex marriages:

As Hawaii and Illinois join the list of states approving same-sex marriage, the United States crosses a big mark on the issue: More than 1 in 3 Americans will live where same-sex marriage is legal.

It’s a dramatic shift in a short period of time — one not seen on other social issues.

Hawaii’s Legislature passed the measure Tuesday. Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed it into law Wednesday morning. It will go into effect December 2.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn plans to sign legislation for his state November 20. It will take effect June 1. (CNN)

With Hawaii and Illinois the total number of states recognizing same0-sex marriage is 16, plus the District of Columbia. Here’s the list in order of effective date, showing when effective and how it happened:

1. Massachusetts/May 2004/Courts
2. California/June 2008-November 2008, June 2013/Courts, Prop 8, SCOTUS
3. Connecticut/November 2008/Courts & legislature
4. District of Columbia/March 2009/City Council
5. Iowa/April 2009/Courts
6. Vermont/September 2009/Legislature (overrode veto)
7. New Hampshire/January 2010/Legislature
8. New York/July 2011/Legislature
9. Washington/December 2012/Legislature & voters
10. Maine/December 2012/Voters
11. Maryland/January 2013/Legislature & voters
12. Delaware/July 2013/Legislature
13. Rhode Island/August 2013/Legislature
14. Minnesota/August 2013/Legislature
15. New Jersey/October 2013/Courts
16. Hawaii/December 2013/Legislature
17. Illinois/June 2014/Legislature

The above list is from information from Wikipedia.

More than half are based on legislative action, not the courts. This list accounts for 16/50 states, what about the other 34?

Here’s a list of states that have passed constitutional bans:

1. Alaska 1998
2. Hawaii 1998 (changed in 2013)
3. Nebraska 2000
4. Nevada 2002
5. Arkansas 2004
6. Georgia 2004
7. Kentucky 2004
8. Louisiana 2004
9. Michigan 2004
10. Mississippi 2004
11. Missouri 2004
12. Montana 2004
13. North Dakota 2004
14. Ohio 2004
15. Oklahoma 2004
16. Oregon 2004
17. Utah 2004
18. Kansas 2005
19. Texas 2005
20. Alabama 2006
21. Colorado 2006
22. Idaho 2006
23. South Carolina 2006
24. South Dakota 2006
25. Tennessee 2006
26. Virginia 2006
27. Wisconsin 2006
28. Arizona 2008 (a 2006 ban failed to pass)
29. California 2008 (ruled unconstitutional in 2013)
30. Florida 2008
31. North Carolina 2012

So 29 states (31 less Hawaii & California), including Missouri, have constitutional bans against same-sex marriage by defining marriage between a man and a woman. Thirteen of these states passed their ban in 2004, the year same-sex marriages began in Massachusetts. Five states don’t recognize same-sex marriage, but also don’t have a constitutional ban. These rely on state law to make marriage between a man and a woman.

By the time the 2016 election I think we’ll see a different landscape from today. The poll question this week wants your take on Missouri, should we allow same-sex couples to marry before being required by the courts to do so? The poll is in the right sidebar until next Sunday morning.

— Steve Patterson