Readers Unwilling To Subscribe To Expected stltoday.com Paywall

In the poll last week more than half the readers indicated they wouldn’t subscribe to

Q: Will You Subscribe If stltoday.com (Post-Dispatch) Creates A Pay Wall?

1. No 107 [60.11%]
2. Yes, I’d pay up to $25/year for online access 18 [10.11%]
3. Yes, I’d pay up to $50/year for online access 15 [8.43%]
4. Yes, I’d pay up to $10/year for online access 14 [7.87%]
5. I subscribe to the physical paper. 14 [7.87%]
6. Yes, I’d pay more than $75/year for online access 4 [2.25%]
7. Yes, I’d pay up to $75/year for online access 3 [1.69%]
8. Unsure/No Opinion 3 [1.69%]

But some are willing to pay. After the poll closed I began looking at other Lee Enterprises newspapers to see what kind of subscription plans they offered their readers.

The Arizona Daily Star offers a plan that comes out to $48/year, but this sounds like a way to view the printed paper online. I clicked through a number of articles on azstarnet.com and didn’t get hit will a wall notice.

The Missoulian in Montana is different, it does have a paywall. As noted below in their Digital Subscription FAQ,  you can view 15 articles for free in each 30 day period. So non-subscribders aren’t totally shut out:

What is a digital subscription? What do I get when I subscribe?

To get unlimited access to missoulian.com, you’ll need an online subscription. When you subscribe, you’ll get unlimited access to articles, breaking news, photo galleries, blog posts, reader comments, Missoulian archived articles and more. All visitors are able to view 15 pages FREE during any 30-day period (not calendar). Exceeding that amount will result in the need for a digital subscription to continue enjoying missoulian.com’s suite of articles and tools. For more information on the recent changes to missoulian.com, please read the letter from our editor and publisher.

If I have multiple computers at my residence or place of work, do I need to purchase multiple digital subscriptions?

No. You will be provided a username and password to access missoulian.com at your residence, at work, on the go, at a library, wherever. It is this ease of access that allows our customers to obtain news and information instantly, anywhere by logging in with your username and password.

If I already subscribe to the print version of the Missoulian, do I receive a discount to my digital subscription?

Yes. Customers who already subscribe to the Missoulian print edition will receive a hefty discount to their online subscription. Enmeshing the functionality of missoulian.com’s online tools with the print version’s tactile appeal creates a news and information one-two punch unmatched by any other local news medium. For more specific pricing information, click here.

Is my digital subscription exclusive to missoulian.com, or does it include online access to other Lee newspapers?

The subscription package does NOT include access to the other Lee news websites in Montana and Wyoming.

What about viewing missoulian.com articles on my mobile phone? Do I need a digital subscription for that?

No. Mobile-optimized versions of our website and mobile apps do not limit the number of articles you can view. Click here for more information regarding our suite of mobile offerings.

Each time I clicked the link to view the rates I got a “403 Forbidden” error message, not a good way to sell digital subscriptions. So I looked at the Billings Gazette. Very similar to the Missoulian, but only 10 pages are free in any 30 day period before having to pay. I tried the rate button in two different browsers and got nothing.

I actually want to pay the Post-Dispatch something every year because I do get value from the news they provide. Many are cynical but I think we’d be much worse off if the daily “paper” didn’t exist.

— Steve Patterson

No Matter The Implementation, Light Rail Doesn’t Spur Development

A number of  years ago the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) for the St. Louis region looked at options to get light rail transit to north county and south county, see MetroLink Northside-Southside Study. The final report on October 10, 2008 recommended future routes to North County and South County that included using part of existing roadway. I wasn’t convinced.

Last week I posted about things I liked about DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) but today I’m going to use DART to talk why I’m cautious about expanding out own light rail system, MetroLink.  Light rail as a mode of transit moves people well, but it doesn’t automatically spur development the way a streetcar can and costs far for than a bus line.

Just before I left for my trip to Texas and Oklahoma I received the following publication at a transit-oriented development event here in St. Louis.

Looked exciting, I couldn’t wait to see and experience it.  Let’s take a look at the reality of light rail in Dallas.

In downtown Dallas numerous light rail lines converge on Pacific Street, now closed to traffic, with exceptions in a few limited spots. It’s a pretty lifeless street other than people going to/from the light rail stations. Pedestrian traffic is less than other nearby streets. No sidewalk cafes, not much of anything other than a couple of stations. This is what you get when you give a roadway such a single, and limited, purpose.

On the plus side their light rail is highly visible, whereas our MetroLink is nearly invisible in downtown St. Louis since it runs under Washington Ave and under 8th Street. The planned northside-southside lines in St. Louis would go through downtown at grade and be visible.

DART’s blue Line South

n

Blue Line North

b

I’ve got hundreds more images from DART’s Blue & Red lines but you get the idea. Relatives and friends in Dallas said they don’t use the light rail because it’s too inconvenient to use, having to drive to the station and park. They’d just as soon drive to their destination.

Light rail, by design, is separated from its surroundings. It’s below grade, elevated above grade, squeezed in the middle of a busy roadway, etc.. But it’s not connected to the street grid in the way a streetcar or even a bus is. Thus, many have to drive to reach a station.

Both the streetcar and bus are right outside the door and both make frequent stops so you don’t have massive areas without service, like you do with light rail. That said, I can’t imagine taking a bus to the airport. Conversely, when I go to the Delmar Loop I take the #97 (Delmar) MetroBus because it’s far more convenient.

Back to the northside and southside MetroLink expansion. I’d support rail transit but only in streetcar or BRT form. Light rail costs more to build and as we’ve seen in St. Louis it hasn’t produced measurable development.

St. Louis was developed largely with help from streetcars, horse drawn initially. I expect, no I demand, development to be a result of investment in transit infrastructure.

— Steve Patterson

East St. Louis Metal Thieves Leave Dangerous Holes

As sorta a hobby I enjoy looking around East St. Louis. In July I was exploring the area to the west of the Emerson Park MetroLink station (aerial), I was shocked to see how many manhole covers and sewer grates were missing.  Here are some examples:

The curbs, sidewalks, and yes sewers all look relatively new, perhaps redone in 2001 when the adjacent light rail station opened? If you remember the saga of rescuing Jessica McClure from a backyard well then you can understand how dangerous these are and why old tires are in some.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Parking Management, Planning, & Revenues for St. Louis Should…?

Last Tuesday State Rep Tishaura Jones won the democratic nomination for the county office of treasurer. On November 6th she’ll face Republican Timothy Bachmann and Green Anthony Stevens in the general election. Given the St. Louis political landscape Jones will easily be elected.

During the primary campaign Jones differed from her three opponents on the issue of parking falling within the responsibility of the treasurer’s office:

No major city in the US has a “Parking Czar” that controls the building of city garages and where parking meters are placed. The primary function of the Treasurer’s office should be to collect, manage, and invest the city’s funds…period. If elected, I will work with other city elected officials and the Missouri Legislature to transfer this function to the appropriate department and concentrate on increasing the return on investment of the $1.5 billion currently under management. (tishaura4treasurer.com)

Is this why Jones defeated her three opponents? Would moving the responsibility for parking to another part of city government just shift problems? Would development deals be easier or harder? Will city & neighborhood leaders better be able to plan the parking component?

The poll this week asks for your take.  Vote in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

What’s In Store For My Next 22 Years In St. Louis?

Will the next 22 years be just as interesting as the first 22?

It was 22 years ago today that I first saw the City of St. Louis, it was truly love at first sight. The city had seen better days long before I was born, but the potential sparked my imagination about what this place could become. Problems were everywhere.

Much was in the very recent past or even still to come:

• The former St. Louis Centre downtown mall was just five years old.
• Union Station had only been reopened as a “festival marketplace” for 5 years.
• The Gateway Arch parking garage was only 4 years old. Current plans call for it to be razed.
• The Gateway One office building, now known as Peabody Plaza, was also just 4 years old.
• The 14th Street Pedestrian Mall opened 13 years earlier in 1977, but had already failed. It would take the next two decades to remove the failed experiment.
• The Kiel Opera House was still open, although it closed months later.
• Hockey was played in the Arena on Oakland.
• Getting to/from the airport required a vehicle because we didn’t have light rail.
• Boatman’s & Mercantile were the biggest banks in town, both local with histories dating back to the 19th century.
• St. Louis was down about not having an NFL football franchise, the Cardinals had moved to Arizona 3 years earlier.
• Vince Schoemehl was elected to his third term as St. Louis mayor the year before (1989).
• The 1990 Census, taken months before I arrived, would show a population of  396,685.  By 2010 I’d witnessed a population decline of 77,391.  Not a small number in 20 years time, but the decade between 1970 and 1980 saw more than twice as many people leave: 169,435.
• Famous-Barr was the big local department store chain, part of Federated May Department Stores bought by Federated (Macy’s) in 2006. The Famous-Barr at Chippewa & Kingshighway had wonderful urban massing & form. It was razed to build a Home Quarters big box store. The HQ chain closed in 1999 before the store would be built.  Central Hardware was the local home improvement chain, it closed in 1997.

Yes I’m feeling nostalgic, I usually do on anniversaries.  But the real lesson here is people, and the places where they live, aren’t static. Change is a constant.  This isn’t inherently good or bad — it just is.

What changes will I be able to write about 22 years from now?

•  Continued population losses? Increases?
• St. Louis elected first female mayor?
• Several expansions of the local modern streetcar system connected the city (north, central, south) and the older inner-ring suburbs.
• Board of Aldermen reduced in size?
• St. Louis razed the old I-70 (elevated & depressed sections) downtown?
• City rejoined St. Louis County as one of many municipalities? City, County and municipalities merged into a unified regional government?
• Daily physical newspaper no longer printed?
• Earthquake hit St. Louis?
• Bill Haas elected to an office higher than the school board?
• St. Louis adopted a city-wide urban form-based zoning code?
• Tired & outdated Loughborhough Commons replaced with a dense mixed-use development?

I’m as excited about the future of St. Louis as I was 22 years ago. I’m less naive I was then but I’m forever an optimist, albeit a critical one.

— Steve Patterson