Did You ‘Dump the Pump’ Today?

Did you take transit today? Today is National Dump the Pump Day:

On June 21, 2012, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in partnership with The Sierra Club, The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and public transportation systems across the country will celebrate the 7th Annual National Dump the Pump Day.

In these tough economic times with high gas prices, everyone is looking for a way to save money. National Dump the Pump Day encourages people to ride public transportation (instead of driving) and save money.

Riding public transit is an economical way to save money, particularly when gas prices are high. The latest APTA Transit Savings Report shows that a two person household that downsizes to one car can save – on the average – about $10,000 a year.

It’s been over two months since I sold my car. While there have been a few times I missed the easy mobility the car offers I love the greater financial freedom I have now. We all make trade offs in life, I just decided more money in my pocket was more important to me than 24/7 mobility. I’m still mobile, just on Metro’s schedule.

Most likely you weren’t aware of Dump the Pump Day. Even if you were you’d cite a long list of reasons why transit won’t work for you, why you must have a car. Here are some of the reasons to use transit:

Quick Facts

• In 2011, Americans took 10.4 billion trips on public transportation.
• 35 million times each weekday, people board public transportation.
• Public transportation is a $55 billion industry that employs more than 400,000 people.
• More than 7,300 organizations provide public transportation in the United States.

Public Transportation Helps People Save Money

• Using public transportation is the quickest way to beat high gas prices.
• According to APTA’s Transit Saving Report, a two-person household can save, on the average, more than $10,000 a year by downsizing to one car.
• Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, necessary, alternative to driving.

Public Transportation Provides Economic Opportunities

• Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates and supports 36,000 jobs.
• Every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns.
• Every $10 million in capital investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased business sales.
• Every $10 million in operating investment yields $32 million in increased business sales.

Public Transportation Saves Fuel and Reduces Congestion

• Public transportation has a proven record of reducing congestion.
• The latest research shows that in 2010, U.S. public transportation use saved 796 million hours in travel time and 303 million gallons of fuel in 439 urban areas.
• Without public transportation, congestion costs in 2010 would have risen by nearly $17 billion from $101 billion to $118 billion.

Public Transportation Reduces Gasoline Consumption

• Public transportation use in the United States saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually.
• Households near public transit drive an average of 4,400 fewer miles than households with no access to public transit.

Public Transportation Reduces Carbon Footprint

• Public transportation use in the United States reduces our nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. This is equivalent to the emissions resulting from the electricity generated for the use of 4.9 million households or every household in Washington, DC; New York City; Atlanta; Denver; and Los Angeles combined.
• One person with a 20-mile round trip commute who switches from driving to public transit can reduce his or her daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds, or more than 4,800 pounds in a year.
• A single commuter switching his or her commute to public transportation can reduce a household’s carbon emissions by 10 percent and up to 30 percent if he or she eliminates a second car.

Public Transportation Enhances Personal Opportunities

• Public transportation provides personal mobility and freedom for people from every walk of life.
• Access to public transportation gives people transportation options to commute to work, go to school, visit friends, or travel to a doctor’s office.
• Public transportation provides access to job opportunities for millions of Americans.
• 83 percent of older Americans acknowledge public transit provides easy access to things they need in everyday life.

source: American Public Transportation Association

All the above reasons are valid, but it’s the cost savings that did it for me personally. I’m single but for many couples going from two cars to one gives them savings without giving up mobility.

– Steve Patterson

Readers: Ban Plastic Bags

Last week readers voted in the poll and supported a ban on plastic shopping bags. Nobody has proposed such a ban but there is some support. The question is how it would play with the general St. Louis population?

Los Angeles will become the largest city in the United States to impose a plastic-bag ban, with some 7,500 affected stores and nearly 4 million residents. The city council vote, which took place Wednesday, sets in motion a months-long process including an environmental review, enactment of an ordinance, and a phase-in period that affects larger stores first, according to news reports. (Christian Science Monitor)

It’s time for St. Louis to actually take real action toward sustainability, not just have events to make it look like politicians are actually doing something meaningful.

Only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled worldwide — about 2 percent in the U.S. — and the rest, when discarded, can persist for centuries. They can spend eternity in landfills, but that’s not always the case. “They’re so aerodynamic that even when they’re properly disposed of in a trash can they can still blow away and become litter,” says Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. It’s as litter that plastic bags have the most baleful effect. And we’re not talking about your everyday eyesore. (Salon)

Here are the poll results from last week:

Q: Plastic shopping bags are banned in 75 jurisdictions in the US, should the City of St. Louis also ban their use?

1. Yes 82 [59.85%]
2. No 40 [29.2%]
3. Maybe 9 [6.57%]
4. Other: 4 [2.92%]
5. Unsure/No Opinion 2 [1.46%]

The four “other” answers were:

1. Stores should charge for bags and not give them away free.
2. wouldn’t paper bags blow around like plastic bags?
3. Stores should be encouraged to charge money for plastic/paper shopping bags.
4. F*ck no, Steve. C’mon, man; what the hell is wrong with you? (I edited this to make it less offensive to some)

When stores try to do things on their own they get pushback from customers. Other than a ban cities could require stores to charge for bags. The stores would like to recoup the expense since bags aren’t free. Paper bags are heavier than plastic and thus don’t blow around as easily. A paper bag will break down quickly whereas a plastic bag takes thousands of years.

I ask that everyone keep their language here PG.

– Steve Patterson

August 7 Primary: Contested City Seats

August 7th is the Missouri primary election. Voters will be selecting their party’s candidate for various state offices that day. But locally we’ll also be be selecting candidates for our party to face an opponent in other parties in the November general election. The reality is locally the winner of the Democratic primary rarely faces an opponent from another party in the General election. This year there will be a few races not finalized until November.

Uncontested: Circuit Attorney, Public Administrator, various committeeman and committeewoman positions within the Democrat, Green & Republican parties. The complete list of candidates can be found here:

Offices:

Sheriff:

• Vernon Betts faces incumbent James W. (Jim) Murphy and David (DA) Mosley.
• The winner in the Democratic primary will face Republican Robert V. Sternberg on November 6th

Treasurer:

• Democrats: Alfred J. “Fred” Wessels Jr., Brian Anthony Wahby, Tishaura O. Jones and Jeffrey Boyd face each other, incumbent Larry Williams isn’t seeking another term thankfully.
• Greens: Don DeVivo and Anthony Stevens face each other.
• The  winners of the Democratic & Green primaries will face Republican Tim Bachman on November 6th.

Committeeman & Committeewoman:

Ward 1/Democratic:

• Committeeman: Sterling Samuel Miller vs Azim Azid
• Committeewoman: Sharon Tyus vs Althea (Haywood) Harris

Ward 2/Democratic:

• Committeeman: 4-way race between Larry Middlebrook, David (DA) Mosley, Terrance “Terry” Buchanan, and John Saxton

Ward 3/Democratic:

• Committeeman: 3-way race between Johnnie Saddler, Calvin L. Garner, and Anthony Bell

Ward 4/Democratic:

• Committeeman: Edward McFowland vs Offong R. Ahmed
• Committeewoman: Tina Sparkling vs Norma Leggette

Ward 5/Democratic:

• Committeewoman: Penny V. Hubbard vs. Tonya Finley

Ward 6:

Ward 9/Republican

• Committeeman: Daniel Morgan vs Christopher W. Rowley

Ward 15/Republican

• Committeeman: Michael W. Huett vs Nicholas Willard

Ward 16/Republican

• Committeeman: Jake Koehr vs. Frederick A. Hodes

Ward 21/Democratic:

• Committeeman: Kerry D. Wilson vs Michael Watson
• Committeewoman: Jamilah Nasheed vs. Audrey Larkin

Ward 22:

• Green Committeeman: Don DeVivo vs Barry Watkins
• Democratic Committeeman: Nora “Tumaini” Neal vs Angela D. Miles

Ward 26/Democratic:

• Committeewoman: Kay Ross Gage vs Shameem Hubbard

Additional Thoughts On A Modern Streetcar In St. Louis

A couple of weeks ago I laid out a suggested route for a modern streetcar route from downtown to the Loop (Feasibility Of A Streetcar From Downtown To The Loop). I suggested using Olive, Vandeventer and Delmar. I’ve got more on the subject.

Extension of Loop Trolley, Not A New Start:

Alex Ihnen posted on NextSTL that Olive/Lindell was the “only feasible route” (see: Olive/Lindell Streetcar or Bust: Why a New St. Louis Line Must Build On Success) and that an all Olive route wasn’t a good option.  I’m not sure who suggested a route on Olive West of Vandeventer,but I agree with Ihnen that staying on Olive isn’t wise but I disagree that Lindell is the only possibility.

Ihnen admits with his Lindell route the “problem remaining is the potential to connect to the Loop Trolley.” That’s a deal breaker of a problem!  This streetcar line needs to be sold to the Feds as an extension of the Loop Trolley, not a new stand-alone system. Maintenance and storage buildings are costly so getting the maximum use of the Loop facility, rather than building a second, makes financial sense and increases the odds of getting the Feds to improve funding.

The Loop Trolley will initially use restored vintage cars, which are cheap to buy, but very costly to operate. Fortunately, the Loop Trolley is being designed to handle modern streetcars as well. Replacing the vintage cars with modern cars would come as part of an expansion. This is inevitable because the operating costs of the Loop Trolley won’t be sustainable.

So while we might talk about a downtown streetcar heading out west, the reality is the Loop Trolley would be extended east to downtown, something I’ve advocated since the Loop Trolley has been discussed.  The most feasible  way to get a streetcar line in midtown and downtown is building upon the Loop Trolley, not starting over from scratch.

Given that reality let me describe the route from the Loop to downtown. Extend the line east on Delmar from DeBaliviere to Vandeventer, south to Olive, east on Olive to the Central Business District.

The one alteration I’ve been thinking about is due to the fact the Olive/Lindell intersection was recently redone is to use McPherson for a block. When south on Vandeventer instead of turning east on olive the line could continue south two blocks then head east on McPherson in front of the Moolah Theater. These are diagramed later in this post.

Line Placement:

Conventional wisdom says run the streetcars through existing areas where people are now. Well, yes and no.  One lesson we can learn from the 10+ years of the Portland streetcar is you want to do both. The line needs to serve busy points but by taking an under-developed path between those points you’ll see it fill up over time provided you’ve also put the right zoning in place.

If you’re at Euclid & Laclede you’ve got MetroLink a short walk to the south. Having a streetcar a short walk to the north at Euclid & Lindell would be great for the lucky few in between but the rest of the city should also benefit from such an investment in new infrastructure. Having the line run along Delmar on the north end of the Central West End it would serve residents on both sides of Delmar. It’d be a short walk from Left Bank Books at Euclid & McPherson to catch the streetcar at Delmar. Of course you can catch the #97 (Delmar) bus there now — every 30 minutes.

North-South Line:

On many sites people have said a north-south route is needed. I fully agree, an eastbound line from the Loop to downtown will give points to make connections to a future north-south route(s). Again, using the one maintenance facility saves considerable money and makes future lines more sellable to the Feds.

It’s my opinion that Vandeventer would serve as an excellent north-south route with excellent development potential. A streetcar line on Vandeventer would take pressure off the #70 Grand bus route. A north-south route further east such as Jefferson would also be good and would personally benefit me more, but I think Vandeventer is a better first north-south line. No the north it could stop at Natural Bridge, a good future east-west streetcar route as well as the preferred route for a light rail line to north county. Heading south on Vandeventer the line could turn south on Kingshighway.

Modern Streetcar vs Bus:

Some of you fail to see the difference between a modern streetcar and a bus, other than the obvious track and wire.  The modern streetcar used in cities like Portland & Seattle is not like a railcar where you add on cars as need (Wikipedia). These have three sections, a middle and matching ends — no adding on. They are 66 feet in length, 6 foot longer than an articulated  bus and 26 feet longer  than a typical bus. Seating capacity is only 30 but standing capacity is an additional 127, most passengers stand since they’re going a short distance. Our 40 foot buses have a seating capacity of about 40 and standing isn’t feasible because you’re either in the way or you’ll fall over due to the bumpy ride.  An articulated bus has a capacity of roughly 60+.  For comparison our MetroLink light rail vehicles are 90 feet long and  “a capacity of 72 seated and 106 standing passengers.” (Wikipedia)

Boarding a bus each passenger gets on one at a time, after others have gotten off the bus. It’s a slow process. With the modern streetcar riders pay their fare at the fireboxes on-board the streetcar.

The inflexible rail and wire are very important. These permanent items give developers the confidence to invest in high density development. The high density development supplies riders for the streetcar. Bus lines are incredibly efficient means from getting from point A to point B but a bus line, no matter how frequent, can’t generate the same level of development along a route. To help justify the capital expense of a streetcar the goodwill of developers along the length of the route cannot be left to chance. Government, in exchange for the investment in the infrastructure, should demand the density of development necessary to make it worthwhile. This last part is what wasn’t done 20 years ago around our MetroLink light rail stations.

Property owners with several blocks of a streetcar will benefit financially from the new transit infrastructure as their property value increases. Measures also need to be taken to ensure low-income persons aren’t priced out of high transit areas. This could be a freeze on property taxes for existing low-income homeowners to rent control for some rental units.  The goal would be to add more middle and higher income residents without displacing those on the lower end.

Conclusion:

The bus is a fine mode for inner city public transit, it’s how I most often leave downtown.  While it does it’s transit function well it doesn’t spur new development. The streetcar also does a great job at local transit but it’s strength is in development and creating new transit users. In making infrastructure decisions we cannot continue to put all our eggs into the CWE basket, we must spread it around.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on Solar Panels In Historic Neighborhoods?

An interesting debate about solar panels in historic neighborhoods was in the news lately:

Bob Hiscox wants solar panels on his roof.

Energy costs are rising. Hiscox is increasingly concerned about the environment. And government rebates could help him fund the $45,000 cost.

But his building, the Soulard Bastille Bar on Russell Boulevard south of downtown, has a roof that faces the street. And that means his solar array would break neighborhood rules. Soulard, a national historic district, does not allow visible panels. (St. Louis battle over solar panels pits preservation against environmentalism)

Michael Allen has a thoughtful post on the subject, here is part:

The Soulard local historic district standards are not explicit about solar panels, which means that their installation requires a variance. The standards mandate that the character of sloped roofs be maintained through adherence to one of several times (sic) of approved roofing (most of which were not in use before 1900, I might point out). In a few instances, the Cultural Resources Office (CRO) has recommended that the Preservation Board grant a variance, and the Board has done just that. This time, however, CRO recommended denial of a variance based on the public visibility of the Bastille’s street-facing rear roof. (recommended –  Soulard Solar Collectors)

If you want to learn more here are some helpful resources:

• 1972 nomination of the neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places
• Soulard Historic District Ordinance
• Soulard Rehabilitation and New Construction Standards

I thought this would be a good topic for this week’s poll (see right sidebar). Poll results and my thoughts on Wednesday June 27th.

– Steve Patterson