Hosteling Organization May Actually Open a Hostel

For decades the Gateway Council of Hostelling International holds the hugely popular annual fundraiser, the Moonlight Ramble. Each year thousands help raise money for a group whose mission includes youth travel yet does not operate a local hostel. I was critical of this practice last year (see post). It looks as though the group is closer to having a local hostel:

After 90 days of “due diligence,” Gateway Council Board of Directors has entered into a period of negotiation with the University of Missouri at St Louis. Negotiations center around office space, room cost, liability, signage, and renewability of lease. The Gateway Council is interested in creating a kitchen and dining space so the communal nature of hostelling is enhanced; University of Missouri at St Louis is receptive to this idea. The University is also making minor repairs and is painting all rooms.

This is good news indeed.

For years St. Louis has had a single hostel, the Huckleberry Finn Youth Hostel, on the edge of Soulard and thus near downtown. This hostel was previously listed as an official International Hostelling location but a few years ago the owner decided to stop paying the fee for the listing. It was never owned or managed by the local chapter, being privately owned instead. The hostel gets very mixed reviews. At roughly $20/night it is the only affordable choice for many, in particular those dependent upon public transit.

Back to the Gateway Council. They’ve been raising money for years although reports show much of what is raised is actually spent on hosting the fundraiser itself. But it looks like they are getting closer to opening their own hostel in the region. A location at UMSL has both good and bad implications (as would most sites). On the plus side it is facility that was designed as a dorm and is convenient to MetroLink light rail. On the down side it is really a a fair distance from downtown.

Many hostel travelers may arrive via train or bus so transit is very important. Getting from the current bus station to MetroLink is not the easiest although it is just as easy, if not easier, as getting to the hostel in Soulard. Once the new multi-model station opens the bus and train will be in one location right at the Civic Center MetroLink/MetroBus station on 14th. From Metro’s schedules it appears to be a 20 minute ride to UMSL South. To anyone arriving via Lambert Airport this hostel location would be ideal. The real problem is as people are sightseeing downtown and throughout the city they’ll have to go a long way to get back to their rooms. Perhaps that is the price they must pay for cheap accommodations?

A hostel on Delmar east of the MetroLink station would be a perfect location. With transit nearby and many cheap eats in the Loop we could really impress young travelers that one day may return as new residents. Obviously the local organization must work with the budget they’ve got and properties as they become available.

Last night the annual Moonlight Ramble was held in downtown St. Louis. At 10pm cyclists were arriving en mass for the midnight start. It is truly a great event. Hopefully the local organizers will realize increasing proceeds so as to be able to fully fund a local hostel.

– Steve

PS – For those who like to correct spelling please make note: My spell check and the dictionaries I consulted all list the spelling as hosteling — one L. However, the official organization uses two Ls, hostelling. You’ll see it spelled both ways above as I spelled their name as they list it and per the dictionaries otherwise.

Loft Living: Accommodating Dogs and Their Owners

The gossip columnist for the “worst newspaper”in America, Deb Peterson, is reporting local developer Kevin McGowan doesn’t think dog is man’s best friend:

FAUX FRIEND: Kevin McGowan of McGowan Walsh developers recently sponsored a Q&A session on downtown development at Copia on Washington Avenue. Many of the questions that night were about dog parks. McGowan expressed his support for them while maintaining that the city won’t approve one. Now for the rest of the story. Seems that McGowan himself is anti-pet. He recently sent an e-mail around to residents of his building at 1221 Locust Street expressing his views on pets. “Most of you are aware I am not a pet owner and in general I find them dirty, destructive and annoying. Because of pets I do not own there is fur on the elevator, in our staircase, in our basement, in my car, in my house and occasionally on my suits upon exiting the building.” The note goes on to say that pets are dangerous and that he wants to keep the building pet-free. Some residents are fuming because they say McGowan passed the no-pet policy for the building while a resident was out of town, forcing her to get rid of a new puppy she had brought home with her.

I made some inquiries today and got some diverse views. One person, not affiliated with the McGowan family or the building, said the building’s board did in fact have a legit meeting and passed a no-pet policy. A pet ban is not that uncommon for condo buildings, loft or otherwise, as people have concern about noise and such. It is also not uncommon for boards to meet while someone is out of town or has a conflict. It is typical for a board to post any issues up for vote in advance and then to have provisions for someone that cannot attend to give their proxy to someone else to vote in their place.

I personally would never buy into a building where a single family owned a majority of the units. As with all condos the board may not do things you like and it may require you to challenge their decision legally or simply sell and move. This happens in tightly controlled subdivisions as well so don’t think this is a city thing. It comes down to creating legal entities to control common areas and how do the various owners reach mutual decisions.

As for dogs, I’m not a big fan. But they are growing on me. I kinda view them like kids — I like other people’s kids & dogs but I don’t want either for myself. With a goldfish or cat the pet owner (caretaker really) doesn’t have any interaction with neighbors as a result of the pet. But, the dog owner must go out and walk that dog which is an opportunity to meet and talk with others on the sidewalk. They add to the vibrancy where ever they may be, a very good thing. Well, so long as they pickup after the dog.

And downtown you see people walking dogs all the time. This creates problems of disposal of waste, where to leave the dog when going into a store and such. Very good problems to have downtown! For many the solution is in creating a dedicated dog park. But where? I’m told the Serra sculpture is serving as a default dog park already. I joked with one downtown dog owner today about welding on some items to hold bags for poop patrol.

With lofts nearly to the river, adjacent to Busch stadium and then all the way to Jefferson I don’t know that a single dog park is the solution. I think we need to make downtown dog friendly. Restaurants and stores might include a metal bar for wrapping up a leash near the entrance. Throughout downtown we can have “doggy bags” near trash cans. Make downtown one big dog park.

– Steve

Professionals Make Mistakes, Need Oversight

Via Green Car Congress comes an interesting story. It seems the transit agency for the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove bought a fleet of 17 hybrid buses for “high-speed commuter transport on freeways.” Smart move? Well, not really. It seems none of the professionals that approved the plan stopped to consider that hybrid vehicles perform better in stop-and-go traffic.

I think most people grasp the basic concept that hybrids are able to regenerate the electrical power they need through braking. This is why their in-town mileage is often as good or better than the highway mileage. Putting hybrid buses on highway commuter lines is simply foolish.

Yet an entire transit agency and likely some sort of regional agency that disburses federal funds had to approve the project. Apparently the folks in the Seattle area realized the same thing after they received their diesel-hybrid buses (full story):

At times, the New Flyer hybrid articulated buses have gotten worse mileage than the often-maligned 1989 dual-mode Breda buses they are replacing. Yet the hybrid buses cost $200,000 more each than a conventional articulated diesel bus.

The Elk Grove agency is now contracting to purchase CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses for the commuter routes into Sacramento. I’d love to know if anyone pointed out to the professionals behind this blunder the potential problems? This is exactly why we need citizens and critics watching the process and questioning logic along the way.

– Steve

Update on Recall Efforts in the City of St. Louis

With all the election stuff of late it has been easy to ignore the various recalls that are going on in the City of St. Louis, a lot of angry voters out there displeased with their aldermen. The issue is not political infighting but development practices.

Freeman Bosley Sr., 3rd Ward:

Via Antonio French on PubDef: The recall is on hold pending an August 21, 2006 court hearing. It seems the recallers are challenging the legal authority of the Board of Elections to allow the subject of the recall, in this case Freeman Bosley Sr., to obtain affidavits from people to have their names removed from the recall petition. If the judge rules in their favor they will have sufficient numbers to place the recall on the ballot. This could be huge with widespread implications for other recalls.

Bosley has been a destructive element in his ward, choosing to unnecessarily raze many buildings and ruin street patterns. New construction has been decidedly suburban in character. Frankly he just seems too out of touch with what a city should be. He seems hell bent on destroying everything that makes the ward interesting, all in the name of progress. He has had his 17 years in the spotlight, time for some fresh urban-minded thinking.

Joseph Roddy, 17th Ward:

Roddy, who’s father was alderman for many years, inherited this ward. While Roddy can brag about the millions (billions?) of dollars of investment within the ward what he cannot do is argue that it has bettered the ward from an urban & livability perspective. BJC parking garages are costly but do not improve the area.

It looks like recallroddy.com was registered in May 2006 but no active website exists.

Jennifer Florida, 15th Ward:

Back in 2001 I really liked Florida, she was very involved in saving the South Side National Bank and she wasn’t about to let politics and ‘development as usual’ allow the building to be razed for a Walgreen’s. I was very impressed and worked to help get her elected. Today I feel betrayed. Did I misjudge her or did she change? Perhaps some of both.

In talking to several of those with the Florida recall effort it sounds like they are all re-energized following the elections on Tuesdays. Volunteers worked the polls in the 15th Ward to collect signatures. Many voters were eager to sign the petition although others were not so willing with her standing nearby. With more elections in November, March and April it looks like the volunteers are determined to stick with the recall as long as it takes. When the new McDonald’s begins to rise on Grand and we see the shuttered old McDonald’s this might attract some new interest. When she tries to push through the senior housing with little public input on the site plan, land use, and such the voters may finally get fed up.

Despite what the political machine may be saying, I am not “behind” these recalls. Do I support the recall of Florida, Roddy and Bosley? Oh yeah! But I am not orchestrating these efforts. I know many of the people running the recall against Florida and have offered them my opinion on things when asked. I am hosting recallflorida.com on server space that I have but I am not creating or posting any content — that is entirely up to those doing the recall. To those working to recall Bosley and Roddy I will make the same offer to you — free blog & email hosting.

I’m also willing to talk to potential candidates for aldermen in the city’s even numbered wards, the 14 seats that are up for re-election in March 2007. This doesn’t mean I will support just anyone challenging an incumbent. On a personal level I like a number of the current aldermen but I question the urban understanding of all of them. Who knows, I might actually support an incumbent or two. I will offer an “in-kind contribution” of web & email hosting to those I chose to support. Democracy is best served when we have more than a single choice of candidates.

– Steve

Commentary on Maryland Plaza in West End Word

The new issue of the West End Word is available and it includes a commentary on Maryland Plaza by yours truly. Here is the opening paragraph:

Maryland Plaza, the continuation of Maryland Avenue between Euclid and Kingshighway, probably ranks as the most controversial street in all of St. Louis. Not even the costly and lengthy transformation of Washington Avenue a few years ago can compare. Maryland Plaza has a good 35 years worth of controversy.

Pick up a copy this week or read it online. What do you think of Maryland Plaza? Add your comments below and/or send an email to the West End Word editor.

For more images see my gallery of 40+ photos on Flickr.

– Steve