Eleanor Roosevelt Visited St. Louis 75 Years Ago

Seventy-five years ago today First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about her visit to St. Louis the day before.  She arrived at St. Louis’ Union Station, having been in Kansas City.  Later that Sunday she visited Fort Belle Fontaine:

I visited a training school for boys between the ages of 12 and 18, yesterday afternoon. It is about 16 miles out of St. Louis and is run on the cottage system with much land around it. The boys work three hours of the day on academic school courses and four hours on actual labor jobs.

Yesterday being Sunday, the WPA orchestra and the choral leader were putting on a concert in which the boys themselves participated. The commentator told the story of the music which the orchestra was about to play and the boys joined in the singing. Sometimes it was a quartette of boys trained under the WPA recreational project by the choral director, sometimes it was a song by the entire glee club.

The boys never had any time to weary of too much orchestral music, nor did they have to sit still too long, because periodically they rose and sang as loudly as they wanted. (My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt Monday November 6, 1939)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA), started in 1935, had numerous projects on the historic site, including terraces down to the Missouri River.

Why is it historic? Glad you asked:

Fort Belle Fontaine Park has been a St. Louis County Park since 1986. Few are aware that this was the first United States military installation west of the Mississippi River, established in 1805. Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery expedition (1804-1806) spent the first night of their expedition on an island opposite Cold Water Creek and their last night two years later at the fort, which had been established in their absence. Other major expeditions left from this site betweem 1805 and 1819 to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Until it was replaced by Jefferson Barracks in 1826, Fort Belle Fontaine was an important gathering place in the wilderness for officers and enlisted men, Native American, French, Spanish and American settlers, trappers and traders, and the local businessmen and farmers who supplied the fort with necessities. (St. Louis County)

A year after, to the day, that Mrs. Roosevelt visited St. Louis her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented 3rd term in office.

The recent PBS special The Roosevelts was fascinating, highly recommenced!! If you haven’t been, I also revommend visiting Fort Belle Fontaine

— Steve Patterson

Election Day: Are You A Voter or Nonvoter?

Election day is finally here, please be sure to vote!   Here’s a look at the turnout in the City of St. Louis from four different elections:

• August 2014 Missouri Primary: 35,540 ballots (20.29%) of 175,178 registered voters
• March 2013 Municipal Primary: 44,399 ballots (22.08%) of 201,050 registered voters
• November 2012 Presidential: 144,537 ballots (74.04%) of 195,222 registered voters
• November 2010 Midterm: 91,449 ballots (48.52%) of 188,480 registered voters

If only our turnout was as high for every election as it is ever four years for president.  Thankfully the folks at Pew have been looking into voter participation:

Nonvoters are younger, less educated and less affluent than are likely voters. More than half (54%) of nonvoters have a high school diploma or less, compared to 28% among likely voters. Nonvoters are also far less likely to have a post graduate degree (5% of nonvoters, 17% of likely voters).

Low education levels and low incomes go hand-in-hand: 46% of nonvoters have family incomes under $30,000, compared with just 19% among likely voters.

A much higher proportion of nonvoters identify as racial or ethnic minorities than voters. Only 6% of likely voters identify as Hispanic or Latino, compared to 23% of nonvoters. Three quarters (77%) of likely voters are white, compared with just 55% among nonvoters.

Fewer nonvoters than voters are affiliated with a religion. Among voters, 21% identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular”; among nonvoters, it’s 27%. (Pew Research — recommenced reading)

Some suggest we should follow other countries and require every eligible citizen to vote.

— Steve Patterson

Kingshighway Viaduct and Tower Grove Avenue

In the late 90s I lived in Dutchtown and worked on Union at I-70, three days a week I commuted by bike. I’d vary the route somewhat but it always included Tower Grove Ave.  Many St. Louis area cyclists use Tower Grove Ave as their preferred north-south route but that may change in early 2015. They’re concerned about increased auto traffic during the 18 months while the Kingshighway viaduct is being replaced.

Here’s the deal:

Starting in early 2015 Kingshighway will close between Shaw and Vandeventer for a year and a half as an aging bridge over railroad tracks is rebuilt. This arterial road carries 45,000 vehicles per day, and traffic on nearby roads is expected to increase as a result. The primary detours will be along Vandeventer, Shaw, and McRee, which will be reconfigured to accommodate more traffic. Still, the concern is that excess traffic will spill over into other streets, particularly during rush hour. To address this, the City aims to increase traffic capacity along Tower Grove Avenue between Magnolia and Shaw (blue segment on map below) during peak hours by prohibiting parking and allowing two lanes of traffic. (Safe Tower Grove Ave)

The following announcement was retrieved from the Streets Dept page on 11/2/2014:

NOTE REGARDING TOWER GROVE: A road diet and buffered bike lanes on Tower Grove Avenue from Magnolia to Shaw are part of Phase III of Bike St. Louis and all partners are committed to executing that plan. When the Kingshighway bridge construction begins in early 2015, the following things will happen:

1. The East side of Tower Grove Avenue from Magnolia to Shaw will be posted “No Parking” between 7-9 am and the west side will be No Parking between 4-6 pm;towing enforced.
2. We will paint a bikeable shoulder to be used by bicyclists during these peak times. We will maintain the share the road markings in the outside traffic lanes for use by bikes at non-peak times (when parked cars are present).
3. In addition alternate bike routes will be signed as a detour just as we do with vehicle traffic. 
4. Alternate routes for cyclists will include creating a biking and walking friendly renovation of the Thurman Underpass.
5. Traffic levels will be monitored and evaluated regularly for changes – This could include additional parking restrictions or reducing parking restrictions and adding bike facilities.

We will install the full Phase III Bike St. Louis improvements along Tower Grove Ave as quickly as possible after monitoring how the closure is affecting all forms of traffic. We look forward to adding this and many more signage and markings to make City of St. Louis streets better for bicycles!

The response from Matthew Wyczalkowski of Safe Tower Grove Ave:

While the City’s proposal is inexpensive and represents minimal change for drivers, in our discussion it was widely seen as confusing and unsafe. As an example, when there are just a few parked cars (right after rush hour, for instance) many cyclists will be guided to the painted “bikeable shoulder”. Drivers will expect cyclists to ride there as well. When coming upon a parked car, though, the rider will have to quickly enter the travel lane. This is intimidating and dangerous for cyclists as well as for drivers, who will be surprised to have a bicycle suddenly appear in front of them just as the lane narrows. Alternatively, cyclists may choose to ride where the sharrows (shared lane markings) are, regardless of parked cars. This is the safer and more predictable option, but leaves the rider vulnerable to aggressive drivers who may even try to pass on the right.

The main task of bike lanes is to provide consistent guidance for all users of the road, so that cyclists know where to best position themselves, and drivers know where to expect bicycles. The City proposal provides no such service. It is confusing and open to interpretation, and is thus more dangerous than no bike lanes at all.

The cyclists considered three alternatives to the city’s plan:

1. No change, keep it as is during construction
2. Buffered bike lanes, do the planned buffered bike lanes before construction starts
3. Parking protected lanes

They unanimously supported the buffered bike lanes for Tower Grove Ave. Implementing this next phase of the Bike St. Louis plan now is a smart way to mitigate the issues we’ll face when traffic on Kingshighway is detoured to other roads. By making Tower Grove Ave less desirable for cyclists we risk them driving during the 18 month construction period, making traffic worse.

We need a coherent & connected bike network to allow those who wish to commute by bike to do so. Our public right-of-ways have generous width, enough for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists to share. Read & sign their petition here.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Laws Requiring a Photo ID to Vote…

Midterm elections are Tuesday, which got me thinking about one of the most contentious topics of the last few years; efforts in many states to require voters to produce photo identification to receive a ballot. On one hand advocates say it cuts down on voter fraud, the other hand saying it disenfranchises voters, especially minorities. Neither Illinois or Missouri require a photo ID.

From Ballotpedia:

• Illinois: Two forms of identification are needed, with at least one showing the voter’s address. Valid identification includes photo and non-photo ID. Voters using Early Voting must provide a photo ID, such as an Illinois driver’s license, state ID card or a U.S. passport.
• Missouri: Voters must present a document to prove their identity. Valid documents include photo and non-photo identification.

The poll question this week asks your view on voter identification laws requiring voters to produce a photo ID.

— Steve Patterson

10th Anniversary of UrbanReviewSTL.com!!

There are very few things I’ve done consistently for a full decade. Who knew when I started blogging on Halloween Day in 2004 I’d still be doing so a decade later? I would’ve laughed then if you’d said I’d be celebrating the 10th anniversary. I almost didn’t make it to the 4th.

I can tell you nothing else I’ve done in my nearly 50 years comes close to the joy & clarity this blog gives me.  I’ve learned you can plan all you want but life throws things at you that weren’t anticipated, you’ve got to continually reevaluate and change. St. Louis hasn’t learned this yet, our 1947 Comprehensive Master Plan still guides much of our development patterns nearly seven decades later.

Am I celebrating? Yes, meeting my husband today for lunch, photographing updates for a prior post. If you see me out and about please be sure to say hello!

Thank you for reading,

— Steve Patterson