5th & Missouri MetroLink Station East St. Louis, Illinois

I like East Louis, Illinois. Yes, it has been hit hard by abandonment but, oddly enough, that’s part of it’s appeal. There’s so much to be done!

East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950. Like many larger industrial cities, it has been severely affected by loss of jobs in the restructuring of the railroad industry and de-industrialization of the Rust Belt in the second half of the 20th century. In 1950 East St. Louis was the 4th largest city in Illinois. (Wikipedia)

Last week I visited the 5th & Missouri MetroLink Station twice (Monday & Thursday). Thursday was for the grand opening of Legends Restaurant & Sports Bar just a half block from the station. I’d met Mayor Alvin Parks before but I was a bit starstruck by Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

So now they’ve got a nice restaurant in downtown East st. Louis, there might be others but not that I’ve seen. Still, the most common elements around the light rail station are parking, vacant buildings and vacant land. Tomorrow I’ll post about the amazing development that’s taken place around the next station east, Emerson Park, but today is about the 5th &  Missouri Station area.

The station opened as part of the original MetroLink line on July 31, 1993, it was the east end of the line. “The station features 322 Park-Ride spaces, including 25 long term spaces.” (Wikipedia). Numerous bus routes serving St. Clair & Madison counties stop at the station.

Access to the platform is via a single point. 5th & Missouri is the intersection at the top of the above map so I’m not exactly sure how that intersection was picked as the name for the station. The railroad right-of-way that was used is equal distance between 5th & 6th, with the entry point facing 6th. The entry to the station is also halfway between Route 15 (Broadway) on the bottom left and Missouri Ave, upper right.

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks and City Manager Deletra Hudson mentioned a downtown plan but I haven’t received a copy after making personal and email requests. Who knows if it’s any good or realistic?  The problems are serious, some beyond their control.

In August 2007, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced its conclusion that the levees protecting a large area in Southwestern Illinois from flooding no longer meet the agency’s requirements. The result of FEMA’s conclusion is to change Southwestern Illinois’ flood insurance designation as part of its national Flood Map modernization process. FEMA’s actions would classify much of St. Louis’ Metro East as subject to flooding as if the levee system did not exist at all. This conclusion was based on a finding by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that the agency had “reduced confidence” that the 74-mile levee system could protect against a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any single year (commonly referred to as a 100-year flood or a base flood) without the need for flood fighting. As a result, the American Bottom, an area of 174 square miles in Southwestern Illinois that is home to 156,000 people, 4,000 businesses and 56,000 jobs in 25 communities in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties, would be declared a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), with dire consequences for our region’s economy. While we continue to dispute FEMA’s conclusion, we must take immediate steps to demonstrate that we can meet FEMA’s standards for flood protection. (The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council)

I’m rooting for a comeback in East St. Louis, but the odds are good. Tomorrow I’ll show you a reason to bet on East St. Louis’ success.

– Steve Patterson

St. Louis Earth Day Festival; Poll On Global Warming

Earth Day is recognized all over the world today, including here in St. Louis:

The St. Louis Earth Day Festival is the oldest Earth Day festival in the Midwest and the third largest celebration in the country! Attracting 30,000+ attendees annually, the Festival is a premier destination for the public to learn about a wide-range of environmental issues in an engaging and entertaining setting. 

The St. Louis Earth Day Festival is today, Sunday April 22nd, from 11am to 6pm in Forest Park. The event is free.

The organizers, naturally, would prefer you not drive to Forest Park for the event, their “Planning Your Visit” page offers directions on using public transit, bicycling, walking and carpooling. Unfortunately, like most local events they mention MetroLink but forgot about MetroBus — you know the part of our public transit that carries more people daily.

The number of bus lines around Forest Park are too numerous to list. Besides taking a bus to Forest Park you can take a bus to one of the MetroLink stations to get on the light rail system. Buy a transfer on the bus ($2.75 total) and the transfer will also cover your MetroLink trip for 2 hours.

WEEKLY POLL:

The poll this week seeks to see if readers see a connection between global warming and the weather in the US. The poll question was copied from a national poll that will be credited on Wednesday May 2, 2012 when the poll results are presented. The poll is in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

A View From East St. Louis, Illinois

Leaving East St. Louis city hall on Monday evening I spotted a guy taking pictures but I couldn’t figure out of what. Then I saw the geyser from the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park on the east riverfront.

The park, and specifically the geyser, are among my favorite places in the region. The time I took the picture would have been just past 6pm since the geyser is only operated every three hours.

– Steve Patterson

Can’t Decide My Preferred Metro Fare Increase Option

Nobody likes cost increases but they are a fact of life. Metro has asked transit riders to comment on three variations for increasing fares.

Options 1 and 2 maintain the current $2 (MetroBus), $2.25 (MetroLink) and $4 (Metro Call-A-Ride) cash fares without any change. Reduced cash fares for eligible seniors, children and customers with disabilities would also remain the same.

 Option 1 would increase the prices of Metro passes to more accurately reflect the number of boardings made using these passes. Monthly passes would increase from $68 to $75 ($34 to $37.50 for reduced fare); weekly passes would increase from $23.50 to $26; and the college semester pass from $145 to $155.

Option 2 retains the current cash fare but would increase the price of the 2-hour pass/transfer from $2.75 to $3 (reduced fare would increase from $1.35 to $1.50.) Option 2 would preserve a greater discount rate for the weekly, monthly, and semester passes than Option 1. Option 2 would increase weekly passes from $23.50 to $25; monthly passes would increase from $68 to $72 ($34 to $36 for reduced fare); and the college semester pass would increase from $145 to $150.

 Option 3 would implement an approximate 5 percent across-the-board increase for all fares including cash fares, passes and Metro Call-A-Ride fares.

The following chart shows what the changes look like:

This is tough because I switched to paying cash instead of buying a monthly pass. Thinking beyond myself to the typical riders using transit, what is the most fair…fare.

Option 1 those who buy weekly/monthly/semester passes are the only ones that will see an increase — 10%.With option 2 those who buy passes as well as those who uses transfers will see increases. Many, if not most, cash riders get transfers since more than one bus/train is often needed to reach their destination. Option 3 is a 5% increase across the board. This seems the most fair but riders used to paying $2.00 will now have to carry dimes since their fare will be $2.10. Same with transfers, option 2 is a simple $3.00 (up from $2.75) but option 3 is $2.85 — again a dime more.

I don’t know about you but I find change annoying. I’m a “reduced fare” rider so my fare w/transfer is $1.35, I’ve finally gotten used to making sure I’ve got the 35¢ I need for my transfer. Would it be worth it to me to pay $1.50 rather than $1.40 just so I only need to worry about carrying quarters? Maybe. But I often buy (10) 2-hour passes at the MetroRide Store on Washington Ave so option 2 would be a buck cheaper than option 3 and I pay with plastic when I buy the 2-hour passes.

– Steve Patterson

Yadier Molina Field One Year Later

One year ago today St. Louis Cardinals Care dedicated the Yadier Molina Field in Wellson, Missouri — located on the NW corner of Plymouth Ave & Stephen Jones Ave (aerial). I passed by the field on April 9th on the #94 (Page) MetroBus so after getting off the bus I went to have a closer look.

How can anyone use the field with high grass and weeds between bases? The field looked much different a year ago when dedicated (see KMOX images). Wellston’s population is over 90% African-American, don’t they love baseball? Last Sunday marked the anniversary of Jackie Robinson integrating the game.

The African-American population in baseball this season has plummeted to 8.05%, less than half the 17.25% in 1959 when the Boston Red Sox became the last team to integrate their roster, 12 years after Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

It’s a dramatic decline from 1975, when 27% of rosters were African-American. In 1995, the percentage was 19%. (USA Today)

Just building a nice new baseball field may not be enough to get today’s African-American youth interested in the game.

I thought it was possible since my visit on the 9th that Cardinals Care arrived to get the field ready for play in 2012 so I went back out two days ago on Tuesday the 17th to check the status.

I should point out I have no idea who is responsible for maintaing the field in playable condition, my presumption is Cardinals Care. The City of Wellston doesn’t have the money.

– Steve Patterson