Never Know What You’ll See Out The Bus Window

One of the great things about riding the bus is being able to observe the city as you pass through it…

…and being able to photograph something that strike’s you as odd.  A military truck parked on a pill of dirt/rocks is such an example.

This site had a building on it as recently as 1971, verified via historicaerials.com. That spot where the truck is parked was vacant in 1909 but buildings existed to the left and right. The building in the background was already there, it was Brown Shoe’s “Blue Ribbon factory”, via Sanborn maps.

The NW corner of the vacant Pruitt-Igoe site is across the street.

— Steve Patterson

No Ethanol

I haven’t written about the gasoline vs ethanol debate since 2008 (100% Gas Sold Here) but I was reminded again in Oklahoma last week. My brother wanted to make sure we could get gasoline instead of “alcohol.” He was buying the fuel for the rental car so I didn’t question it.

Pure gasoline advocates say the vehicle runs better and goes farther on a gallon. Gasoline in St. Louis is actually E10 or E15, a blend of mostly gasoline with some ethanol, aka gasohol.

Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel made by fermenting and distilling starch crops, such as corn. It can also be made from “cellulosic biomass” such as trees and grasses. The use of ethanol can reduce our dependence upon foreign oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

E10 (gasohol)

E10 (also called “gasohol”) is a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline sold in many parts of the country. All auto manufacturers approve the use of blends of 10% ethanol or less in their gasoline vehicles. However, vehicles will typically go 3–4% fewer miles per gallon on E10 than on straight gasoline. (fueleconomy.gov)

The rental car was actually a GM flex fuel vehicle so we could’ve filled up with E85.

Ethanol is touted as a reducing pollution as well as being domestically produced, reducing dependance on foreign oil. The 100% gasoline costs a bit more per gallon, but again you can go farther on each gallon. Thoughts?

— Steve Patterson

Validate Your MetroLink Ticket

Metro has announced a change of policy regarding MetroLink ticket validation, effective today:

Starting Monday, January 7, 2013, all MetroLink tickets and 2-hour passes will need to be validated by customers prior to boarding the trains. The ticket vending machines will no longer automatically print the expiration time on these tickets or passes. This will allow customers the flexibility to purchase Metro tickets in advance of their trip, and then validate ticket when they are ready to use them. It also will eliminate confusion over whether or not tickets need to be validated. The following fares must be validated starting January 7.

• Ride Ticket
• Hour Pass
• Round-Trip Tickets (each ticket immediately prior to travel)
• Tickets from 10-Ride Ticket Booklets

I personally welcome this change, it allows buying a ticket before you need it.

The change is already in place.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Support or Oppose Raising Seat Belt Violations From $10 to $50

I’ve long been a fan of seat belt use so the effort of Missouri state Senator Joseph Keavany to try again to raise fines caught my attention:

Now, almost three years later, Missouri still ranks pretty low among states for seat belt compliance, at 79 percent; hundreds of people involved in traffic accidents still die because they don’t buckle up; and Missouri’s fine for not wearing a seat belt is $10.

“The fine for littering in Missouri is $79.50,” Keaveny, D-St. Louis, told the Ride Guy last week.

Senate Bill 62 is the latest version. Keaveny prefiled it for the upcoming session and hopes to get this measure out of committee. (stltoday.com)

You can find SB62 here, and all the 2013 prefiled Senate bills here.

This is the topic for the poll this week, vote in the right sidebar and share your thoughts in the comments below.

— Steve Patterson

Bike Parking At Skinker MetroLink Station

Where you see bicycles locked to handrails on an ADA ramp that’s a good indictor of a need for convenient bike parking.

The night I took the above image a young man on the same train I was on unlocked his bike from the same rail and rode off away from the Washington University campus. Three bikes were locked here on a random Thursday evening (11/29).

This MetroLink station may have bike parking somewhere but I’ve seen bikes here before. We’ve got to do a better job at designing public space for the actual users.

— Steve Patterson