Year: 2011
Once Upon a Boulevard
Did you know that Memorial Dr, long ago known as Third St, was once just a two lane road? It’s hard to imagine when looking at Memorial Dr in it’s current state—3 lanes in each direction with a 4 soon...
MoDOT Proposed Gas Tax Increase Falls Well Short of Funding New I-70, Future Projects
So MoDOT recently came forward with some ideas on how it might pay for the $1.5-4 billion project to rebuild and widen I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis. The two options they proposed included 1) a 15¢ increase in...
What May Have Been: Delmar Loop MetroLink Station
// 1987 Metro Link FEIS. These drawings of the Delmar Loop MetroLink station are from the 1987 Metro Link Final Environmental Impact Statement. Obviously, plans for the station were changed prior to construction. In the drawings, a pedestrian bridge crosses...
“As a Matter of Policy, We Don’t Build Dedicated Bike Lanes.”
In a recent Road Crew chat on STLtoday.com, I asked the following question: Is St. Louis County against the inclusion of on-street bicycle facilities on it’s roads? I was looking over the maps in the recently completed St. Louis Bike...
Loop Trolley Answers Questions and Comments From Long Ago
Following the release of the draft environmental assessment for the Loop Trolley project back in May, did you submit a question or comment at the open house or during the comment period? If you did, the draft EA has been...
Trains Really Are Safer Than Cars
Recently, David Stokes of the Show-Me Institute made the surprising statement that, per passenger mile, cars are safer than trains and using his claim as an argument against building high-speed rail in the United States. Later in the interview, Harnish...
What May Have Been: Convention Center MetroLink Station
Drawing of the Convention Center MetroLink station from the 1987 Metro Link FEIS. Plans for this station were changed in at least two significant ways prior to construction. First, the direct entrance into the basement level of Dillard’s was removed....
BJC-CORTEX Monorail!
The recent request for proposals sent out by the St. Louis Development Corporation mentioned the possibility of a people mover(!) running east-west from Boyle to Euclid. Since a single sentence is the extent of knowledge about why BJC is considering...
What May Have Been: Stadium MetroLink Station
This drawing of the Stadium MetroLink station is from the 1987 Metro Link Final Environmental Impact Statement. Obviously, plans for the station were changed prior to construction. The drawing shows 4 tracks and three platforms at the station. The southern/lower...
CORTEX Splitting the MetroLink Difference
The St. Louis Development Corporation recently issued a request for proposals. To help the fledging CORTEX district reach its potential as it enters phase 2 of its development, the SLDC is seeking consulting services to examine the potential for transit-oriented...
Stagnant State Gas Tax Contributing to MoDOT’s Funding Woes
It’s been a few months since MoDOT announced that it has been forced to layoff and curtail a large portion of its operations. Whereas in recent years MoDOT had been living large spending $900 million to $1.2 billion a year,...
Kirkwood May Demolish Two Buildings for Additional Parking
What is the price of parking in downtown neighborhoods? That is the question the Kirkwood City Council will tackle at its meeting tonight at Kirkwood City Hall. At issue is a perceived lack of parking in downtown Kirkwood and its...