Year: 2012
River City Casino Not Connected to Nearby Trail
Much like many sidewalks in the region, what is the purpose of trails if they don’t provide connections to nearby destinations? The Mississippi River Greenway passes and parallels within 16ft of the roads surrounding River City Casino. Yet, despite getting...
Pedestrian Countdown Timers That Lie
If you are attempting to cross Lindell at Euclid and you see that the pedestrian signal is showing a solid red hand, chances are you can still safely cross the road. That is because the pedestrian countdown timer lies, reaching...
Top 25 Rail-Based Transit Systems in the United States
Good statistics: #STL has 10th busiest (REAL) light rail system in nation, in 18th largest metro area. We should all be proud as hell.— Frank DeGraaf (@countondowntown) June 6, 2012 Now I’m a believer in St. Louis’s MetroLink as an...
Alternative Concept for I-64 Interchange at Boyle/Tower Grove
The influx of traffic coming from a soon to be built I-64 interchange at Tower Grove will present an additional danger to pedestrians and bicyclists attempting to cross the highway. That’s what many citizens expressed at a recent public meeting...
Transit-Oriented Crap
The antithesis of transit-oriented development. That’s what I called the plan for the site adjacent to the Sunnen MetroLink station that is currently under construction, a Mini car dealership surrounded by more than 500 parking spaces. Then I found this...
Streetcar Named No Desire to Nowhere
University City Patch published a letter to the editor yesterday from former City Council member Elsie Beck. I assume the letter was motivated by a government meeting held on Monday where the Loop Trolley was a big topic of discussion....
We, the Trees in These Two Rows
Sweet gum trees line the Ackert Walkway Some residents in University City are protesting the possible loss of 55 trees that line the Ackert Walkway between The Loop and Washington University. The university and Great River Greenways would like to...
Thoughts on the Narrow View Taken By the National Park Service
The NPS Environmental Assessment will in fact assess the impacts of the proposed “lid” on the visitor experience, but only in the context of the proposed west entrance, revitalized Luther Ely Smith Square, and connectivity with the Old Courthouse. It’s...
Metro Studying Automation of MetroLink Line in Illinois
Metro recently passed their budget for the 2013 fiscal year. The most widely reported news from Metro’s budget is a planned fare increase that will take affect in July. Details of the far increase will be presented in a series...
Loop Trolley Faces Development, Operation Challenges, Looks to 2013 Groundbreaking
The first of two Loop Trolley and St. Vincent Greenway information update meetings was held last Wednesday at the Missouri History Museum. The next meeting will be held today at the Regional Arts Commission in the Loop, 4:30-7:30 PM. Comments...
Downtown May Lose Access to I-70 Reversible Lanes
Come 2015, downtown commuters may lose access to the I-70 reversible lanes thanks to a combination of construction for the new Mississippi River Bridge and a landscaped highway “lid” across I-70. When the new Mississippi River Bridge opens to traffic...
Saint Louis Zoo Announces Expansion Plans, Monorail
I had originally planned on publishing this post on April Fools Day, but in light of the prescient news revealed a few hours ago, I am publishing this post today. I swear I had the idea for this post well...