Losing Marti Frumhoff
I must apologize, for I have been out-of-the-loop a bit recently, but I am shocked and dismayed to learn of the passing of the great St. Louis City advocate, Marti Frumhoff.
More at:
The Commonspace
Urban Review
Ecology of Absence
PubDef
Arch City Chronicle
15thWardStL
STL Rising
STL Streets
Thomas Crone
Undercurrent STL
State Rep. Mike Daus
Lofts in the 'Lou
Rehabbers Club Yahoo group (if you're a member)
MayorSlay.com has the Post-Dispatch obit
Arch City Chronicle also notes a moment of silence was held in memory of Marti at the Board of Aldermen meeting on Friday 5/18/07, at the request of Alderman Craig Schmid
Electronic Memorials:
http://marti-frumhoff.virtual-memorials.com/
http://www.legacy.com/stltoday/ Guestbook
Memorial service,
Friday 5/18/07
1:00 PM
Central Reform Congregation (long the home of the Big BIG Tour)
5020 Waterman Blvd. at N. Kingshighway Blvd.
Interment afterwards at
Chevra Kadisha Cemetery,
1601 North and South Road at Page Ave.,
University City, MO
(Updated 5/18/07 at 11:30 AM and 11:48 AM; and 5/21/07 at 2:27 PM)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Transit NIMBYism
Transit NIMBYism
Metro Transit recently announced a plan for re-restructuring of transit service in the Shaw, Compton Heights, and Lafayette Square (and adjacent) neighborhoods, to re-instate direct transit service between the Shaw neighborhood and downtown St. Louis, as the former #80 Shaw-Southampton route (and before that, the #99 Lafayette and #80 Southampton routes) provided until August 2006.
The plan (available in PDF format) goes into effect on Monday, June 11, 2007.
The #80 Lafayette Square (PDF route map), a very short neighborhood circulator, will be eliminated.
In brief, the new routes are as follows:
#13 Union. Currently ends at Thurman Loop. Will no longer serve Shaw neighborhood, but instead will turn east on Park Ave. from S. Grand Blvd., then via Park to Truman Parkway, Chouteau, and 14th Street to end at Civic Center MetroBus Center -- a long way from Union Boulevard! This covers the Park Ave. portion of the current #80.
#59 Shaw Kirkwood. Currently ends at Thurman Loop. It is extended eastward to cover parts of the former #13 (within Shaw) and #80 (along Russell Blvd. east of Grand) routes via Thurman, Shenandoah, 39th, Shaw, Grand, Russell, S. 12th, S. Tucker, Chouteau, and 14th Street to end at Civic Center MetroBus Center. This makes for a rather long, twisty route, but does provide a direct connection to MetroLink downtown, albeit lacking a downtown circulator component to provide access to the major employment centers along Market, N. Broadway, and Washington.
#92 Macklind. Currently runs via S. Vandeventer through the industrial zone on the southeastern boundary of the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. Will instead be routed via Shaw Blvd., 39th St., Vista, Spring, Chouteau, and then back to current routing via Sarah, Clayton Ave., and Taylor to end at the Central West End MetroBus Center. Supposed to add only 6 minutes to inbound (to CWE) trips from passengers boarded along Macklind, Sublette or Southwest further south.
But what struck me as a bit of NIMBYism toward transit were the following notes within the detailed plan posted online:
1) "[C]ommunity redevelopment interests have asked Metro to consider eliminating the use of its Thurman Loop as a bus terminus so the property can be sold for redevelopment. While redevelopment is already occurring in the Shaw neighborhood, lack of available off street parking for multi-family residences has made improvement of some larger multi family units very difficult. Since Metro’s bus loop may be large enough to provide off street parking for at least one large apartment complex, a route plan that would make the Thurman loop unnecessary for Metro bus operations is an important objective."
Sure it's great as a one-time cash infusion for Metro, and probably makes the nearby dense apartment complexes more appealing for condominium conversions... but isn't this pretty short-sighted? Transit should be viewed as a necessary community amenity, not something to be pushed aside for more parking! And really, how many cars can you park on that Thurman Loop site? Even assuming the loop building would be demolished, maybe 20-25 spaces?
2) "There is strong opposition by non-bus patrons who live on or adjacent to Thurman in the section between Shenandoah and Shaw. These residents supported Plan C. A few residents who live along Thurman but do use the bus support the Plan A and B which both serve the new part of Thurman."
To clarify this one: Plans A and B for the #59 route called for re-routing via Thurman north of Shenandoah, a section of street currently without bus service. However, neighbors opposed this move. It kind of made sense to me, because the stops along Tower Grove Ave. are not particularly busy. After all, only one side of Tower Grove is residential; the west side is the Botanical Garden grounds.
3) "Several non-bus riders living in [sic] Mississippi oppose the use of Mississippi between Russell and Park."
First of all, why do we care about the opinions of Mississippians? ;-)
But seriously, there has long been concern by Lafayette Square residents regarding transit service on Mississippi Avenue. See the following recommendations from the Lafayette Square Neighborhood - Urban Plan, circa 2001 (PDF -- Chapter 4)
"Coordinate with Bi-State agency to re-route the #80 bus line
once the Grattan Street Parkway is completed in order to
better serve residents and workers and to alleviate the
deterioration of Mississippi Street between Park and
Chouteau and the structural damage to historic homes along
this street.
· Coordinate with the St. Louis School administration to
relocate the school bus transfer point, possibly to another
location adjacent the park. The current location has been
designated as needed parking for the expansion of the Park
Avenue Business District."
Of course, Mississippi Avenue north of Park Avenue has since been relieved of transit service, with the current #80 running bi-directionally via Truman Parkway. (Back in 2001, the #80 was still running outbound via Mississippi, and inbound via Dolman)
Now the concern is with the new #80 routing via Mississippi south of Park Avenue to Russell Blvd. I must admit, I didn't really think it made a whole lot of sense to run buses on that street, especially given that the combination of bike lanes and diagonal parking from Park to Lafayette is already potentially hazardous. Trying to squeeze in a few bus stops doesn't seem like a great idea.
So the routing plan does totally eliminate bus service on Mississippi Avenue.
Funny though, nobody has mentioned anything about Lafayette Avenue. Until 2001, two different routes operated on Lafayette from 14th to Jefferson in the Lafayette Square neighborhood: the #20 Cherokee and #99 Lafayette.
Both were eliminated, thereby removing that issue from consideration but also removing the transit connection to Soulard Market from Lafayette Square and Shaw, not to mention bus service along California Avenue in Fox Park, Benton Park West, etc.
Metro Transit recently announced a plan for re-restructuring of transit service in the Shaw, Compton Heights, and Lafayette Square (and adjacent) neighborhoods, to re-instate direct transit service between the Shaw neighborhood and downtown St. Louis, as the former #80 Shaw-Southampton route (and before that, the #99 Lafayette and #80 Southampton routes) provided until August 2006.
The plan (available in PDF format) goes into effect on Monday, June 11, 2007.
The #80 Lafayette Square (PDF route map), a very short neighborhood circulator, will be eliminated.
In brief, the new routes are as follows:
#13 Union. Currently ends at Thurman Loop. Will no longer serve Shaw neighborhood, but instead will turn east on Park Ave. from S. Grand Blvd., then via Park to Truman Parkway, Chouteau, and 14th Street to end at Civic Center MetroBus Center -- a long way from Union Boulevard! This covers the Park Ave. portion of the current #80.
#59 Shaw Kirkwood. Currently ends at Thurman Loop. It is extended eastward to cover parts of the former #13 (within Shaw) and #80 (along Russell Blvd. east of Grand) routes via Thurman, Shenandoah, 39th, Shaw, Grand, Russell, S. 12th, S. Tucker, Chouteau, and 14th Street to end at Civic Center MetroBus Center. This makes for a rather long, twisty route, but does provide a direct connection to MetroLink downtown, albeit lacking a downtown circulator component to provide access to the major employment centers along Market, N. Broadway, and Washington.
#92 Macklind. Currently runs via S. Vandeventer through the industrial zone on the southeastern boundary of the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. Will instead be routed via Shaw Blvd., 39th St., Vista, Spring, Chouteau, and then back to current routing via Sarah, Clayton Ave., and Taylor to end at the Central West End MetroBus Center. Supposed to add only 6 minutes to inbound (to CWE) trips from passengers boarded along Macklind, Sublette or Southwest further south.
But what struck me as a bit of NIMBYism toward transit were the following notes within the detailed plan posted online:
1) "[C]ommunity redevelopment interests have asked Metro to consider eliminating the use of its Thurman Loop as a bus terminus so the property can be sold for redevelopment. While redevelopment is already occurring in the Shaw neighborhood, lack of available off street parking for multi-family residences has made improvement of some larger multi family units very difficult. Since Metro’s bus loop may be large enough to provide off street parking for at least one large apartment complex, a route plan that would make the Thurman loop unnecessary for Metro bus operations is an important objective."
Sure it's great as a one-time cash infusion for Metro, and probably makes the nearby dense apartment complexes more appealing for condominium conversions... but isn't this pretty short-sighted? Transit should be viewed as a necessary community amenity, not something to be pushed aside for more parking! And really, how many cars can you park on that Thurman Loop site? Even assuming the loop building would be demolished, maybe 20-25 spaces?
2) "There is strong opposition by non-bus patrons who live on or adjacent to Thurman in the section between Shenandoah and Shaw. These residents supported Plan C. A few residents who live along Thurman but do use the bus support the Plan A and B which both serve the new part of Thurman."
To clarify this one: Plans A and B for the #59 route called for re-routing via Thurman north of Shenandoah, a section of street currently without bus service. However, neighbors opposed this move. It kind of made sense to me, because the stops along Tower Grove Ave. are not particularly busy. After all, only one side of Tower Grove is residential; the west side is the Botanical Garden grounds.
3) "Several non-bus riders living in [sic] Mississippi oppose the use of Mississippi between Russell and Park."
First of all, why do we care about the opinions of Mississippians? ;-)
But seriously, there has long been concern by Lafayette Square residents regarding transit service on Mississippi Avenue. See the following recommendations from the Lafayette Square Neighborhood - Urban Plan, circa 2001 (PDF -- Chapter 4)
"Coordinate with Bi-State agency to re-route the #80 bus line
once the Grattan Street Parkway is completed in order to
better serve residents and workers and to alleviate the
deterioration of Mississippi Street between Park and
Chouteau and the structural damage to historic homes along
this street.
· Coordinate with the St. Louis School administration to
relocate the school bus transfer point, possibly to another
location adjacent the park. The current location has been
designated as needed parking for the expansion of the Park
Avenue Business District."
Of course, Mississippi Avenue north of Park Avenue has since been relieved of transit service, with the current #80 running bi-directionally via Truman Parkway. (Back in 2001, the #80 was still running outbound via Mississippi, and inbound via Dolman)
Now the concern is with the new #80 routing via Mississippi south of Park Avenue to Russell Blvd. I must admit, I didn't really think it made a whole lot of sense to run buses on that street, especially given that the combination of bike lanes and diagonal parking from Park to Lafayette is already potentially hazardous. Trying to squeeze in a few bus stops doesn't seem like a great idea.
So the routing plan does totally eliminate bus service on Mississippi Avenue.
Funny though, nobody has mentioned anything about Lafayette Avenue. Until 2001, two different routes operated on Lafayette from 14th to Jefferson in the Lafayette Square neighborhood: the #20 Cherokee and #99 Lafayette.
Both were eliminated, thereby removing that issue from consideration but also removing the transit connection to Soulard Market from Lafayette Square and Shaw, not to mention bus service along California Avenue in Fox Park, Benton Park West, etc.
Friday, May 04, 2007
NASA World Wind: May Be Cooler Than Google Earth
NASA World Wind: May Be Cooler Than Google Earth
Recently I downloaded NASA World Wind, an open-source, free-of-charge 3D geography tool that requires client software and runs off the Internet like Google Earth.
This site compares the two.
There are pluses and minuses to each one... but I just think it's cool to use a piece of software developed by NASA!
Also, the NASA service includes USGS topographical maps, very useful in some situations. Other commercial sites offer USGS topo maps online or for download, and there's the National Map Viewer too, but the views are pretty limited or costly.
Then again, the NASA viewer maps are a bit dated -- as are the printed USGS topo maps you'll find in most libraries. Mostly, they seem to date from the mid 1980s, at least in the St. Louis area quadrangles.
So, yeah, I love NASA. Despite all their problems, space travel and the research we get as a result still fascinates me.
After all, I did attend the US Space Academy in Huntsville, AL back in 8th grade (May 1993).
So I guess I'm still just a Space Camp geek at heart.
;-)
Recently I downloaded NASA World Wind, an open-source, free-of-charge 3D geography tool that requires client software and runs off the Internet like Google Earth.
This site compares the two.
There are pluses and minuses to each one... but I just think it's cool to use a piece of software developed by NASA!
Also, the NASA service includes USGS topographical maps, very useful in some situations. Other commercial sites offer USGS topo maps online or for download, and there's the National Map Viewer too, but the views are pretty limited or costly.
Then again, the NASA viewer maps are a bit dated -- as are the printed USGS topo maps you'll find in most libraries. Mostly, they seem to date from the mid 1980s, at least in the St. Louis area quadrangles.
So, yeah, I love NASA. Despite all their problems, space travel and the research we get as a result still fascinates me.
After all, I did attend the US Space Academy in Huntsville, AL back in 8th grade (May 1993).
So I guess I'm still just a Space Camp geek at heart.
;-)
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Rambling Thru Olivette
Rambling Thru Olivette
A few weeks ago, when the weather turned warmer, I was heading from a meeting on the Monsanto campus in Creve Coeur (Speed Limit: 17!) east to the Washington University Danforth campus.
Rather than wait 30 minutes for a #91 Olive bus, then still have to walk south from the bus route to campus through U City, I decided to walk the entire route.
In so doing, I discovered a number of curious little alternative routes I was surprised existed. And I stayed off Olive itself entirely, probably a good idea given the construction mess around I-170.
I discovered that Stacy Park is completely fenced off from its surroundings. I understand why the northern 2/3rds is fenced off -- it's a St. Louis City Water reservoir, after all. But why does the 6' chain-link fencing extend around the southern 1/3, the part that's actually an Olivette city park?
I discovered that nearby Stacy Drive provides a connection through a very upscale subdivision between Warson and Old Bonhomme Roads -- although closed off to cars, pedestrians and cyclists can still get through.
Fortunately, Old Bonhomme does have a sidewalk on at least one side all the way to Price Road, where I turned south. Price also has a sidewalk, on the western side. Naturally, I was the only pedestrian other than a few joggers, dog-walkers and lawn-care workers.
At Price and Delmar, three worlds converge: Olivette, University City, and Ladue. The location is unremarkable otherwise. But if you go one block south, you find the most bizarre stretch of Washington Avenue around -- really just an undulating subdivision drive without sidewalks, in this far-southwest part of U City. Head a bit east along Barby Lane (what a name!) and at I-170 you're dropped in the midst of the McKnight Place development. So I doubled back a bit, crossing I-170 via Delmar.
A few weeks ago, when the weather turned warmer, I was heading from a meeting on the Monsanto campus in Creve Coeur (Speed Limit: 17!) east to the Washington University Danforth campus.
Rather than wait 30 minutes for a #91 Olive bus, then still have to walk south from the bus route to campus through U City, I decided to walk the entire route.
In so doing, I discovered a number of curious little alternative routes I was surprised existed. And I stayed off Olive itself entirely, probably a good idea given the construction mess around I-170.
I discovered that Stacy Park is completely fenced off from its surroundings. I understand why the northern 2/3rds is fenced off -- it's a St. Louis City Water reservoir, after all. But why does the 6' chain-link fencing extend around the southern 1/3, the part that's actually an Olivette city park?
I discovered that nearby Stacy Drive provides a connection through a very upscale subdivision between Warson and Old Bonhomme Roads -- although closed off to cars, pedestrians and cyclists can still get through.
Fortunately, Old Bonhomme does have a sidewalk on at least one side all the way to Price Road, where I turned south. Price also has a sidewalk, on the western side. Naturally, I was the only pedestrian other than a few joggers, dog-walkers and lawn-care workers.
At Price and Delmar, three worlds converge: Olivette, University City, and Ladue. The location is unremarkable otherwise. But if you go one block south, you find the most bizarre stretch of Washington Avenue around -- really just an undulating subdivision drive without sidewalks, in this far-southwest part of U City. Head a bit east along Barby Lane (what a name!) and at I-170 you're dropped in the midst of the McKnight Place development. So I doubled back a bit, crossing I-170 via Delmar.
Then I 'discovered' a funny little road with a narrow sidewalk on one side that serves as a
shortcut / truck route from western U City to the back-end of the Ladue Crossings Schnucks.
The ultimate access to the store is circuitous and unceremonious, with a crosswalk that
dead-ends at a planter bed in the parking lot.
I continued SE along the informal, unpaved extension of that path behind the strip mall.
I believe this corridor is part of the abandoned railroad right-of-way conveyed some years
ago to Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT).
So when I kept following that same corridor south across Ladue Rd. via the signal at Hunter,
I wondered whether I was trespassing. I saw zero No Trespassing signs, though, and there
was a roughly continuous gravel path that suggested an informal bike route.
Immediately north of the Forest Park Parkway overpass, I took a small, freshly gravelled path
uphill into the southern edge of Shaw Park in Clayton. So I at least found a way out into a
clearly public space.
From there I caught MetroLink at the Clayton station for the short ride to WashU.
The trek took about 90 minutes.
It seems to me building a network of bike/ped routes paralleling the Olive
corridor westward from the Clayton MetroLink, should be a priority.
Indeed, I believe Great Rivers Greenway is planning for just that, as part of
the Centennial Greenway.
While most *ahem* normal people won't go for a 5 mile walk during their
commute, a 5 mile bike ride largely on dedicated off-street paths or clearly marked bike lanes
is much more feasible.
And it might be faster than driving the same distance on Clayton Road or Ladue Road,
once Highway 40 closes down!
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