The Partnership for Sustainable Communities

http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/partnership/

 

The above link is a link to the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities!  We must challenge St. Louis Metro to incorporate these policies into future planning and spending decisions! 

From the HUD website, 

"The Partnership for Sustainable Communities established six livability principles that will act as a foundation for interagency coordination:

1. Provide more transportation choices.
   Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.
2. Promote equitable, affordable housing.
   Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
3. Enhance economic competitiveness.
   Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.
4. Support existing communities.
   Target federal funding toward existing communities - through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling - to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.
5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment.
   Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
6. Value communities and neighborhoods.
   Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods - rural, urban or suburban.

Will The $44 Million Loop Trolley Project Bring $2.8 Billion of Investment to St. Louis?

http://www.stlurbancorps.org/polls.html

 

 Today I received an email from the St. Louis Urban Corps regarding taking a poll about The Loop Trolley.  There was one question, and my answer was as follows:

 

"Will the St. Louis Trolley Project yield benefits for the city worthy of the $44 million price tag?"

I chose answer: "Yes, I believe it will."

The other answer choices were:  "No, I don't think it will." and "Not sure, but it's worth spending money to find out."

I derived my answer from what Portland experienced as a result of investing in a streetcar project for their city.  From the Portland Streetcar Concept Plan, the first 2.4 miles of the Portland Streetcar system was constructed at a cost of $55 million:

http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=46134

 

In Portland, in 2001, they opened the first 2.4 miles of their modern streetcar line.  By 2008, private developers had invested $3.5 billion within two blocks of the alignment, including over 10,000 new housing units and 5.4 million square feet of office, institutional, retail and hotel construction. [Portland Streetcar System Concept Plan, 1-1].  

 

 The Loop Trolley is different than the Portland system, because Portland's first alignment connected two employment centers:  Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital and Portland State University.  Obviously, The Loop Trolley is connecting leisure and entertainment centers:  Forest Park, the Missouri History Museum, and the Delmar Loop.  

Therefore, private money may not flow as fast along The initial Loop Trolley alignment.  Weekday ridership may be more attractive to private investors.  The Loop Trolley ridership may be elevated only on the weekends, and not during the weekdays.   

A few brave investor souls, however, may invest in developing office space and housing units along the initial Loop Trolley alignment, especially along the eastern section of Delmar Boulevard, past the Pageant to DeBaliviere.  Thereby, increasing ridership during the weekdays. 

Portland's initial investment of $55 million essentially appreciated 63.63% to $3.5 billion of investment along their streetcar alignment.  Can St. Louis realize an appreciation of $44 million to $2.8 billion?

The Proposed Model for the future Loop Trolley

Memphis Streetcar

In July of 2009, the East-West Gateway Council, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, decided to move in a different direction than the vintage streetcar models stationed at the Missouri History Museum and on Delmar Boulevard in the Delmar Loop. 

The streetcar, above, can be fitted with ramps, operable by the streetcar operator, to allow for passengers with special needs to board the streetcars. 

What is the "Livability Initiative"?

 http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/

What is Livability?

 "Livability is about tying the quality and location of transportation facilities to broader opportunities such as access to good jobs, affordable housing, quality schools, and safe streets. This includes addressing safety and capacity issues on all roads through better planning and design, maximizing and expanding new technologies such as ITS and the use of quiet pavements, using Travel Demand Management approaches to system planning and operations, etc."

Congratulations, Loop Trolley!

"U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced nearly $25 million in federal funding for the St. Louis Loop Trolley Project on July 8. More than $400 million was awarded nationally through the federal Urban Circulator Program which is part of Obama administration's "Livability Initiative". The City of St. Louis is the sponsor on the project."

http://www.looptrolley.org/loop_trolley_news.html

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Citizens for Modern Transit

Today I joined Citizens for Modern Transit! For $20 I became an "Activist"! Hopefully the start to an exciting journey!

How much does it cost, annually, for the City of St. Louis to patch road surfaces with exposed streetcar tracks?

These are pictures of the road surface on Pershing Avenue, just east of the intersection of Pershing Avenue and DeBaliviere Road in St. Louis, Missouri, near 5630 Pershing Avenue 63112.