Last Friday, I wrote a piece explaining Prop T and why I don't think it's the right solution for improving Kirkwood's roads. In the week since, I've got a lot of responses folks stating that, while they agree that a Transportation Development District might not be the ideal solution, they weren't sure what the alternatives… Continue reading Three Alternatives To New Transportation Tax
On November 5th, Kirkwood voters will head to the polls to make an incredibly important choice. I speak, of course, of the question of whether or not the city should institute Prop T, a city-wide Transportation Development District (TDD) that would fund street improvements through a new city-wide half-cent sales tax levy. While the condition… Continue reading Four Reasons I’m Against Prop T
A couple of weeks back, Patrick Richmond wrote a mailbag letter in the Webster-Kirkwood Times that I think made some great points: First, I think he's spot on that the only real way of combatting congestion and a perceived shortage of parking in a growing Kirkwood is to get some people to switch from driving… Continue reading Micro-Transit: A Better Use for TDD
I've long made the case that in order for Kirkwood to get the most out of its significant development in the Grant's Trail extension, they should clear the way for the private sector to invest in the land alongside it. That mostly means loosening zoning restrictions for what uses are allowed on adjacent land, but… Continue reading Present & Future Development Along Grant’s Trail
Last Fall, Kirkwood City Council agreed to reduce the number of lanes on North Kirkwood Road from four lanes down to three from Adams to Bodley. It looks like this fall, the battleground will move further South. Phase 2 of the Kirkwood Road project will look to overhaul the city's premier thoroughfare from Monroe to… Continue reading South Kirkwood Road’s Turn for a Diet
Kirkwood is set to apply for a Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant funding for the final phase of Grant's Trail extension to Downtown Kirkwood. The application will first go before City Council at tomorrow's meeting (Jan 18) and then will be submitted to East-West Gateway (EWG) for consideration. EWG is expected to announce the applications… Continue reading Final Phase of Grant’s Trail Comes Into Focus
The natural way neighborhoods have traditionally developed was as follows: People decide to live in an area and then a smattering of businesses that cater to those people open up shop nearby. Or perhaps the opposite happens: Some place is well-suited for business (maybe a canal is built, or gold is discovered, or, as in… Continue reading Urban Villages: A Vision for a Quainter Kirkwood
Update: 04/01/2024: Last week, the Webster-Kirkwood Times ran a story on cyclists' frustrations that the bring-your-bike pilot program that Amtrak had advertised all winter hadn't come to fruition due to low nature of Kirkwood Station's loading platforms. I talk about the issue surrounding the platform at length in the article below and expressed my frustration… Continue reading Kirkwood Station: Leveraging Our Greatest Asset
Update: 02/02/24 Last night's public hearing saw seventeen people comment against the proposal and just six in favor of it. Written comments submitted to the Council prior to the meeting had a much stronger St. Peter-skew with ~240 emails in favor and ~60 opposed. Council members' lines of questioning offered little insight into how they… Continue reading Jefferson, Clay, & STP’s Cul-de-Sac
It's hard to tell if Connect Our Community actually has the grassroots support that the yard signs and Webster-Kirkwood Times coverage seem to indicate, or whether it's the narrow project of a couple of incredibly hardworking gadflies who have managed to drag support for the project out of the swamp as if it were Sutpen's… Continue reading Connect Our Community: Wheat from the Chaff
