In April 2023, I wrote a piece titled "Meacham Park is an Island: Part 1" that described the ways in which the historically Black neighborhood in the southeast corner of Kirkwood remained physically isolated from the rest of the community. The article seemed to resonate, and I even got a lot of comments from Meacham… Continue reading Meacham Park is an Island: Part 2
Update 01/13/2025: Kirkwood City Council failed to reach the supermajority required to amend the zoning code at last Thursday's meeting. The council-initiated amendment to reduce sidewalk infill requirements for large additions needed five votes in the affirmative to gain approval since the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended against the proposal. Ultimately, it received only four… Continue reading Foregoing Sidewalks Won’t Make Kirkwood Affordable
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
Kirkwood has issued a Request For Proposals for mixed-use development on 6 city-owned acres in the heart of Downtown. The city hopes the responses will yield a multi-faceted windfall for the community, but the stipulations listed in the RFP and the —$12.5 million the city has already sunk into facilitating such development— may mean that… Continue reading Public Works Site RFP Issued: Kirkwood Seeks to Recoup $12.5M
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
Update 9/10/24: The Board of Adjustment seems to have voted down the variances requested by this project at last night's meeting. While I do not have the official final tally, two members seem to have been broadly supportive based on their comments, while three were opposed. While seeing such a high-quality project stymied is frustrating,… Continue reading The Maje Residences: 7 Townhomes Next to Grant’s Trail
Last week I wrote that the city had officially rejected IPG's proposal for the city-owned East Jefferson Parking Lot. That plan would have added a 66-room boutique hotel, shopping, and a net increase of over a hundred parking spots to Downtown Kirkwood, but it was only one-half of their submission to the city. Today I… Continue reading IPG Part 2: Council Rejects Another $33m of Investment
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
A few weeks back, we received word that East-West Gateway's has granted STP (Surface Transportation Program) funding for Phase 1B of the Grant's Trail Extension to Downtown Kirkwood. This is the second of four legs to be funded, with the first leg —running from Argonne to the corner of Fillmore and Monroe— having received TAP… Continue reading Grant’s Trail: Halfway Home, It’s Time for B-GT
