On February 7th, the City of Kirkwood submitted an STP (Surface Transportation Program) grant application to East-West Gateway for the overhaul of Argonne Drive from Taylor in the East to Geyer in the West. Last week, the application itself became publicly available, and after reviewing the plans, I'm pleasantly surprised by what the city staff… Continue reading Argonne Drive: Spitting Distance from Perfection
At tonight's meeting, Kirkwood City Council will approve a grant application to overhaul Downtown Kirkwood's most iconic street. If East-West Gateway approves the city's STP grant application, the federal government would foot $2,089,600 —80%— of the $2,612,000 of the total estimated cost to redesign and repave Argonne between Geyer and Taylor, with the City covering… Continue reading Argonne Deserves a Bike Lane
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 02/07/2025: At last night's meeting, City Council passed a modified version of the sidewalk infill zoning text amendment. Instead of ditching the requirement that homeowners building large additions be required to add sidewalks wholesale, the Council decided instead to expand Director of Public Services Chris Krueger's discretion in deciding whether or not sidewalk infill… 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
