urbanSTL

I think it's the smug attitude of the highway department that bugs me about this. Also, the media isn't helping much. (http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.as ... yid=387370) The cut in the KSDK story going from Ogilvie at a meeting full of opposition to Hicks as a disembodied voice makes it sound like the opponents are just stirring up trouble.

ward24 wrote:Ignore the misdirections like "we won't break ground for 5 years" and there's no money committed to the project currently.

I find those games interesting.

I'm half expecting some random Friday the County goes "Hey lookie here! We just found $100 million lying around! Let's build a highway!" and the following Monday morning they're running bulldozers through Maplewood and Shrewsbury.

^ That's what helped the Page Ave extension get built through Creve Coeur Park (though it did survive at the voting booth).

CMT has come out to oppose the project now: http://clayton-richmondheights.patch.co ... or-project

For those keeping track at home, that is now Maplewood, St. Louis City Aldermen, GRG, TrailNet, and CMT...

rbeedee wrote:Shrewsbury and Webster Groves oppose the SCC if it requires eminent domain (though I don't think they're opposed to the project in general): Shrewsbury Joins Webster Groves In Opposing South County Connector

That article is a tad outdated. The most recent news I've seen on Shrewsbury council/mayor is that they are on the fence - they aren't in love with the proposal, but they certainly want to see something with an I-44 interchange put forward.

dredger wrote: But hopeful if it was ever come to frutition that it would scaled down to an at grade Blvd.

Based on anything the County has done, just how likely do you think that will be - especially considering what they are putting forward for public comment... I figure you add 2 lanes and $100 million to the DEIS and we have the project at completion.

dredger wrote: I'm still at a loss why the couldn't just build a decent blvd along the path of Deer Creek, relocate the light industrial businesses that exist and add the desired full freeway interchange near metrolink. Have the new I-44 interchange tie into the existing Shrewsbury Metrolink/Lansdowne Ave at grade interchange that already exists. It would certainly cost a fration of proposed plan, be a lot more friendly to the area and be a way to relocate the commercial busiensses on top of the Deer Creek for future greenway extension.

The I-44 interchange is the centerpiece to the whole plan, but I don't know why it needs to go much beyond that. Most of the cogestion occurs because of the bass ackward I-44 intercanges in the area. Clean up the connections with Murdoch, LSR, and Big Bend to smooth traffic flows - no need to cram an invasive bypass down everyones throats. Do it with sexy Bike-Ped improvements that link the Maplewood business district to the Webster Groves Old Orchard area to the Shrewsbury residential neighborhoods and you'll be on the front page of magazines nationwide with the headline "Doing it Right".

Deer Creek Center parking lot, right up to the doors of the Center, is a floodplain/floodway. It's nigh on impossible to build anything there that could affect creek flow patterns - love it or hate it, it's an area that is neccesarily a parking lot. There is already a path that runs along the creek that is seperated from the parking lot - it's nice enough, but once GRG can get in there and make some improvements and a meaningful connection to River Des Peres it will be a jewel for the area instead of a 6-lane rectal exam.

^ If I understand the County correctly, this is much more than a $100 million project as they'll have to do their Hanley project as well if the SCS gets done. So add untold tens of millions more.

roger wyoming II wrote:^ If I understand the County correctly, this is much more than a $100 million project as they'll have to do their Hanley project as well if the SCS gets done. So add untold tens of millions more.

Yes and no, it's a seperate project with a seperate budget (also unfunded, mind you), but one that would have to be done prior to or concurrently with the SCC.

When will funding be available? 2031-2040 for the SCC, according to EWG. I don't see Hanley/Manchester on the list at all.

But hey, we aren't going to lay off County employee's just because there's no work to be done - let's spend what money we do have on additional planning projects!

jem79c wrote:But hey, we aren't going to lay off County employee's just because there's no work to be done - let's spend what money we do have on additional planning projects!

The Northwest County Parkway (real project)! The Chesterfield Outlet Malls Super Boulevard! The West County Loop de Loop! The Inner-Ring Etch-a-Sketch!

Simple solution in classic South City style: Place Schoemel pots across River Des Peres Blvd just inside the city limits.

Perhaps just the threat will be enough to convince the County to spend its $100 million elsewhere.

I love it! Could we somehow put in a checkpoint and ask for papers?

btw, a friendly reminder that today is the last day for public comment! It only takes a minute... just visit here:
http://www.southcountyconnector.com/ContactForm.html

A little bird told me that Maplewood is submitting a second, longer letter sometime today. Stay tuned.

^ Hopefully it's not like the second Great Rivers Greenway letter, that seemed to say, "we don't like it, but I'm sure there's some way we could work together".

^ Not explicitly, no. They are touting it as a 4-lane boulevard with median and bike/pedestrian improvements. I suspect it will look more like Clarkson/Olive with additional turn lanes. Regardless, I have not seen anything planned that would create the STROAD "faux-streetscape" feel. It's going to be more of a 141 bypass than a place that bikes/pedestrians want to be.