07/07/97 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Session 170 I, Minutes July 7, 1997 lo Mr. Stephen Lamkin, 201 Westgate Ave., said that the University City resolution concerning Metrolink should establish a strong negotiating position, as Mr. Wagner asserted back in October of 1996. Mr. Lamkin urged the Council to readopt the resolution that was passed October 2 I, 1996, emphasizing underground construction. His home is very close to Millbrook and being close to this transportation system is the reason he is able to afford his house. Being close to Millbrook makes the property value of his home less than other homes in the neighborhood. Single family homes that are too close to major transportation systems suffer in value. Mr. Charles Marentette, 7163 Pershing, wished to thank the Mayor and the Council for their support of the Metrol ink's northern route and the route along I- 170. He supports the ban on commuter parking, the ban on park and ride lots and the ban on forced home sales. He wants these put back into the Council statement. He asked Council to please, however, make sure that these statements only apply to the Parkway route and not only the I- 170 route. Council may want a park and ride lot along the I- 170 route at sometime in the future. He supports below grade construction on Washington University property and the route west of Big Bend to the Pershing turn. He supports a tunnel or cut and cover construction at the Pershing turn to the University City limits. He supports below grade underpasses for Metrolink at all cross streets, such as Big Bend. He is looking forward to having MetroLink stations in walking distance from his home. He is in favor of the sound buffers to include the Parkway traffic lanes west of Big Bend. If the MetroLink line is tunneled or cut and covered west of Big Bend to the Pershing turn, the traffic noise will still be the same. Very loud. Metrolink will give us the opportunity to reduce the traffic noise on the Parkway. He also supports the continuation of pedestrian crossing points at Wellesley and Williams alter the MetroLink line is built. He fervently hopes that the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council will make a decision in our lifetimes. He hopes that the Council sends a message to them, Mayor Harmon and County Executive Buzz Westfall, that the City wants a decision on the route. He supports the Northern route. The Green line has possibilities, but he would not want a line to go through the park without the park institutions agreeing to a comprehensive surface transportation and parking redesign. A Disney world type transportation center on the grounds of the old Arena, along with first class shuttle service, could rectify many of the Forest Park automobile based problems. MetroLink is popular, safe, modern and regional. It ties us back to our long history of street cars and trains. Please continue to support MetroLink. Mr. Chris Vatyates, 7218 Westmoreland, said that there seemed to be a common view that MetroLink is successful, because the ridership was larger than expected. If the definition of success is that the people who use the system can not even pay a third of the operating costs each day when they ride it, then we need to reevaluate what we mean by success. The full capitai costs were completely paid by the taxpayer in this area, with some help from the federal government. This is not a successful system. St. Louis does not have the population density to support a successful mass transit system along a fixed line. It also seems to be a conclusion that this is a good thing for University City - it is not. From the perspective of a full, regional evaluation, one only has to look at the map in the Post-Dispatch this week, showing the areas of traffic congestion. We do not have a traffic problem in University City. We have a huge traffic problem in West County. If we want to use taxpayer money effectively, even if it is going to take us two to three decades, build it down highway 40, where most of the people travel everyday to and from work. We will not be bypassed because one shuttles to a Clayton stop. Councilmember Wagner said that it was good for University City, and that he will put these conditions into the resolution. Well, good is not an absolute thing. If it is underground, it might be good. This resolution could well be a Trojan horse and the people out here who oppose it, under any circumstances, should look out that it doesn't try to appease us. We do not want to have these nice sounding points added to a resolution that the University City Council later finds convenient to walk away from when they think we have all gone away. Based on the actions last week and based on the mayor's glib, sarcastic comments about the signs - he does not take us seriously. (Applause) Mayor Adams responded that he does take everyone very seriously. The Mayor said that the reason he had made comments about the signs was because they tend to disrupt a meeting. Mr. Varvares continued by saying that the process Council is following is embarrassing. If the Council and the Mayor are not collectively prepared to represent the people's interests effectively in the negotiations and conversations with East-West Gateway, then the people have a choice to choose legislators that can. Mr. Varvares announced that he and his wife would be establishing a political action committee to fund candidates that would speak on behalf of residents in a thoughtful and intelligent way. He said that next election time, the City should start out with a clean slate. (Applause)