OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Infrastructure & Utilities Committee Meeting Summary - December 10, 2025

Board of Aldermen Committees — Thursday, December 11, 2025
BodySt Louis, Missouri
SessionBoard of Aldermen Committees
DateThursday, December 11, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 57:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Good afternoon.

0:12

We are uh now beginning the public infrastructure and utilities committee meeting for Wednesday, December 10th.

0:19

Uh Madam Cork, would you please call roll?

0:22

Alder Woman Boyd.

0:26

Alder Woman Clark Hubbard.

0:28

Here.

0:29

Vice Chair Schweitzer.

0:32

Present.

0:33

Alderman to voting.

0:35

Here.

0:36

Alder Woman Cox Antwin.

0:38

Here.

0:39

Chair Browning.

0:40

Present.

0:42

Alder Woman Boyd.

0:45

Present.

0:47

I need your camera on Alder Woman so I can see you.

0:49

I know I've worked it on it.

0:52

Hold on.

0:54

All right, here I am.

0:55

We have six present.

0:59

Thank you.

0:59

Uh with that, we'll move to item number three, approval of the minutes.

1:03

Uh I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes of Wednesday, November 12th.

1:09

So moved.

1:11

Moved by the Alder Woman from the 8th, seconded by the Alderman from the 10th.

1:16

Madam Cork, would you please call roll?

1:21

Alderwoman.

1:22

Alderwoman Boyd.

1:24

Aye.

1:25

Alder Woman Clark Hubbard.

1:28

Alder Woman's Vice Chair Sweitzer.

1:32

Aye.

1:33

Alderman Devotee.

1:35

Alder Woman Cox Antoine.

1:37

Aye.

1:38

Chair Chair Browning.

1:40

Aye.

1:41

We have six aye votes.

1:43

Thank you.

1:44

With that, we'll move on to board bills for review.

1:47

We're gonna start with item number two today.

1:50

That is board bill number seventy-six of Alderwoman Tice.

1:54

Uh Alder Woman, you are recognized.

2:02

Is your microph is your mic on Mr.

2:15

Chairman and members of the committee?

2:17

Thank you for allowing me to appear before you.

2:19

Board bill number 76 is a speed hump bill for various streets in the Penrose neighborhood and also in the Ville Greaterville neighborhood.

2:31

I think it is right.

2:33

Um and there was a little bit that's in part of uh uh uh another neighborhood, but it was just a few blocks.

2:39

Um board bill 76 is being introduced because I had as you may know, I wrote the original book a speed hump bill that allowed us not to have to pay $900 for each time we wanted to have a speed hump.

2:54

And since we've been doing that for the last three or four years, since I got it passed in 21, I guess it is, I have been putting speed humps in each of my neighborhood comprehensively.

3:04

So we have a plan.

3:05

We actually do a uh petition to ask them if they want it, if they get a majority of the people.

3:11

So um everybody that every neighborhood that I've had previously, except for one part of the neighborhood that I live in, have we have all speed humps every place that they can be.

3:22

But we're finishing up.

3:24

I picked up a new part of Penrose and I picked up the Ville, the Greaterville, and part of Vanderventor, all of the Vanderventer neighborhood, except for the block that you have.

3:33

Um, and so now I am working on those neighborhoods to complete their uh speed hump uh so that everybody every place we can would have speed humps on the residential neighborhoods, not the secondary and not the major streets, and that's what this is is just a request to put speed humps in the 4700 block of Farlane, Margaret, and Casuth in San Francisco and Sacramento.

3:57

That's all in the Penrose neighborhood.

3:59

And then the speed humps would be on Evans and another street in the Vander Vinner neighbor's neighborhood.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Procedural█████████████████17%
Public Safety█████████████13%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Infrastructure███████7%
Community Development███3%
Youth Programs███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Infrastructure & Utilities Committee Meeting - December 10, 2025

The Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee convened on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, with six committee members present. The meeting proceeded with the approval of previous minutes and the review of several Board Bills regarding traffic calmings, street closures, and infrastructure improvements across various St. Louis neighborhoods, including Penrose, Greaterville, Kingsway East/West, and the 13th Ward. A non-member organization, Trailnet, provided public testimony supporting citywide speed limit reductions.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the minutes from the Wednesday, November 12th meeting was granted unanimously (6 aye votes) upon motion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Eric Helmer (Community Planning Manager, Trailnet): Expressed strong support for the proposed speed limit reductions on Kings Highway and other city streets. He cited Missouri Highway State Patrol data indicating speeding accounts for 12% of accidents and 13.5% of fatalities. He referenced evidence from other cities (Seattle, Portland, Boston) showing that reducing speed limits (e.g., from 25 to 20 mph) significantly reduces crash odds. He noted that the City's newly adopted Traffic Mobility Plan (TMP) supports these reductions based on 91% of survey participants who favor slower speeds for safety.
  • Alderwoman Tice (Speaker): Expressed deep concern regarding dangerous driving behaviors, citing personal history of being hit by a drunk driver and the death of local residents due to speeding on newly repaved streets. She stated she is "opposite of the fund the police" regarding traffic enforcement alone and emphasized the need for engineering solutions like speed humps until police staffing can be improved. She argued that the current street design encourages dangerous speeds and that slowing traffic is essential for community safety.

Discussion Items

  • Board Bill 76 (Alderwoman Tice): Proposed installation of speed humps on residential streets in the Penrose, Greaterville, and Vanderventor neighborhoods (specifically blocks on Farlane, Margaret, Casuth, Evans, and Pendleton). The sponsor explained this is a continuation of a comprehensive plan to install humps on all permissible residential streets, driven by pedestrian petitions and the need to counteract speeding caused by nearby arterial changes (e.g., on Natural Bridge).
  • Board Bill 59 (Alderwoman Tice): Addressed Rankin Technical School's "Amicus STL" project to build a new manufacturing facility and an overpass connecting two buildings across Finney Avenue. The sponsor highlighted the inclusion of small manufacturing to bring jobs back to the city and noted the extensive community engagement process required to address previous neighborhood concerns regarding racial history and facility impact. Committee inquiries clarified the project structure (one large building connected to an existing one) and the design of the overpass.
  • Board Bill 77 (Alderwoman Tice): Proposed reducing the speed limit on Kings Highway Memorial Boulevard from Dr. Martin Luther King Drive to Birchard Boulevard from 35 mph to 25 mph to slow traffic in the Kingsway East/West, Penrose, and Penrose Industrial neighborhoods. Alderwoman Tice explained that the 2002 street paving and median installation inadvertently increased speeds, leading to fatalities and near-misses. She clarified that the area requires two lanes for hospital access (Barnes Hospital) and emphasized that while a road diet (lane reduction) occurred in the 5th Ward, this area remains residential and essential for medical transport. She cited support from neighborhood organizations and the Traffic Commissioner regarding the need for caution.
  • Board Bill 92 (Alderwoman Tice): Proposed the temporary closure (initially for a six-month trial) of Weeda Avenue and Pope Avenue segments between Clarence and Posse to deter drug activity and loitering by youth near Love's and Mobile gas stations. The sponsor noted that the gas station owners offered to fund barriers and described the area as a non-functional street used for illicit activities. Committee members discussed the implementation of Jersey barriers or concrete stacks if vehicle access is bypassed.
  • Board Bill 109 (Alderwoman Velasquez): Recommended a conditional vacation of surface and subsurface rights for Parker Avenue adjacent to the Shaker Ford dealership. The sponsor emphasized that the business owner is a long-term steward and that the process is supported by the Board of Public Service and Planning. Inquiries confirmed coordination with neighboring businesses (G&W Meat and Bavarian Sausage).

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. We are uh now beginning the public infrastructure and utilities committee meeting for Wednesday, December 10th. Uh Madam Cork, would you please call roll? Alder Woman Boyd. Alder Woman Clark Hubbard. Here. Vice Chair Schweitzer. Present. Alderman to voting. Here. Alder Woman Cox Antwin. Here. Chair Browning. Present. Alder Woman Boyd. Present. I need your camera on Alder Woman so I can see you. I know I've worked it on it. Hold on. All right, here I am. We have six present. Thank you. Uh with that, we'll move to item number three, approval of the minutes. Uh I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes of Wednesday, November 12th. So moved. Moved by the Alder Woman from the 8th, seconded by the Alderman from the 10th. Madam Cork, would you please call roll? Alderwoman. Alderwoman Boyd. Aye. Alder Woman Clark Hubbard. Alder Woman's Vice Chair Sweitzer. Aye. Alderman Devotee. Alder Woman Cox Antoine. Aye. Chair Chair Browning. Aye. We have six aye votes. Thank you. With that, we'll move on to board bills for review. We're gonna start with item number two today. That is board bill number seventy-six of Alderwoman Tice. Uh Alder Woman, you are recognized. Is your microph is your mic on Mr. Chairman and members of the committee? Thank you for allowing me to appear before you. Board bill number 76 is a speed hump bill for various streets in the Penrose neighborhood and also in the Ville Greaterville neighborhood. I think it is right. Um and there was a little bit that's in part of uh uh uh another neighborhood, but it was just a few blocks.

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