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.

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.

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.

So we have a plan.

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

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.

But we're finishing up.

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.

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.

That's all in the Penrose neighborhood.

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

Pendleton, that's the other street.

I come before asking your support.

Excellent, thank you.

Uh we'll go through committee to see if anyone has any questions.

Uh starting with uh our most senior member who is Alderwoman Boyd.

No questions.

Thank you for coming before the committee.

Alder Woman Clark covered.

Alderwoman Schweitzer.

No questions.

Alderman Devotee.

No questions.

Alder Woman Cox Antwey.

No questions, thank you.

I also do not have any questions.

Um with that, uh, we'll see if we have anyone signed up for public comment.

We have none.

Okay.

Alderwoman, you are recognized to close.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman and members of the committee.

As I said, these are residential streets.

They're not secondary streets.

They're not major streets like Kings Highway, Union, the residential streets.

And what we found is as we I think she needs to speak to you.

As we have added more speed humps that the streets that don't have speed humps, then need the speed humps.

So that has been something that we have continued to work on.

And also if they changed the way they've done major streets, natural bridge being one of them when they did that monstrosity down natural bridge, which the people hate.

And that was they didn't do it in my part, but they did it in what is now the Ville in the Greaterville and part of Penrose that has necessitated more speed humps because the people don't want to drive down Natural Bridge now, so they cut a call across the residential neighborhoods.

So I would ask your support and passing out board bill 76 with a due pass recommendation and move that that be done.

At this time, I'm willing to accept a motion uh to pass board bill uh 76 out of committee with a do pass recommendation.

Uh I'm so we can get it to all board.

Uh second.

Uh moved by the Alderwoman from the 13th, seconded by the Alderman 8th.

Do I hear call for us previous role called by Alderwan Schweitzer?

Uh hearing no objection, congratulations, Alderwoman.

We passed Board Bill 76 out of committee with the due pass recommendation.

Thank you.

At this time, we'll move back uh in the agenda to item number one.

Uh I do want to point out that on our agenda here, uh the uh summary of of board bill 59 is not correct.

Uh the correct summary you can find in the board bill itself on our drive.

Uh it is air rights over Finney Avenue uh instead of uh this description here.

Uh with that, Alderman Tice.

Uh you are recognized on board bill number 59.

Thank you, ms Mr.

Chairman and members of the committee.

I uh have before you board bill 59, um, which is a great board bill.

Um ranking institution.

Um Rankin Technical School is uh building a new building, Amicus STL, and it is going to have manufacturing there, and they're building on both sides.

They have a building on one side of Finney, they're building another building on the other side of Finney.

So it'll be much like what you see when you go down King uh Kings Highway and you see the overpass between children or the parking lot in between the new buildings.

So that's what they're gonna do there so that their students won't have to go outside to go to classes, and it's not really ranking, it's something separate, but it's in connection with uh people who worked at Boeing and a lot of other companies, and this is to bring small manufacturing back into the city of St.

Louis, and you do have some the part that they described is actually your ward, but it is Finney and Pendleton that the new building is going up, and the overpass will be built.

Thank you.

Uh we'll go through the committee to see if anyone has any questions, starting with Alderwoman Boyd.

No questions.

Uh yes, I do.

I'm sorry.

The uh Alder Woman's high as you said that it'll be like a crossover.

Have you seen the overpass on uh Kings Highway at Barnes where they go from the parking lot to Barnes Hospital or um right there?

Like the tunnel light, it's like a tunnel.

It's not a tunnel it's up above.

Okay.

And then they have one wall.

Right.

Right.

They have one between I want to say children's hospital and another hospital.

I'm not sure where the other one is, but it's two, I think they have.

Yeah, okay.

I uh that's what I was thinking.

Okay, thank you.

That's a creative idea for over there.

Well, they've been well, ranking is uh bought built most of the houses this was there, and they started doing that back in the 90s, and they got uh some neighborhood support, some people are really concerned about it.

We've been having to work it out because they were concerned about manufacturing, but they had some misinformation, so it took us a little longer to get through to make sure everybody had conversations so they were comfortable with what was going on, but it will be a I actually have some pictures that I bought.

It will be a beautiful building.

Um, if you want to see the pictures, I didn't have them put online, but it's gonna be a remarkable building.

If uh you've ever been into um some of the buildings in the central west end where they do uh like right on the corner of uh uh Sarah and Forest Parkway when you go in there, it's more of an open office, it's not closed up, and they have meeting rooms, and it's a beautiful space.

Okay, thank you.

That sounds beautiful.

Thank you.

Alderwoman Clark Hubbard.

Alderwoman Schweitzer.

No questions.

It sounds like a really exciting uh piece of the project.

So thank you for bringing it forward today.

It was very hard.

So I got to be on the other end of people questioning you at length about they didn't believe you.

So let me just tell you, we had to work through this for four or five months and have meetings until they were satisfied.

But I'm happy that everybody but maybe one person is satisfied.

So and and I think it was better that way because we worked out a few things that maybe were better the way we did it.

Alderman Devotee.

No questions.

Alderman Coxantry.

Uh Alderwoman, I just have one question to clarify.

Will both buildings.

Oh, it's my mic not on.

I'll just move it closer.

Um, will both buildings be brand new buildings on the camp ranking campus?

No, one building is already there.

Okay.

So they're gonna connect it to that building.

Okay, so they're building the connection and then another building.

And the building that they're building, though, is kind of large, so it'll be it'll look like multiple buildings, but it's one building.

Okay.

But they don't have to go across the street.

The only place they have to go across Finney is for a building that's already there.

Okay.

Well, it sounds like a fantastic project, and it'll be great to connect to that existing building because it is a it's great for ranking because for a long time ranking had real problems in the neighborhood because they had real racial problems a long time ago.

They didn't allow black students to come there, and neighborhoods really suspect of them.

So we have had to uh just really work on getting trust issues and making sure that people felt like that they were part of the process, but it's worked out really well.

Okay, wonderful.

Thank you.

I also do not have any questions.

Uh it sounds like a great project.

Um with that, uh do we have any public testimony?

We have none.

Okay, Alderwoman, you're recognized to close.

Mr.

Chairman and members of the committee, I'd move that board bill 59 be passed out of committee with a dupe pass recommendation.

At this time, so move okay.

Uh moved by Alderwoman Boyd uh from the 13th, uh seconded by uh Alderwoman from the 8th.

Previous role.

Uh call for previous role from Alderman from the 8th.

Hearing no objection, congratulations, Alderwoman.

We pass Board Bill 59 out of committee with the due pass recommendation.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

Stay up there because we're gonna move on to item number three, which is uh board bill number 77.

Okay.

Board bill 77 is a board bill that uh wants to regulate the traffic along Kings Highway, Memorial Boulevard between Dr.

Martin Luther King and Birchard Boulevard.

Um that would cover the Kingsway East and West neighborhood and the Penrose neighborhood, and the Pendrose Industrial Neighborhood.

And the reason we're doing that is an attempt to slow down traffic.

Um actually, um, all of uh Dr.

Martin Luther, I'm sorry, all of Kings Highway that has a median from Dr.

Martin Luther King all the way to West Florence.

It's actually Kings Highway Memorial Boulevard.

Many years ago, um back in let's see when it was maybe the late 90s.

Uh um Irene Smith passed a board bill that uh the part of Kings Highway from it was I'm sorry, it was 2002.

The part of Kings Highway that was from Bercher headed north to West Flores and she made that 20 miles an hour because it is all residential.

And most of all of Kings Highway in that part that I represent, and I represent all of the Kings Highway Memorial Boulevard as residential.

And um we had Kings Highway paved.

That wasn't such a I mean, we needed it, but it was not a great idea.

The chair and I have had some conversations about what happens when you pave streets.

Um and so people drive really fast down that street.

Um we don't seem to have enough uh police.

I still am working on trying to find a way that we could hire um police officers who have retired and that would uh do some kind of traffic um policing.

Um I had worked on that and we had it all worked out, and then when the police went back to the state, it's not worked out.

But we're trying to work that out again because that is the best way to get police.

Um, and I have the Alderman from the fourth, he's been supportive of it.

You get the police on the street.

Um they just they can work 40, I'm um less than 40, 20 hours a week.

They only would do traffic, and that's what we're going for.

But until we get that speed humps becomes one thing, but on the major streets like Kings Highway and Union and things like that, um, we need to reduce the speed.

Now, will that make people do it?

Maybe, maybe not.

But I have uh as soon as I introduced the board deal, Trailnet reached out to me and said, Yay, and that they were interested in it and brought a couple of people who want to testify, but they also sent me talking points about why that was such a good idea.

Um so but I will let them talk about if you don't mind, I'll let them testify because uh they want to see this do go more than just in on Kings Highway.

They would like to see this spread out in other parts of the city and to just slow the traffic down because we got to try everything we can until we get some more police officers.

So I'm the opposite of the fund the police.

I've never been a fan of that saying.

Okay.

So if you don't mind.

Happy to have anyone come up and and talk.

Um if you uh would like to come up and talk at this time.

Uh just ask that you uh approach and raise your right hand.

We'll swear you in, and then we'd love to hear what you say.

Sure.

So just raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the truth?

Yes.

Thank you.

If you'd introduce yourself, your name, uh, who you're with, and uh then proceed with your comments.

Yeah, thank you.

Um my name is Eric Helmer.

Uh I am the community planning manager at Trailnet.

We are a nonprofit that promotes safe streets for all, um, not just in St.

Louis City, but uh around the St.

Louis region.

And uh first and foremost, thank you for allowing me to come and speak with you all today, and thank you, Alderwoman Tayas, for um reaching out.

I just want to start by saying that Trailnet applauds Alder Woman Tayus for caring more about her constituents' safety than about people driving fast.

Um and just caring about safety in general.

And to say that Trailnet does strongly support the reduction of speed limits, not just on Kings Highway, but on all city streets, especially dangerous arterials like Kings Highway.

But with that being said, we do appreciate the city's recent significant traffic calming improvements on Kings Highway and other similar roads through ARPA-funded principal arterial traffic calming efforts and other projects.

Trailnet for years has been collecting and reporting on crash data, consistently highlighting that very dangerous roads and that speeding is uh is a serious problem on these.

Um but these kinds of traffic calming efforts do show the city is taking more seriously, um, specifically by adopting evidence-based, scientifically proven and systematic approaches.

Um I mean, we see here uh today, and even Alderoman Taez mentioned, you know, the use of speed humps more comprehensively, for example, just one example.

Um what we see is the evidence showing that a multi-pronged systematic approach that includes engineering solutions like traffic calming and citywide speed limit reductions have proven to be more effective in other cities.

Um we know that speeding, according to the Missouri Highway State Patrol data accounts for about 12% of all accidents in St.

Louis and 13 and a half percent of fatalities.

Um with that in mind, we've seen cities like Seattle reducing citywide speed limits from 25 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour being associated with a 17.2% reduction in the odds of any crash reduced uh resulting in um serious injuries, and almost 20%, 19.9 on certain arterials, just like Kings Highway.

So that's a really significant safety improvement.

Um and we know that it has effectively in other cities been associated with speed reduction.

So in Portland, a 2520 policy reduced um the likelihood of a driver going over 25 miles per hour by almost 16 percent, and that number was over 33 percent for going over 30 miles per hour and almost 50 percent for going 35 miles per hour or faster.

So those really those speed limit reductions were proven.

And we saw similar results in Boston, 29% reduction in uh drivers going over 35 miles per hour when they reduce speed limits from 30 to 25.

So we we really strongly see the evidence pointing at that this is an effective solution to reducing speeds, and we know that slower speeds are uh safer speeds.

So and we also see this in the city's newly adopted TMP, which recommends speed limit reductions from 25 to 20 miles per hour on all local streets and uh reductions on arterials to 25 or 30 miles per hour.

So uh and this it should be noted uh is based on 90 percent or 91 percent of survey participants that took part in that TMP, uh as many of you I'm sure know supporting slower speeds if it means reckless driving is gonna or if it's gonna imprie uh improve comfort and safety for um people traveling without cars.

So again, uh thank you all the room and Thais, and thank you all for letting me speak here today.

And uh I just want to reiterate that we do uh trailnet strongly support citywide speed limit reductions.

So thank you.

Thank you.

I apologize if you have any questions.

Uh well just see if anyone on the committee has any questions uh for um trailnet or for all the one tice, uh we'll start with all the woman boyd.

No questions.

All the woman car covered.

Alder Woman Schweitzer.

Uh thank you, uh Chairman Browning.

Uh, I think it's really interesting as we look um at reducing the speed limit on this road and other roads.

I know we have a resolution that's in front of us um Friday that we'll talk about uh reducing the speed limit on Gravar as well.

So I think we're looking at this citywide, and I I think it's great to see um bills like this moving.

So uh thank you very much.

And if it's all right with the alder woman from um uh oh my gosh, the 12th, my goodness.

Uh I would love to be out as a co-sponsor.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I love Alderman Devotee.

Uh I do have a uh handful of questions.

First older woman, uh your idea or the notion uh about working with retired police officers uh on the issue of traffic control, I find fascinating.

Very, very interesting.

I haven't heard that before.

I know that we're moving a little off um topic here, but I I think that's a wonderful conversation that that should be had.

It's creative, it's out of the box.

Uh you've got my attention.

Very, very interesting.

I will send you if you don't mind.

I've been doing working on this for a while.

So we held off because the police was going, we didn't know where they were gonna be, but I have lots of research, and I've been working with the police, the police associations, black and white, everybody I could to get on board.

Understood, understood.

And and I know that's not our topic here today, but I you you've got my attention on that.

Um, with respect to uh this particular board bill, I I do have a couple of questions.

Um is there anything specifically that prompted this legislation?

Well, yes, because the so I got elected about Kings Highway.

You need to start out.

So back in 1991, there were two things issues.

Domino's at the end of my corners, zoning issue, and Kings Highway in my area had not been paved and curbs in 30 something years.

So we worked really hard on getting it paved and curved, and the Board of Public Service then came and cut our beautiful median and made it and made three lanes.

Now the problem with that is that Kings Highway goes to two lanes at Martin Luther King, and it goes to one lane at uh Bercher.

I mean, I'm sorry, at uh yeah, at Bercher going into the um Mark Twain neighborhood.

So you just got this part in the Kingsway East and West and Penrose neighborhood where the people just drive 500 miles an hour.

So they didn't have any curbs on the corner, they put the curbs on the median.

We had eight people to die, which we all wrote.

It was Freeman Bosley, who was the mayor, we wrote to him and said, we're gonna vote you out of office.

Don't you get rid of our medians?

We only need two lanes, don't do this.

He did it.

We did vote against him.

So people died.

We said people are gonna die.

Why would you put curbs on the median, but not along the sidewalk?

So the people just drove through there so fast that uh they killed people.

And in fact, right before uh we got this uh through the board put some more work, they killed a person at the corner of Maffitt Place in Kings Highway where I live.

And um some people would tell them um the press that I was holding up this and Mark Maxwell to his credit came out and did a whole story, and then he did the opposite story of what they had fed him because I sent him 20 years worth of emails uh showing him stuff.

So after that we finally got the money again, because I had gotten original two million dollars to King's Highway.

We got some more money, and the mayor, the previous mayor set on it, and then they messed Kings Highway up.

You would have to have drug driven on it.

It was like a uh some kind of Ferris wheel funny ride, like going up and down.

It was so messed up.

And then I covered for her because she was gonna p pave it in December.

And I said, I wrote her a letter saying, oh no, no, no, don't do that, and I won't bring it up doing election, but then they had to repave it.

But we didn't really want it paved the way they did, and we wanted to reduce the uh number of of lanes, and so it ended up again, we got these perfectly paved lanes now, and they're flying through there.

Okay.

And they've already run up on the curbs and they've hit people.

So in talking to Rich Bradley, and they also then made Union one lane, which they're gonna put back because it doesn't work in our neighborhood.

Some other neighborhoods that work.

And so you were putting everything on Kings Highway.

And one of the things that's important about North St.

Louis and Kings Highway is everybody who lives north, I I live at the southern end of it.

They have to get to the hospital down Kings Highway.

When we had the tornado, the mayor talked to me that day, and the first thing I stressed to her, you got to get Kings Highway clear because so we already have the ambulance and stuff coming.

So now everything is coming down there and it's a mess.

So that uh we were already talking about it, but we were talking about it holistically because I had been talking to some other people.

Um, but this made me just have to go ahead and push this through now.

Then Trailnet reached out to me and they gave me another good idea.

They said, Well, you got all these speed humps, would you reduce this all the places to have speed humps on uh residential streets?

Would you be open to making that 15 or 20 miles an hour?

I said if the other alderman want that, I would be glad for that.

I'm glad for anything that reduces speed.

And one other thing, when I was a child, I got hit by a car, a drunk driver.

My mother was holding my hand, and we were at the corner, and he sat there for the longest time, and then when I crossed the street, he hit me.

So I didn't get hurt, but I always am scared.

If I ever start speeding, I say, Sharon, if you hit somebody, what are you gonna feel like?

And that makes me immediately say, you can be late.

But most people don't care.

And they go through side, they go through red lights, they go through stop signs, and they drive in on Kings Highway 60 miles an hour or more.

And so anything that we can do to try to encourage them is what why we brought this.

I I appreciate that background.

Um as you know, uh, I represent uh another part of St.

Louis, and we just finished in the fifth ward a road diet, a essentially a recalibration of Kings Highway from Gravoy all the way up through Southwest Avenue.

That the work stopped within the last handful of weeks with the turn of the weather.

But but a major uh a tremendous amount of work was done on the roadway that that essentially cut the roadway down so that today we don't have a median that you could drive in, and it's essentially one lane again from about as far south as you can be through Southwest Avenue.

Um again, excuse my ignorance.

I know that there is work planned for Kings Highway South all the way to North.

Has that work been done?

Has it started in the Kingsway East West as well as Penrose neighborhoods?

So the reason why we wanted to keep two uh two lanes and the median, because we do have a lot of traffic from people who are being rushed to the hospital, okay?

And so Barnes, we have no hospitals in North St.

Louis, so that is the route.

So we voted to we would keep two, but we're getting rid of three.

Okay, so we're not gonna have so they did put some little triangles there, which we're gonna put some more curbing, but that was temporary.

But because there is so much traffic that what we found on Natural Bridge where they went to one, it's a mess.

The people hate it.

It is hard if somebody is trying to fire department is trying to go down there.

So in that area, we said we would keep two, we just don't want three, and we want to find a way to slow it down.

Uh understood.

And that wasn't something I was clear about because in in my experience um in the fifth ward, the movement of from two lanes to one lane has had a significant effect on how fast physically anybody could go.

Right.

But uh I now understand that that in your neck of the woods that that isn't happening, that road diet.

If your guy has been uh harmed or had a heart attack, you're trying to get them to where they need to barns is where they're going.

We need it.

And in fact, Kings Highway is too, I don't know if they're gonna make it uh one.

I would be surprised if they did it in front of your area or in uh the Ottawa and from the tents because we need that to get to Barnes Hospital.

My my my final question um as part of the preparation for filing this legislation.

Did you have an opportunity to speak with traffic commissioner Eftham uh as well as the the neighborhood of the three neighborhood organizations?

I live in Kingsway East, one high block away.

So Kingsway East and Kingsway West, I kind of live in both of them because I live not one block, one house.

I've been representing it for 30 years, something years.

They beg all the time.

I talked to Lynn, I talked to BPS.

I was the chair of streets and the vice president of vice chair of streets for 20 something years.

You don't know that.

I so I already know, okay.

We talked, they're wondering what took me so long.

But once Kings Highway can't became paved so perfectly, then it became speeding again.

And the other thing is they made union one uh lane.

And the people don't like that.

And so we're gonna undo that because union at my end is where people get off on the uh the trucks and stuff.

So now you got the trucks, the sirens, the everything.

So sometimes people think it's a good idea, except for it's not in the neighborhoods that you are doing it.

So we're gonna undo union and make that back to two lanes at least up to Martin Luther King.

Understood.

So it sounds like you you clearly have the support, if not the push of the neighborhood organizations.

Uh is Commissioner F Tem also on board with respect to the He and BPS Rich Bradley, who um because Rich know that they created this in the first place.

So he and I have been going on this dance for 30 years, okay, because he he got the original letters where we said don't make our median small uh smaller, leave it wide.

You know, so they created this years ago, and I've never let them get away with not remembering that they created this.

Thank you, Alderwoman.

Thank you.

Alderwoman Cox Antoine.

Thank you, Alderwoman, for uh presenting this to us today.

Um my question is, and and you noted, and I'm very familiar with this exit.

A lot of people, if you're coming from 70, Kings Highway is how you get back into the city.

Um, my question is around the the path that you chose to make this starting from MLK to Bircher.

And the reason I say this as you noted, um, that stretching between Natural Bridge and MLK is very uh residential, but going up to the highway, it gets a little bit more industrial.

You have a lot of those old manufacturing areas up there.

Um so I guess my first question is why did you choose all the way up to the highway?

Well, it's not really industrial on the other side of King.

One side of Kings Highway is the Penrose neighborhood, it's all residential.

Then the other side you have Matthew Dickey.

You have to remember I can tell then you have the new school, well, it's not new city school.

Um, then we have uh another thing that's getting ready to be something.

So the things that are along King's Highway are not so much industrial.

We have the old Rexall building that's now becoming storage, and so they all want it because especially the schools, okay.

And then Skull's used to be across the street.

That's no longer, but it's it's predominantly not industrial.

The industrial part is on union, and that was my whole point.

They shouldn't have uh they did they did that without talking to us.

So I got all kind of emails saying, like, what the heck happened?

Why did they do that?

Because uh all of uh um Kings Highway from West Florison to Bircher, it's residential.

Then from Bercher over to Natural Bridge, on one side it's all residential, except for where the Walgreens and a uh tire store.

And on the other side, it's becoming predominantly something less than uh commercial.

I mean it's commercial, but it's not industrial.

So though those little spots right there was not enough to say, well, we just right here we want it to be faster, okay, because the school is the first thing you hit when you come off.

But most people who get off our I-70 now do union.

There's no Kings Highway exit anymore, okay, and there's no entrance to get on.

You have to get on and off at union.

So more of the traffic was going down union until they made it into one lane.

Okay.

And so those people that are coming from that stretch, because I know the highway goes directly into their turning on Bertrand and then getting on to Kings Highway if I'm understanding you correctly.

So they're already slowing down before they get to Kings Highway.

If they go, because it's a park there, Matthew Dickey is there, the uh private school is there.

So if you come to Kings Highway, but many people just stay on union because there's no way, no reason for them, since they get off on union, just go down union.

Okay.

And they only start doing that once they make union one lane, and then they're not saying very they're not saying very nice things to me.

No, thank you for clarifying that, Alder Woman.

And the reason I asked you the question, I'm I'm very supportive of what I recognize.

I know the trail net committee as well, of slowing down the city and helping to make a lot of our streets safer.

But I also understand that transition from some of our high speed areas to our low speed areas is very important.

Otherwise, we're not gonna have the compliance that we're looking for.

So that's why I wanted to make sure we weren't gonna have an immediate speed switch transition doing this, which it sounds like we're not, if I'm understanding you correct.

So the other thing on union is the police station.

Okay.

That's the other reason why.

Um, and if they don't right now, they're driving 60.

So if they go to 40 or 35, that'll be a win for us.

Yes.

Um, so we're gonna also put some things up that read to tell them about how fast they're speeding, and then going back to what I said about I still am working as hard as I can to find a way to get uh part-time police officers doing um traffic safety and being on large streets, South Broadway, Gravoys, South and North Kings Highway, because I actually used to live down in the Shaw neighborhood for many years.

So I'm familiar with that stretch of Kings Highway also.

I'd have lived in the Central West End, so I've lived on all stretches of Kings Highway.

Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

And that's the end of my question.

Uh Alderman, I don't have uh well, I guess my one question is what is the speed limit of Kings Highway right now in that area?

35.

35, okay.

And I didn't want to go to 20 because people said do 20, because that's what's down at the other end.

But I figured if we could do a little at a time.

And we know when it's 35 people go 40, 45, whatever they want, right?

And they run the red light.

So we have a school right at Cope Brilliant, um, where Sherman Park is and Wolves Center, and they just run right through that red light like it doesn't exist.

Yeah.

Um the uh the one thing I'll flag for you is I was just exploring this uh using Google Street View while we were uh discussing it, and I noticed that there's actually not a lot of posted speed limit signs there presently.

So something you might want to flag to the city after we do this is that they should post several more signs so that people know that it's 25 and they don't just have to depend on their GPS to tell them so.

We we have those, so when they repaved Kings Highway and put new curves, Rich Bradley would tell you I'm already on that because they took all the signs down, so we took pictures of all the signs laying along the curve saying, when are you gonna put our signs back up?

But I've been giving him the the tornado made me a lot more understanding that there were other things.

I mean, we want them back up, but when they get to them, we know that they've been working on a lot more important things.

And uh I also know that you're correct about Kings Highway down by the hospital.

I did ask about a lane reduction when they were doing the improvement plans, and they told me the hospital needs the extra capacity.

Uh additionally, mentioning the tornado, um, we heard rumors that the central west end streets were cleared immediately, which is not true.

Uh the city only cleared Kings Highway in the Central West End because Barnes is in a trauma center.

So they had to get access.

We were expecting many more casualties than thankfully there there were.

Uh, but uh that is why that was cleared as quickly as it was.

Um I am also very supportive of this move.

I I applaud you for taking this step and would also like to be added as a co-sponsor.

Thank you.

Um do we have any public testimony?

We have none.

I want to say one thing.

When people fail to bring up the Central West End, if you ever hear me talking about the tornado, I always bring up the Central West End and say we are a city, and that although a lot of uh tornado damage was in part of Kingsway East, not in my part that's along Kings Highway, but in the 47 and 4800 and the Vale in Greaterville, it's also because I lived in Central West End for several years.

Um and so I know when I drive up and down Delmar past Union, when you go on Washington Place, when you go out all those places, you see my heart breaks.

Um when you come from Clayton down, what is the wide out?

It's just or forest park, and I still see the big routes.

Um, and one by one, I'm kind of leaning on forestry.

Can you just get this one and working on it?

But I don't not uh buy into that, and anybody says that to me, I correct them and say that is not true.

Um the city is working on this the best they can.

Um, and I know I'm I'm I'm really good friends with uh forestry.

I probably planted eight, nine thousand trees in my life because I'm a tree hugger, I love trees.

So um I don't push that agenda of oh the Central West End is getting it.

We're all a city, and a lot what whether your home was 5,000 square feet or a 1,000 square feet or 50,000 square feet, it was your home, and a lot of people lost it.

That that's right, Alder One.

I appreciate that.

And um with that, uh you have any more to say on this bill, you recognize to close.

Um I have nothing else to say.

Um Mr.

Chairman and members of the board, I'd move that board bill 77 be passed out of committee with a due pass recommendation reducing the speed on Kings Highway from Dr.

Martin Luther King to Bercher to 25 miles an hour.

Thank you.

At this time I'll accept a motion, move by the other one with the 13th.

Is there a second?

Second, seconded by the auto one from the eighth.

And uh call from previous role from the other one from the first.

Hearing no objection, congratulations, Alderwoman.

We pass Board Bill 77 out with the due pass recommendation.

Thank you very much.

And don't go anywhere because you have one more.

Uh item number four, for bill number 92.

You are recognized.

Mr.

Chairman and members of the committee, board bill 92.

Uh uh move is uh attempting to close a street call a weeda avenue between Clarence and Posse.

Um, and then um also it is going to close another part, and it's gonna close a wheat at both ends, and then it's gonna close the part of is it Pope?

Um and um and this is because uh there are two gas stations there.

If you go along the highway, there's a love gas station and a mobile gas station.

And I actually brought some pictures so you can see what's going on here.

Um I got a call from both gas stations.

One of them loves, um they're long North Broadway, so it's all commercials along I 70.

So a loves has a uh McDonald's and a subway, I think in it, and mobile has something.

But what has happened over the uh last few years, even way before I picked it up, is that young people are going there and hanging out.

And so when you look at the map, um behind the mobile is awita, and so they were going behind that mobile and hanging out and shooting and doing all kind of things, and the owner actually sent me some some video of that, and then I got the call from the loves people um saying gas station saying, Hey, we're having a problem with them going down Pope, and then they won't they block the traffic and all of this.

So um, and even further down on Broadway, some other businesses.

I'm gonna be coming back with some other things, just trying to get the kids away from the gas station.

And I want to blame part of it on the auto one from the 11th because her park um is right across the street, and she's had to close a lot of the entrance to O'Fallon Park because the kids were doing that kind of thing in the park.

So she closed all those entrances.

So they just came across the highway and they're hanging out, and it's been very dangerous.

And there's uh Oeda is really just behind the mobile gas station, and it doesn't go to anything except between two streets.

So closing that gets them from there, and then closing it right at the right past the entrance that goes into both gas stations.

That would prevent them from doing anything like hanging out or doing the things that they were doing.

So that is why we came to close the street temporarily.

Um, and they even said that they would pay for the any kind of uh things that we needed to close the streets, any barriers or anything, because they want it done sooner than later.

Because every weekend they're having a big big problem.

All right, with that, I'll see if uh the committee has any questions starting with Alder Woman Boyd.

Uh uh Alder Woman tyres, you said they're gonna put the burcades.

So how I'm kind of confused, how would that stop those key?

Because you know how these guys are we put the birdcase and and they'll go in between the barricades to hang out.

So is it stopping cars or it's just stopping people?

It's stopping cars at this point.

If it does something else, we might have to do something like I don't know if you've been you ever come down Kings Highway, but right at the gas station at Hodomont that's on the trails, they built they put like four stacks of uh concrete so that you can't go over it.

So we've discussed that too.

Right now we would just try to stop um vehicles, but if we need to, we would do that same because I drive around town and look at um don't create the wheel.

So if I see something that's successful, so when I saw that, I said now that could uh work.

So that would be what we would do if we have to, but right now we're just gonna put, I don't know if we have the shamel pots, but they're the uh Jersey barriers, I think is the straight is what they're called.

Right.

The Jersey bears the straight ones, right?

Okay, yeah, that's good.

Thank you.

Alder Woman Clark Cupboard.

No question.

Alder Woman Schweitzer.

No questions.

Alderman Devotee.

No questions.

Alder Woman Cox Antwi.

No questions for me.

I just have a couple questions.

Um this says it's temporarily closing.

Is there a uh time frame we're looking at here, or is this just a as long as it needs to to stop that kind of activity?

Usually, and I've done a lot of these.

I do six months test because sometimes people think they want them, then something doesn't work out, and then if uh if six months they don't they like it, then I come back and pass a bill saying permanent.

So yeah, so that's what I've been doing for years now.

So we can look forward to seeing you again in six months if this works out.

Correct.

All right.

Um I I understand the reasoning here.

I'm looking at these maps, and I checked out on Google Maps, and it it makes a lot of sense to me.

This is not a functional street anymore, and uh looks like it would only attract trouble.

So uh I I definitely sympathize with your situation here and am happy to support this.

Uh Madam Court, do we have any public testimony?

We have none.

With that, uh Alderman, you were recognized to close.

I would do want to make one correction in the board bill.

I put XX because I didn't know how many feet north of the north curb of Pope and North Broadway.

So it's gonna be approximately 500 feet, and it'll be right there at the entrance.

So I just want to do a correction and put 500 feet instead of XXX.

Okay.

Um I'm I think we can probably fix that in um well.

I'm wondering the best way to do that if we want to so you can the summary, so I think it could probably just be corrected uh uh in engrossment, but uh we'll we'll double check on that after X's can't I could tell you how you can do it right now.

You can do as a friendly amendment and make it a committee substitute, you can do it as a scrivener's air.

Um, but it's not just in the summary, it is in the first second line of the let me see where was it?

Yeah, she has a the second line of the bill itself.

So you do need to put it.

I can you can also wait and I can do it on the floor.

All of those work.

Okay, I think uh what we'll do just to keep things moving today, since we have a lot on our agenda is we can four.

Uh but uh appreciate you highlighting that and we'll we'll get that fixed.

Uh with that, um I will accept uh recommendation for due pass uh for board bill number 92.

Second moved by the Alderman the 13th, seconded by the Alder One from the eighth call for previous roll from the other woman from the first.

Hearing no objection, we've passed board bill ninety-two out of committee.

Thank you.

Thank you, committee.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman, and thank you, members of the committee.

Thank you, Alderwoman.

Uh with that, uh Alder Woman Boyd, if you don't mind, I know you have a few bills, but uh I'd like to go ahead and recognize the uh non-member of the committee that's here if uh if that's okay with you.

Alderwoman Boyd.

We can't hear you if you're trying to speak.

No, you're Alder Woman Void appears to be frozen.

So I think we'll just move ahead of this time.

Uh and Alderwoman Velasquez, uh, you are recognized on board bill one oh nine.

That is item number nine on the agenda.

Thank you, and thank you, Chair.

Well, this is loud, and thank you.

Uh public infrastructure and utilities committee.

Madam Clerk, can you just read the bill summary?

Oh, thank you.

An ordinance recommended by the Board of Public Service to conditionally vacate above surface, surface and subsurface rights of for vehicle equestrian and pedestrian travel in the portion of Parker Avenue beginning approximately 409.795 plus or minus 0.115 feet from King's Highway Boulevard and extending east, 183.56 point over minus 0.2 feet to the point of the city of St.

Louis, Missouri.

Thank you, uh Madam Clerk.

This is a pretty straightforward bill.

You all should have received a uh letter of testimony from John Shaker of Shaker Ford where this location is.

They had started this process process in 2017, and for whatever reason it didn't happen, they asked to do it again.

Obviously, you heard it is recommended by BPS, it has been approved by planning.

Um the Shaker Ford location has been there for a very long time.

They've been very good stewards and good business owners uh here in the city.

So um this is a request from them, and I believe they will um do a good job in taking over this portion of the street.

So with that, I um open to questions and ultimately ask for your favorable consideration of this bill.

Thank you.

We'll move to the committee with questions.

Alderwoman Void.

Alder Woman Clark Hubbard.

Alderwoman Schweitzer.

No questions.

Alderman Devotee.

No questions.

Alder Woman Coxantwee.

No questions.

I uh just have one question uh which is uh looking at this, it looks like there's a couple businesses down this road.

Uh which is uh looking at this, it looks like there's a couple businesses down this road.

Uh and I just for due diligence's sake, want to make sure that uh this has been coordinated with the other businesses that are down here, not just uh the Ford dealership, but um looks like and maybe they're not here anymore.

But Google says uh G and W meet and Bavarian sauce style sausage uh as well as a uh I'm gonna mispronounce this, but who pharma they they have to my knowledge they've worked with those businesses before that was that been that business was mentioned in the letter that when they tried this in 2017 and got the signed offs.

Okay, so as long as this doesn't uh inconvenience any of the other businesses, uh I can see the reasoning for this and uh don't have any more questions.

Uh Madam Clerk, do we have any public testimony?

We have none.

You have one that I sent the clerk from John Shaker.

That should have come over.

We have one written testimony that we'll acknowledge at the end of the meeting, but uh for those of you who uh I believe it was in our email uh uh letter of support for this uh from uh Shaker Ford.

Uh with that alder woman, you are recognized to close.

I ask for your favorable consideration.

Thank you.

With that accept due pass recommendation for board bill 109, it's been moved by the other one from the 13th, seconded by the Alderwoman from the 8th.

Call for previous roll from the Alderman from the 8th.

Uh hearing no objection, congratulations, Alderwoman.

This is passed out of committee with the due pass recommendation.

Thank you.

This time we'll move back to item number five on the agenda.

Alder Woman Boyd, you are recognized on board bill one zero one.

Uh thank you, uh Mr.

Chair and the board for hearing my bill.

And my bill is for speed bumps and the 13th warrant.

And what we do, what we did was what I did was I cleaned up all the speed humps that I had that were in the warrant that we saw there wasn't uh we didn't have legislation form and or we had uh moved on them.

So we got petitions from all the residents, and we got um the information from streets so we can make sure that we got the process uh correctly.

And so I'm not it is not in front of me.

Could you kind of tell me the clerk kind of tell me what that first one is for board bill 101 is pursuant to ordinance number 7033 as amended by ordinance number seven one three nine four and ordinance directing the directive streets to install speed humps to come the floor traffic on a block in the 13th ward?

Okay, and so I ask for favorable consideration for that board bill, please.

Thank you, Alderwoman.

And just uh if you could make sure you stay parked while we go through these bills, just so we can follow the case.

Oh, I'm for I understand wanting to be out out of the wind.

It is uh blustery day.

Um we'll go to committee real quick and uh get through these.

Uh so starting with Alderwoman uh Car Cubbert.

No questions on any of it.

Alder Woman Schweitzer.

No questions.

Alderman Devotee.

No questions, Alder Woman Cox Antwe.

No questions.

I also have no questions.

Alder Woman, uh, we'll see.

Do we have any public testimony?

We have none.

Okay, Alderman, you're recognized to close.

Yes, sir.

I ask for favorable consideration and unanimous consent for my board bill.

This time I'll accept a due pass recommendation for board bill 101.

So moved.

Second, moved by the Alderman from the eighth, seconded by the Alder Woman from the fifth, or the Alderman from the fifth.

And uh call for previous roll from the Alder Woman from the first.

Hearing no objection, we have passed board bill 101 with a due pass recommendation.

Moving on to item number six, board bill one oh two, alder woman boyd.

You're recognized, yes, sir.

Mr.

Chair and the committee.

This is another bill to clean up uh the staggering uh speed hump request that we had out, and so that's another board bill for speed humps within the 13th ward, and I asked for favorable consideration.

Thank you.

To move this up, I'm just gonna kind of offer to the committee.

Do we do we have any questions?

No.

No questions.

Seeing none, alder woman.

You recognize to close.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

And I asked for favorable consideration for board bill.

Is it 102?

102.

With that, I'll accept a due pass recommendation.

So moved.

Second.

Moved by the Alderman from the fifth, seconded by the Alderman from the eighth.

Previous role.

Call for previous roll from the auto woman from the eighth.

Hearing no objection, we've passed board bill 102 with the due pass recommendation.

Moving on to item number seven, board bill number 104.

Alder Woman Boyd, you are recognized.

Yes, uh, Mr.

Chairman and committee.

I asked for favorable consideration for speed house for board bill 107.

104.

I mean 104.

With that, does any of the committee have any questions?

No.

No.

Seeing none.

Uh any public testimony.

We have none.

Okay.

Uh with that, I'll accept a due pass recommendation for Board Bill 104.

Second.

Move by the Alderman from the fifth, seconded by the Alder Woman from the eighth.

Uh call for previous roll from the other one from the eighth, hearing no objection.

We passed board bill number one o four with a due pass recommendation.

And Alderwoman, this is the last one.

Uh moving on to item number eight.

Uh board bill number one oh five you are recognized.

Mr.

Chair and Committee, I ask for favorable consideration for bill bill 105 for speed humps.

With that, does the committee have any questions?

No.

No.

Seeing none.

Any public testimony?

We have none.

Uh I'll accept a due pass recommendation.

Or well, sorry, Alderwoman, you're recognized to close.

Committee and Mr.

Chair, I ask for favorable consideration for Board Bill 105.

With that, is it what okay?

I will accept a due pass recommendation.

Uh a motion for a due pass recommendation for board bill 105.

So moved.

Second.

Moved by the Alderman from the fifth, seconded by the Alder One from the Eighth.

Call for previous roll from the Alder1 from the 8th.

Hearing no objection, congratulations, Alder Woman.

We have passed Board Bill 105 out with a due pass recommendation.

We will move on at this time to uh the fifth item on the agenda.

Uh resolutions for review.

We have none.

I number six committee discussions.

We have none.

Any written testimony?

One written testimony for board bill 109 in support.

Thank you.

Do any member of the committee have any announcements?

Seeing none, uh all members were present, so no need to excuse.

And with that, I will accept a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second.

Second.

Moved by the all moved by the alderman from the fifth, seconded by the other one from the eighth.

A call for previous roll from the auto woman from the first.

And hearing no objection, we are adjourned.