Regarding "Chesterfield accepts 141 work, tries to limit impact" (Sept. 13): Here are some questions that everyone should be asking about the Highway 141 project:
— What health problems will occur from routing a six-lane highway directly over an open source for our drinking water?
— How was the Missouri Department of Transportation able to use an expired environmental assessment that doesn't include any newer development?
— What will happen when construction stirs up toxic chemicals in the soil and creek from Parkway's non-regulated reclamation facility?
— Why isn't the mayor insisting an environmental impact statement be done?
— There are legal appeals and lawsuits pending, so what happens when the deadlines for federal funding can't be met?
— St. Louis County and MoDOT have not acquired all the land needed; how are they able to start construction and how much land are they planning to condemn and take by eminent domain?
— How can they start construction when all permits needed are not secured?
— Do Chesterfield residents know they are paying $15 million for this extension, $10 million for prettier bricks and $5 million for the northern section of the road itself. That is on top of the money they are paying as a resident of the county. How much more are we going to take? The mayor of Chesterfield tells us not to fight because that makes it easier for him, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight. The question isn't why we would fight; it's why wouldn't we?
Kim Cuddeback — Maryland Heights
Co-founder, Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth
Showing posts with label MoDOT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MoDOT. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Letter to the editor of the Post-Dispatch, published 9/21/09:
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Insignificant... really?
MoDot and FHWA have issued a FONSI (Finding Of No Significant Impact) for the Page-Olive Connector. This despite never conducting an Environmental Impact Study and the voicing of strong concerns voiced by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
This does not bode well for the wetlands, Creve Coeur Creek and Creve Coeur Lake. St. Louis County says it will try to minimize impact to these resources and "Some impacts may require mitigation such as construction of new wetlands near the project area to replace those that are impacted by the project."
That just doesn't gibe with DNR's statement: "Construction of a four-lane highway down the center line of Creve Coeur Creek and its riparian zones could have devastating impacts to the creek's beneficial uses."
Devastating, yet insignificant?!
Tax payers, do you also find paying back the $130 million cost of these projects to be insignificant?
This does not bode well for the wetlands, Creve Coeur Creek and Creve Coeur Lake. St. Louis County says it will try to minimize impact to these resources and "Some impacts may require mitigation such as construction of new wetlands near the project area to replace those that are impacted by the project."
That just doesn't gibe with DNR's statement: "Construction of a four-lane highway down the center line of Creve Coeur Creek and its riparian zones could have devastating impacts to the creek's beneficial uses."
Devastating, yet insignificant?!
Tax payers, do you also find paying back the $130 million cost of these projects to be insignificant?
Friday, July 3, 2009
Prestien Farm and Arminia Cemetery
Have a look at more pictures of Arminia Cemetery and Prestien Farm before MoDot destroys them all: http://picasaweb.google.com/ResponsibleProgress/PrestienFarmAndArminiaCemetery
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
From MoDOT 2002 Environmental Assessment:
23SL735 is a historic site located on the south side of Olive Boulevard. Recorded by Naglich and Nixon in 1989, site 23SL735 includes the Arminia Lodge Cemetery (circa 1874-1905) as well as the buildings at the neighboring Prestien Farm complex. The Prestien Farm complex is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in the areas of architecture and agriculture.
Reading on in the EA, page 101:
All of the buildings at the farm complex are located within the area of proposed new right of way and would be demolished to make way for the proposed improvements. Impacts to the property cannot be avoided through redesign since the corridor at Olive Boulevard is so narrowly constrained that the highway would still bisect the farm and significantly alter the historic setting of the complex. There is no practical alternative for construction of the proposed highway improvements on the preferred alignment that would not result in an adverse effect on the historic Prestien property.
How can they do this?!
23SL735 is a historic site located on the south side of Olive Boulevard. Recorded by Naglich and Nixon in 1989, site 23SL735 includes the Arminia Lodge Cemetery (circa 1874-1905) as well as the buildings at the neighboring Prestien Farm complex. The Prestien Farm complex is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in the areas of architecture and agriculture.
Reading on in the EA, page 101:
All of the buildings at the farm complex are located within the area of proposed new right of way and would be demolished to make way for the proposed improvements. Impacts to the property cannot be avoided through redesign since the corridor at Olive Boulevard is so narrowly constrained that the highway would still bisect the farm and significantly alter the historic setting of the complex. There is no practical alternative for construction of the proposed highway improvements on the preferred alignment that would not result in an adverse effect on the historic Prestien property.
How can they do this?!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
MoDot Double-talk
The following is from one of the MoDot I-64 updates advising people on what to do if they hit congestion at rush (half)hour. Why wouldn't this be their solution for 141/Olive?
From:
info@thenewi64.orginfo@thenewi64.org
Date:
Wed, Jun 17, 2009 8:18 am
I-64 and City of Richmond Heights Issue Safety Reminders
· If you are experiencing congested travel, try shifting your commute time. A difference of 15-30 minutes can improve your trip during rush hours.
From:
info@thenewi64.org
Date:
Wed, Jun 17, 2009 8:18 am
I-64 and City of Richmond Heights Issue Safety Reminders
· If you are experiencing congested travel, try shifting your commute time. A difference of 15-30 minutes can improve your trip during rush hours.
Monday, June 15, 2009
MoDot intends to extend highway 141 from Ladue road to the Page extension in west St. Louis county. The purpose of this extension is to encourage commercial development of land owned by the cities of Maryland Heights, Creve Coeur, and Chesterfield. MoDot's motivation for expansion is jobs for their people and increased tax revenue for the cities. The city's hope is that nonexistent businesses will want to locate in a flood plain in the very part of the country with the highest rate of economic decline.
Their traffic model constraints, variables, and assumptions are a joke.
Some development of highway 141 may be needed to alleviate traffic congestion, but MoDot has produced a massive, wasteful plan for highway expansion that will misuse 65 million dollars of taxpayer money.
There is a glut of available commercial real estate and high unemployment in St Louis.
Job losses in the automotive and aerospace industries have had a substantial and long lasting affect on the St. Louis economy. Those jobs are gone. They aren't coming back. There are no industries with the potential to replace those lost jobs in the near term.
St. Louisans are furious that money is being spent to create a massive west county outer loop that will do no more than destroy what little remains of the wetland and wildlife corridors in the area.
Why can't a more reasonable highway extension be built with less cost incurred? Why can't some of this money be put to good use creating jobs for the region? Many people in the area realize St. Louis is a great rear view mirror city. They are leaving for Texas, the east coast, even overseas. Work has already begun on this massive waste of taxpayer funds. St. Louisans watched half of the city of Bridgeton get wiped off the map to add a runway to Lambert airport when a runway was not needed. When will we ever learn?
Their traffic model constraints, variables, and assumptions are a joke.
Some development of highway 141 may be needed to alleviate traffic congestion, but MoDot has produced a massive, wasteful plan for highway expansion that will misuse 65 million dollars of taxpayer money.
There is a glut of available commercial real estate and high unemployment in St Louis.
Job losses in the automotive and aerospace industries have had a substantial and long lasting affect on the St. Louis economy. Those jobs are gone. They aren't coming back. There are no industries with the potential to replace those lost jobs in the near term.
St. Louisans are furious that money is being spent to create a massive west county outer loop that will do no more than destroy what little remains of the wetland and wildlife corridors in the area.
Why can't a more reasonable highway extension be built with less cost incurred? Why can't some of this money be put to good use creating jobs for the region? Many people in the area realize St. Louis is a great rear view mirror city. They are leaving for Texas, the east coast, even overseas. Work has already begun on this massive waste of taxpayer funds. St. Louisans watched half of the city of Bridgeton get wiped off the map to add a runway to Lambert airport when a runway was not needed. When will we ever learn?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)