ST. LOUIS — City officials have formally begun work on a plan to improve safety on city streets.
The plan proposes spending more than $40 million in federal pandemic aid to slow down traffic and cut down on injuries and fatalities. It was introduced at the Board of Aldermen late last week and lauded Monday by the office of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. Alderman Brandon Bosley, of Hyde Park in northeast St. Louis, is sponsoring the proposal.
Jones and her staff began discussing safety issues with residents in community meetings last month, amid growing angst about safety on city streets. This past summer saw a rash of vehicle crashes killing pedestrians and cyclists, including two around the popular South Grand Boulevard business district and two more near the Ted Drewes frozen custard stand on Chippewa Street. And residents report that drivers are generally driving faster and paying less attention to their surroundings and the traffic laws.
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The bill would try to rein in some of the issues with “traffic calming†measures, such as removing lanes and bumping out curbs, designed to force drivers to slow down. Those measures would go in on major thoroughfares like Kingshighway, Jefferson Avenue and Grand Boulevard, which are already slated to be repaved, as well as other areas identified as dangerous by traffic studies.
The bill also calls for safety improvements at the top 10 crash locations in the city. Mayoral spokesman Nick Desideri did not say exactly which locations would be targeted but provided a list of 24 “hotspot†intersections for fatal and injury vehicle crashes. At the top of the list were the intersections of:
- North Broadway and Washington Avenue.
- Hampton Avenue and Interstate 44.
- East Grand Avenue and Interstate 70.
Desideri also provided a list of 26 hotspot intersections for fatal and injury crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians. At the top of that list were the intersections of:
- South Grand Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway.
- North Grand Boulevard and Natural Bridge Avenue.
- Kingshighway and Delmar Boulevard.
The bill also puts money toward writing a transportation master plan for the city, which the Jones administration says is necessary to bring in crucial federal money for infrastructure improvements.
Other items in the bill include $15 million to build a new 911 dispatch center and $6 million for sidewalk improvements.
