r

'./
IMMEDIATE AND LONG RANGE PLANS
tor
ST. LOUIS TRAFnC PROBLEMS
(Remarks at meeting of Greater
St. Louis Retail Controllers Group)
ForeetPark Hotel
I
t
)
By
HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW
Consulting Engineer
St. Louis, Missouri
April 14, 1953
,
INTRODUCTION
When Henry Ford and his contemporaries developed the high
speed, low-priced automobile probably nobody realized that the
result would be a profound transformation of the form and
character of the American city accompanied by extreme social
changes in family life and in the whole pattern of urban living
conditions. Even todsy we are uncertain of the ultimate result
of this transformation which is still taking place. The relatively
small, compactly built city of 1920 has undergone a potential
1000 percent change in its physical area with but only about
100 percent increase in total population. Instead of a city
embraced by definite corporate boundaries, a generally well-known,
well-understood and reasonably well-controlled unified commun1ty
having essentially basic unity, we now have a vast, sprawling,
disorganized milieu, almost hopelessly split up into a multi
plicity of governmental units, lacking in planned direction and
economic unity.
Decentralization Process
The low-priced, high-speed car was rirst produced in
considerable numbers close to the beginning or the great de
preSSion or the early 1930's. While some decentralization of
the American city began about that time, its rapid progress was
impaired by the lag in production of automobiles caused by the
depression and the slow recovery, rollowed by curtailments
imposed by liorld War II. The pace of decentralization has been
accelerating in the past rive years. We can expect conSiderable
I
further decentralization because the federal government, by very
,
nearly preenpting the nortgage field through its FHA insurance
program insures vast housing projects in far flung suburban
areas with often a thousand or more living units of multiple
dwellings as well as single family homes, unless this program
is modified. The FHA insures few residential loans in the
large central cities. New suburban commercial centers, costing
anywhere fron to t50,OOO,OOO each, with vast auto
mobile parking facilities, now pose a threat to millions of
dollars of property in central business districts upon
whose assessed valuations and stability large city governments
are dependent.
Yet the traffic problems are growing constantly more serious
in both the central cities as well as in the suburban areas.
Growth and change are inevitable in a dynamic situation such as
thiS, but inevitably the question arises whether the changes
that are taking place represent a progressive improvement in
conditions. It is all too apparent that we are confronted With
far rr.ore serious difficulties than we have yet contemplated.
Over-all Planning and Control
If the present flood of automobiles had occurred suddenly,
our American cities probably would have bestirred themselves to
envision the full significance of so marked a transformation
from horse and buggy comrr.unities to cities of the motor age.
The would have been so great as to inspire bold plans
and courageous action. A full realization of the changed
situation confronting cities today has been obscured due to the
protracted, gradual transition. This has dulled our vision and
- 2
our courage to meet needs squarely and effectively. Belatedly
we are resorting to numerous measures of expediency.. The true
concept should be one of over-all community or metropolitan
area design, functional arrangement of land USeS and ordered
provision for each type of transportation, supplemented by a
proF,ram of legislative and financial measures to overcome present
handicaps and to effectuate a sound over-all plan. Until this
is done, we shall be struggling more or less ineffectively with
palliatives rather than basic remedies. This is a subject for
more extended consideration and discussion than opportunity
pernits within the time limits of the present paper.
How Traffic?
In the 12 years from 1941 to 1953 motor vehicle registration
has increased from 34,000,000 to 53,000,000. At this rate it
might be forecast that by the year 2000 we will have more cars
than people. With increased per capita ownership of automobiles,
and with some increase in total population, it takes no
clairvoyant to discern that present city streets, already over
crowded, cannot possibly accommodate the enormous additional
traffic load that conceivably oay be expected.
The word tfconceivably" is used advisedly for the reason
that we may continue to buy automobiles without limit. That is
the objective of any progressive industry. With continued
prosperity on our so-called new high economic plateau, possibly
the 10 percent of total population engaged in motor car
production and directly related businesses can be increased to
- 3
30 or 40 percent with a substantial part of the remainder
employed in operating tourist cabins, trailer camps, hot dog
stands, honky tonks, and roadside advertising. Not all may
share this view however. It raises the question of whether
there may be a saturation point, and where it will be reached.
Some of those most closely associated with the motor car
industry, the sale of gasoline and auto accessories. and of road
building, envision great new networks of expressways in urban
areas. Without extended discussion of this approach, let me
call your attention to one interesting but unnated statistic.
Of the total 12 year increase in motor vehicles previously
mentioned, passenger cars increased from 29,500,000 to 34,500,000,
or 11 percent whereas the number of trucks increased from
4,850,000 to 8,650,000, or 44 percent. It 1s next to impossible
to exclude trucks from publicly built roads; consequently the
speed of traffic on future expressways will be controlled more
and more by the turcks new appearing in such large numbers.
Furthermore, high speeds on the expressways are resulting in
such serious accidents that the public safety is involved, and
in some cities it has been necessary to reduce the higher speeds
for which the were designed.
All this is not to mention the parking problem created at
the terminal pOints of in or near the central
business districts. Highway officials engaged in the construction
program are wont to ignore this matter or to imply that this is
somebody else's problem. Any realistic view of this situation
can scarcely accept this viewpoint.
- 4
This is not to say that the nodern expressway is not an
adjunct of the modern city or that it is without value.
Undoubtedly the expressway is here to stay but it is not a
panacea for all traffic problems.
I. SHORT RAIlGE PL,'NS
vmen the automobile first appeared in considerable numbers
on the streets of St. Louis some 35 years or so ago
7
there was
official recognition of the problems ahead. The City Plan
Commission prepared a forward-looking major street plan, while
the Board of Public Service creBted a Traffic Division in the
Department of Streets and Sewers. Eventually a Traffic Engineer
was employed to head this ~ i v i s i o n . Despite numerous differences
of opinion about regulatory reeasures, much progress has been made.
One of the difficulties is that most everybody is a traffic expert
and there are undoubtedly many thousands of persons in St. Louis
who have opinions that they believe are superior to those of the
City's Traffic FAlgineer. Treffic engineering has becoLle a highly
important field of municipal activity if not a science. The time
is not yet arrived ';/hen this can be said to be an eXact science
such as that of hydraulics. Nevertheless, we have learned that
there are many things which can be done to expedite traffic flow
on city streets of variable width and with a wide range of
conditions. l',,"here street intersections are frequent, speed is
markedly reduced because of the tirr.e lost in stopping and start
ing. By channelizing traffic with lanes clearly marked on the
pavements and by traffic signalization we can determine the
- 5
maximum capacity of street intersections to accommodate traffic
flow. We know, for example, that about 500 or 600 vehicles per
lane per hour is an optimwn for normal conditions. Too often
this capacity is sharply reduced due to improper traffic control.
He know also that where cars are parked at the curb, the capacity
of the immediately adjoining lane is reduced about 25 percent due
to the Itfriction" of possible interference from cars entering or
leaving the parking lane. We know also that with uninterrupted
traffic flow, with progressive or by separation
of grade on expressways, the capacity of the individual traffic
lane can be stepped up to as much as 1200 or 1500 vehicles per
Thus, we can arrive at an approximate total traffic
capacity of streets leading into or out of a central business
district in a riven direction, compare this with total present
or potential traffic flow, and determine what additional measures
are needed to increase capacity on existing streets or
additional new street capacity may be r.eeded.
The three prfncipal causes for our failure to secure maximum
of existing atreet space are:
1. T'hc parking of automobiles at the
2. Interference by slow moving trucks and curbside
stopping and starting for the loading and
unloading of goods.
3. Con:lict between passenger automObiles,
trucks, and transportation vehicles
in congested business areas.
Another complication, of course, is the fact that so many shoppers,
office workers, and other employees in central business districts
enter and leave the district at very nearly the same time each
morning and evening, thus creating pronounced peak movements as
- 6
compared with other periods of the day. This latter condition
should be attacked more vigorously than heretofore 1n order to
reduce peak loads as greatly as possible. An effective staggered
hour program would accomplish more than any other single measure
to reduce tr.ffic congestion.
Interference by Curb Parking
Traffic capacity of the existing street system is reduced
probably as much as 40 to ;0 percent by curb parking. There was
no traffic congestion when we first parked the horse and buggy
at the hitching post in front of the village store. Curb parking
is a hang-over of this ancient practice. It is inexcusable to
allow modern thoroughfares to be choked with traffic while a
relatively few vehicles absorb the much needed street space.
Streets were never intended for storage, and automobile parking
must be eliminated in favor of the moving vehicle.
St. Louis has failed to make adequate progress in facilitat
ing general city traffic flow through failure to exercise more
wide-spread restriction on curb parking. The Netropolitan Trsffic
Committee of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce has performed a
valuable public service in advocating city-wide restriction of
curb parking on main thoroubhfares. The capacity of these routes
will be very nearly doubled if such restrictions are not com
promised. It is doubtful if they could have been established
except by a broad attack such as proposed by this Committee,
iiith proper enforcement we will have added the capacity of one or
two expressways or of several million dollars worth of street
widening.
- 7
.......~ . - - - - ~
Truck Traffic--Curb Loading
A former chairman of the City Plan Commission, Gregory Nooney,
once suggested that a proposal to run the Pennsylvania Railroad
in the middle of Kingshighway would be considered insane, and yet
we have the equivalent of several freight trains per day now
operating on numerous city s t r e e t s ~ If the railroads suggested
150 new downtown freight stations, the proposal would seem
equally absurd. And yet over 160 truck terminals have been
established within the past 10 yeuTs on numerous streets immed
iately surrounding the central business district. The introduction
of this heavy, slow-noving traffic has retarding effect on traffic
flow. Even if one has a ~ o s t liberal, wide-open mind on these
matters, it is exceedingly difficult to reconcile transferring
so much freight from the railroad lines to the city streets
t
especially since the initial advantage claimed for the auto truck,
store door pick up and delivery, has now disappeared. I have
the feeling that too '!meh of the gasoline tax that you and I pay,
supposedly for the inprovement of our autonobile driving conditions,
is beir.g diverted pretty largely to the benefit of the motor truck
industry. With its fUrther development, you and I will probably
find we have financed our O1':n undoing 50 far as improved driving
conditions are concerned, as well as having substantially im
paired the fin"ncial stability of an extremely valuable national
railroad network.
In urban areas motor truck traffic should be confined to a
limited number of traffic routes. Locally we have failed to
establish and enforce such routes.
- 11
St. Louis is fortunate in having provided alleys for rear
access to commercial and industrial properties. With such an
advantage, there is little or no justification for permitting
loading or unloading of merchandise at the curb. Certainly any
such loading or unloading should be prohibited conpletely during
periods of heavy traffic flow in important business areas.
Conflicts due to Intermixture of Various types of Traffic
In central business districts and other heavily used business
areas we should give greater recognition to the movement of people
rather than vehicles. In addition to prohibiting curb loading
and unloading of merchandise, there should be restriction on
excessive cruising or other unnecessary utilization of street
space.
The mass transportation vehicle carries a very large number
of persons in proportion to street space utilized. The greatest
possible accommodation should be given to mass transportation
vehicles in the form of ample loading zones and favorable
operating conditione." Since 1920, we have underteken two major
streetcar and bus line reroutings in St. LouiS, each of which
has been of substantial benefit. It is doubtful if much additional
improvement can be made by further rerouting. Parking facilities
for passenger aUcomobiles should be provided on the immediate
peripheries of business areae, with strategically located garages
for short-time parkers, in order to reduce to a minimum the
volume of passenger automobile traffic on these business streets.
- 9
Traffic Engineering
Much progress can still be made in relief of street
congestion by the study of traffic flow and the application of
traffic engineering The traffic engineering depart
ment should have more f:.mds for the st'J.dy and analysis and
characteristics of traffic flow. We have major streets leading
west frorr. the central business district with 46 potential traffic
lanes. To Hhat degree of efficiency is each lane used during
the evening rush hour? How much more traffic could be accommo
dated? How much traffic using these lanes originates in south
St. Louis, thus unnecessarily crowding the east-west thorough
fares? 'I'hese and many other questions cannot be answered except
by a thorough analytical stCldy of existing traffic flow. These
are not determinations that can be made by fiat or by amateur
tinkering.
about one-way streets? \iill these add traffic capacity
and facilitate traffic flow? Although I have had much experience
in traffic I believe that no individual or agency that
has not .:nade an extremely careful study of the characteristics of
traffic flow can determine precisely what is best in a particular
sit'J.ation. In this respect I a:n not prepared to accept in toto
the recommendaticns of the Letropolitan 'traffic Committee of the
Chamber of Their decisions may ultimately prove to be
the most The recommendations, however, are not
supported by detailed analysis of traffic It 1s
possible that subsequent experience and further study of traffic
flow characterist:.cs may justify some alterations in the
recommended pattern of one-way streets.
- 10

II. RANGE PLHIS
In 1916 the City Plan Commission published a Major Street Plan
wherein it was proposed to extend, connect, and widen certain
streets into a city-wide pattern of traffic thoroughfares. Funds
for the City's share of this program Were voted in the 1923
bond issue and aome was subsequently expended. One
well-informed reunicipal authority stated recently that it was
easier to move by automobile in and around all parts of the
City of St. Louis than in any other American city. While our
program was more modest than that of Los Angeles, where approxi
mately t200,OOO,000 has been expended for street opening and
widening, we have less congesticn than Los Angeles. probably
due to the fact that we have less car ownership--one car for
each 4.1 persons in the St. Louis Ketropolitan Area as compared
with one automobile for each 2.7 persons in LOB Angeles. As
total population becomes greater and as automobile ownership
increases here, the added nmuber of automobiles and trucks will
cause more and more traffic congestion on St. Louis streets.
Here are sone that may be of particular interest to
this aUdience. In 1925, a total of 547,486 persons entered and
left the central business district between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
In 1950, the total was 560,000 persons in approximately the same
time, 1.e., between g:OO a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Despite all of our
traffic control measures and of street opening and widening
i:r.lprovements, the tot"l number of persons entering the downtown
business district on an average week day has increased only about
3 percent in these 25 years. During this same period, however.
- 11

the population of St. Louis and St. Louis County increased
32 percent.
In 1925 a total of 175,350 people entered the business
district by transit vehicles on an average weekday whereas but
115,000 people entered by the same transportation media in 1950.
The number of transit vehicles decreased from 11,600 to 7,665.
In 1925 a total of 98,400 people entered the business
district by private automobile on an average week day. In 1950
this total increased to 165,000. The number of automobiles
increased from 44,450 in 1925 to 105,800 in 1950.
After 25 years we brought in only) percent more people but
increased our traffic load on the City's streets about 140 percent.
lifuere do we go from here? Shall we spend large sums of money to
bring in additional vehicles on new expressways but no additional
people? \'iill the additional numbers of automobiles which could
be on new expressways actually be attracted to the
central business district in the absence of ample, well-located
parking space? Are there alternatives or additional improvements
which should be considered such as improved mass transportation?
What can we get for our Money and what \,rould be the best buy?
Mass Transportation Possibilities
The motor bus has replaced the street car on all except
heavy traffic lines, such as the Olive Street and Hodiamont lines.
The bus is especially economical in areas of low population density
and light traffic. Prior to the introduction of the modern type
(PCC) street car such as is used on the Olive St. line, the motor
bus had a distinct advantage in greater flexibility in traffic
- 12

and higher speed. It can operate advantageously on expressways
if not impeded by excessive truck traffic and if provided with
adequate turnouts for passenger loading and unloading facilities.
The traditional type of subway has been considered too
expensive in cities of moderate population density such as
Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, or Los Angeles. Chicago is build
ing a new subway system however and the [ ~ e w York system is being
extended.
Elevuted passenger lines are considered obsolete because of
their noise and their adverse effect upon adjacent properties.
Utilization of existing steam railroad lines is generally
impracticable because of their inadequate location in relation
to population distribution.
Quite recently it has been found that the construction of
expressways offers for the first time a new and improved type of
mass transportation fc,cility which could prove financially
practicable where population is not too thinly spread. This is
made possible by newly designed equipment on the order of the
PCC car which would be capable of high speed operation, exceeding
that of the passenger automobile. The modern expressway must
have a center mall or divider strip to separate roadways for
traffic moving in opposed directions. By relatively slight
enlargement of the center mall, it is possible to provide an
adequate right-of-way for high speed mass transportation operation.
We have not moved up very rapidly on the matter of rapid
transit 1n St. Louis or in other metropolitan cities for several
reasons.

Principal among these are:
1. Local transit cOlllpanios have faced financial
collapse due to loss of traffic due to auto
mobile competition.
2. Failure to modernize rapid transit.
J. There has been no prassure group advocating
improved rapid t raneit. such as the extremely
powerful group of automobile manufacturers,
oil companies, and road building interests
actively supporting the public roads program.
Public attention has been so centered on automotive transpor
tation that mass transportation has been written off as a losing
venture. ever increasing traffic congestion public attention
is becoming skeptical of appreciable relief and there is awakening
interest in the possibilities of mass transportation. I will
return to this subject shortly. let us review where
we stand on the planning of express highways.
lhe S,tate nigbl;a Plan
In 1941 President Roosevelt appointed an Interregional
Highway Committee to make a new appraisal of the federal highway
program, authorized by the Hayden-Cartvlrigbt Act of 1916. This
committee, while recommending continuance of the 1;4,000 mile
primary system of federally aided U.S. highways, also
recommended \',itiJin this system a 3it,000 mile system of interstate
routes directly all of the major cities, which routes
would be built at improved standards of engineering a nd with
limited access. It was also recommended that these routes be
continued into and through the cities as expressways, where
state and federal expenditures for the most part had
stopped at the city limits. Congress adopted this
program and provided that 25 percent of all funds be expended in
cities, 30 percent in non-urban areas, and 45 percent on the
- 14
remaining mileage of the primary system (presumably whether
within or vritho.tt cities}., There are six highways on the
interstate program which approach or pass through St. Louis
U.S. 50 east, U.S. 61 south, U.S. 66 northeast and southwest,
and U.S. 40 east and ,"est. Congress provided that the federal
governme:r.t should pay no more than one-third the cost of right
of-way, presumably one-third by the state, and one-third by the
city; all construction cost to be paid for as are all of the
primary system highwfiYS, with gasoline tax funds, 50 percent by
the federal government and 50 percent by the state government.
The legislation has subsequently been amended to provide that
50 percent of right-of-way cost shall be paid for by cities.
':'he report of the Interregior.al riighway Comrdttee recommended
that selection of routes within cities should be made cooperatively
by state highway department and appropriate local planning and
highway authorities and officials. It also called attention to
the fbet that Many cities had developed outwardly along main
leaving internediate wedges of undeveloped land
that could profitably be used for the location of the expressways
''lith less difficulty of acquisition of rieht-of-way and at less
cost. IlSO placed, ::'he routes L;3.Y often be extended far into the
city before they encounter the greater dlfficulties of urban
location. rr
The Comprehensive City Plan
The City Plan Commission of St. Louis published its revised
comprehenslve city plan in January 1947. It contained, among other
things, a complete system of express highways. I would emphasiz.e
- 15
the word Il'system" because there were recommendations for four (4}
radial routes and two (2) north-south, cross-to\'ffi routes. Three
of the radial routes 'dere intended as interstate highways,
utilizing the federally stated principle of wedges of open space
(1 .. J north along the riverfront, west out the 1,til1 Creek Valley,
and south along the riverfront). One a radial route leading
directly west in the direction of our heaviest traffic flow. It
was inter.ded that this would be a local route, ending at Skinker
Of the two cross-town exprss,\"cays, one in the vicir.ity of
18th or 20th Street was intended for relievir.g congestion in the
centr&l business district by providing a close-in bypass route,
and one waS a route for general distribution, following
approximately the location of i'.'iorganford Road, Tower Grove Avenue,
i3oyle, and 1 Ihit tier streets
Prior to finalization of this plan, discussions were held
with the Chamber of Cornrl.erce, the Council of Civic the city
administration, the county administration, B.nd certain other
interested organizations... It was considered necessary to have this
unanimous agreement prior to publication of the plan. A meeting
..../a8 held the State Higbway ;)epa:-tment officials, at which
Nr. Hilliam Connett, the St. Louis area uember of the State
Highway COl!'c.JiSSiOD, expressed the view that since there was
unanimous apreement in this area of this system of xpressways,
it WDS the duty and obligation of the State Highway Department to
accept the plan.
- 16
The Elliott Plan
When the Darst administration took office in the spring of

1949, representations were made to it by the State Highway depart
ment to the effect that approximately t75,OOO could be made avail
able to the City government for the establishment of a local
office to work out detailed engineering plans for the expressway
system. The attention of the city administration waS called to
the prior agreement and the view expressed that detailed engineering
plans for recommended routes would be highly desirable but that
if new routes were to be recommended, we would have two city plans.
The net result of this would be great confusion in the public
mind and a controversy would be precipitated. The administration
gave assurances that there was no danger of an alternate route
location plan. Subsequently a local office was created with
Colonel Malcolm Elliott in charge. The work proceeded with but
two or three conference. with the staff and members of the City
Plan Comnission, and Colonel Elliott's report was published,
showing some deviation in the Ozark route and almost completely
new locations for the l ~ i a r k Twain and Daniel Boone routes.
Furthermore, the Elliott plan is not a system of expressways, but
according to his explanation, he was instructed to study only the
location of three radial routes. The Elliott plan is defiCient,
impractical, or erroneouS in the following respects.
1. It fails to provide an adequate system of
expressways for general relief and accom
modation of traffic flow.
- 17

2. It fails to provide for the 18th-21st
Street bypass, which is the most needed
of all expresEway- routes. (The recent
parking surveYt of which fir. Feuchter
was director, indicated that approximately
50 percent of all traffic in this central
business district was through traffic.)
J. Its lack of provision for adequate termina
tion of expressway routes in the downtown
district is extremely unfortunate. (In
other cities this is provided for by a
large loop of expressways surrounding but
not confining the centrp,l downto";>,'n busineSS
district. )
4. There is no attempt to provide for mass
transportation. Center malls or divider
strips are too narrow for the accornnodation
of rapid transit4 There are no proposals
for t";rnouts for bus stops to load and
unload passengers.
5. Proposed rights-of-way are of less width
than similar projects in other cities
and there are too many curves and Kore
severe grE,des than are warranted in an
undertaking costing so much money;,
The proposal for the Daniel Boone which is 40
west, is particularly ir"practica1 in the following respects.
1. It fnils to anticipate two routes west.
Traffic studies demonstrate the need for
two such routes, but the Elliott plan
virtually prohibits this by utilizing
what was intended as a local route, paral
leling Olive and Lindell, and failing to
provide for a Chouteau l1venue-.Nill Creek
Valley route.
, 2. This would bring truck traffic down the
Lindell area where the volume of present
passenger automobile traffic is sufficiently

great to absorb the full capacity of an
expressway.
3. Elevated structures east of Grand Avenue
would have the blighting effect of an
elevated railroad. It should be depressed
as proposed in the Comprehensive City Plan
and coordinated with redevelopment of
abutting property.
- 18 _
.' v \
4. The extra leg, cutting diagonally across
individual properties and streets from
Grand and Forest Park to Jefferson and
Franklin, is particularly objectionable,
unwarranted from a traffic standpoint and
adds $la,OOO,oOO in cost.
The proposed Nark Twain expressway location raises a new and
interesting point in the matter of expressway location in urban
areas. Instead of utilizing a wedge of open land as recommended
in the Inter-regional Highway Committee report and as proposed in
the Comprehensive City Plan by utilizing the northern riverfront
and turning west from Baden to the airport, it is now proposed to
use a route traversing built-up area on the north side from down
town west to Penrose Park, thence paralleling Lilian Avenue to the
city limits. The explanation of this departure is that it would
be closer to originating traffic. Here is a very fundamental
question. If expressways are to penetrate built-up areas, why
not locate them in areas of a reasonably heavy population density
and provide accommodation for rapid transit by a slightly enlarged
right-of-way. ?he proposed Mark Twain route is located neither
in a wedge of open space nor in an area of fairly heavy population
density except east of Euclid Avenue. By utilizing St. Louis
Avenue or Easton Avenue a heavily populated area would be bisected
and a rapid tranSit line would probably be economically feasible.
It is not a pleasant task to offer criticism. The error is
80 great in the Elliott plan, however, and the fact that the
proposals will not truly solve our traffic problems that it
becomes necessary to protest before we are further committed to
such a vast expenditure.
- 19
III. A NEW FOSSIBILITY
While we have not yet reached the saturatioh point in auto
mobile ownership and in street traffic congestion, are we not
approaching an ultimate cris5.s'l Is not this the time to give
consideration to fundulJental relief measures than apparently
be provided by automobile expressway construction alone?
Does not the nodern expressway provide an entirely new hope for
rapid transit, especially in view of the fact that new types of
eqUipment have recently ceen designed which can provide convenient
and cor:d'ortable service at higher speeds and with greater safety
than by automobile. possibility is now being considered in
several cities. In an effort to offer something constructive for
further consideration of these in St. LouiS, the following
plan for a corabinotion of' expressway and rapid transit construct
ion is submitted in the hope that it Qay have some genuine value
and is i1: the public interest.
The total estimated cost of the 5tate
t
s proposed expressway
program (Elliott P1aH) is $'158,000,000, of which approximately
;;101,000,000 is the cost within the corporate limits of the City
of St .. Louis. cO(,lbination of express\/ays and rapid transit
could be obtained for approxinately the same t ote.l sum? (The
figures which follod tire approximate only, having been made
without the benefit of detailed investigation. 'they correspond,
however, with unit costs i:, the Elliott plan report.}
Surprisingly enough, we could secure all three radial routes
proposed in the state program for the sum of Routes
parallelir:.g Gravois Avenue and Easton Avenue would be used
respectively for the Ozark expressway and tr.e Twain express
way, but each would be sufficiently wide to provide a center mall
for rapid transit. The location for the Daniel Boone route would
be as shown in the Comprehensive City Plan, known as the Chouteau
Avenue-Mill Creek Valley route. This relatively small amount of
additional cost is explained by lower cost for the Daniel Boone
route and reduced mileage on the Ozark and Mark Twain routes,
which economies would help to up for the higher cost of
right-of-way on the two latter routes. This like a very
much better investment. Especially would this be true when it
is considered that for an additional $29,000,000 we could have a
rapid transit system throughout the length of Gravois Avenue
bisecting the southern part of the city, and very nearly bisecting
the northern part of the city via Easton Avenue, and with a down
town subway loop utilizing the Eight Street tunnel, WaShington
Avenue, Broadway, and Clark Avenue. There can scarcely be any
doubt but what such a system could be supported by revenue bonds.
There would still be two deficiencies in this proposal;
namely, (1) the much needed l8th--20th Street bypass expressway,
estimated cost $20,000,000 to t25,000,000 and (2) the central
expressway, eriginally proposod as a local route. The IBth--20th
Street bypass expressway should be included in the State highway
program, this being the most important traffic relief expressway
which can be built. The central expressway and subway could be
financed with local funds and revenue bonds if state and federal
aid not be forthcoming.
A detailed study of potential traffic on subway routes might
alter the locations here suggested in some respects. More detailed
study would show some changes in total costs undoubtedly.
- 21
-
I
I

The new opportunity presented by improved design, light

weight, high speed rapid transit equipment and the possibility
for use of the center malls of expressways for rights-of-way
warrants thorough investigation of these possibilities at this
time.

- 22