St. louis infrastructure, and the solution?

St. Louis is not unique in many of its issues. Not the least of which being the lack of maintenance to our infrastructure. From water mains, street paving, parks, and even the thousands of vacant properties under the City’s land bank. 

One explanation for this lack of capacity is often attributed to the dramatic population decline of the City (a story for another time). With enough infrastructure to support a million and a population of just under 300,000; a lack of work force combined with decreased revenue lends to the issue of neglecting our infrastructure. Now this neglect, be it intentional or not, can have some potentially devastating effects on the City and its residents. 

Numerous efforts across the decades have been made to resolve this problem, ultimately leading to unsuccessful results. Currently, local policymakers are working on yet the latest solution for these issues. 

Ald. Anne Schweitzer, of the 1st Ward and Chairwoman of the board’s Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee, has been working on several policies to address infrastructure concerns. One such policy is her “Complete Streets” bill, which seeks to repeal and update an ordinance passed in 2017. This bill would require the City to make attempts to accommodate all modes of transportation when repaving or reconstructing the rights-of-way. The latest version of the bill, a committee substitute the sponsor maintained not to pass last session additionally required the Streets Department to develop a paving plan. 

The City of St. Louis does not like many other cities have a plan on when to maintain its roads. Schweitzer’s policy would require an annually updated 5 year paving plan, similar to MoDOT’s “STIP” (Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan). The sponsor has yet to reintroduce a version of the bill in the 24-25 legislative session. 

A plan can only go so far, and it’s all too common for plans to be created and shelved for years or often indefinitely. Integral to the implementation of such plans are funding, and in regards to this plan… reliable funding. Without a stable source of funding it would be near impossible to implement a plan. 

Now, those unfamiliar with St. Louis’ government might not know just how poorly the funding for Street maintenance is dispersed. Many paving decisions are made by the Alderperson in any particular area, this being where most of the funding for such projects come from. These elected officials have generally two pots of money to pool from to complete projects; St. Louis works, and Ward Capital. 

Let’s dive a bit deeper into these funding sources. 

St. Louis Works is a funding stream derived from a gross receipt tax imposed on utility companies operating in the City. Whereas, Ward Capital is a one half cent sales tax imposed on all retail sales in the City of St. Louis. Ultimately these funding streams typically remain pretty stable neither increasing or decreasing quite much. Issues only arise due to the total control of these funds being vested in each individual Alderperson. 

Attempts to change this system have often been met with quite furious opposition from past compositions of the Board of Aldermen. This pushback has led to the continuation of a faulty and inefficient system of Alderpersons controlling their own little fiefdom. 

Schweitzer isn’t the only member of the Board floating ideas to make more efficient systems to repair and maintain our infrastructure. Alderman Michael Browning, of the 9th Ward, has been a faithful co-sponsor of Schweitzer’s policies. As well as speaking to the Charter Commission on his desire for a Department of Transportation in the City. This proposal would reconfigure the two primary departments responsible for our public rights-of-way into one new department. The Board of Public Service (Office of the President), and the Streets Department would in some amalgamation create a “Department of Transportation”. Although, this writer does believe it should be called a “Public Works Department”. 

So while our City continues to face the plight of aging and poorly maintained infrastructure, we can rest a little easier knowing our local politicians are attempting solutions.