ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – The Missouri Department of Transportation is asking for your help making some roads in St. Louis City safer.
One of the next projects it’s working on is Chouteau and Manchester, which is a corridor that runs through many neighborhoods in the city.
Chouteau-Manchester is Missouri Route 100, which extends from down by the river, up to the Maplewood city limits.
MoDOT engineer Jen Wade is part of the team looking to make Route 100 safer, as the agency looks at a repaving the road.
“We’re looking for ways we can slow cars down naturally,” Wade said. “People aren’t really interested in necessarily reading speed limits and moderating their speed that way. We often drive how it feels appropriate for the road. So one of the things we could do is reduce the number of lanes. That’s actually already been done here on Manchester.”
Wade says from 2017 to 2021, there were more than 1500 crashes on route 100 within city limits.
Four of those were fatal.
“If we bring curbs in or we put what we call bump-outs in the parking lane and we bring those sort of curb spaces right next to driving lanes, that helps remind drivers this is an area where you’re going to see people on bikes who are pedestrians,” Wade said. “You need to slow down.”
Maggie Burnworth come to Manchester in The Grove often for her hair appointments.
“No one heeds the flashing lights and I also think speed bumps are helpful on the roads,” Burnworth said. “Even tiny streets people are just racing through and they don’t look.”
Even Friday morning she experienced how the wide road can cause problems for pedestrians.
“I was walking to my hair appointment and pressed the button to get the flashing lights and no one stopped, including a school bus,” Burnworth said. “I had to just wait and take my own risks when I went.”
Jim Mondl has lived on Manchester for just over a year and said he feels safe running and walking daily.
But if MoDOT can make improvements, he’s interested.
“They may have some great ideas and may make it a whole lot better than it is now,” Mondl said. “Right now I think it’s great. If they can make it better I’m open to that too.”
The repaving of Chouteau-Manchester is slated for 2025.
MoDOT said the crash rates for that area is higher than the statewide average for similar roads.
MoDOT is having a public meeting later this month for you to share your thoughts.
The meeting is Wednesday, November 29, from 5-7 p.m. at the Buder Recreation Center, 2900 Hickory Street, St. Louis MO, 63104.
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