In the past, many African-American families used to gather in Ruth Porter Park, a nine-block green space along Delmar near DeBaliviere that was named after a civil rights and fair housing advocate in 1968.
Later, when gang violence and crime held the park hostage, residents stayed away.
Recently the public agency Great Rivers Greenway District gave it a face lift and built the 1.3-mile asphalt Ruth Porter Park Trail that connects to the St. Vincent Greenway trail system. Soon residents will be able to access nine Metro stops from the trail.
At the park trail’s grand opening on Oct. 20, Alderman Frank Williamson said, “Ruth Porter is smiling down on us today.”
Now Great Rivers has a chance to increase the accessibility and security to even more St. Louis parks – including the Gateway Arch.
On April 2, St. Louis City and County residents will vote on Proposition P, a 3/16 of a cent sales tax increase, which would raise an estimated $31 million a year – or a projected $780 million by the time the tax expires in 20 years.
The tax increase is equal to two cents for a $10 purchase.
Great Rivers would administer 60 percent of the funds, and 40 percent of the revenue would go directly to St. Louis City, St. Louis County and municipalities in the county for existing park improvements.
Prop P will “put people back to work and stimulate our local economy jobs,” City Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones wrote in last week’s American. Prop P is projected to create 530 construction jobs and 4,400 permanent new jobs.
“In the City of St. Louis, we have workforce goals for this type of project,” Jones said. These goals are 25 percent participation by minority-owned businesses and 5 percent participation for women-owned businesses.
Jones wrote, “Not only will Prop P create good-paying jobs and have a positive impact on our community but we will maintain a world-class attraction like the Arch and improve and expand our local parks and trails.”
Where do the funds go?
Here’s how Great Rivers will distribute its 60 percent annually. The agency will allot $9.4 million for expanding a park-and-trail system called the River Ring and promoting conservation programs. This means that it will be able to revamp and connect more parks, such as Ruth Porter Park and the Maline Greenway in Berkeley, with biking and jogging trails all over the St. Louis area.
The other $9.4 million goes toward the CityArchRiver 2015 projects, which will increase security and access to the Arch grounds.
The sales tax is just one piece of a larger plan to fund the $380 million in improvements to the Arch grounds, the riverfront and its surroundings.
Prop P funds would allow about $90 million to be bonded immediately for the Arch project. Overall, more than $250 million in funds will be raised from private donors.
So what’s part of the $380 million package?
With the new tax revenue, Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis would receive $26 million for new landscape and water features, as well as more disabled-accessible pathways and security lighting. Luther Ely Smith Square, located directly between the Arch grounds and the Old Courthouse, will receive $10.8 million for similar improvements. (Smith chaired the commission that established the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, including the Arch, in St. Louis.)
The Old Courthouse will also get $13.4 million for interior renovations, an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, and improved disabled-accessibility and security.
On the riverfront, the proposal includes creating a more pedestrian- and biker-friendly area and elevating Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, which should alleviate many flooding problems. The Arch’s underground museum would also be expanded and the entrance reconfigured.
Then there’s the $47 million “Park Over the Highway.” A park will be built over Interstate 70 between Chestnut and Market Streets and join the Arch grounds with the Old Courthouse. New Washington Avenue ramps and a Walnut Street bridge will be built to enhance traffic flow and provide new entrances to St. Louis and the Arch grounds. Six blocks of northbound Memorial Drive will be converted to park space.
Scott Ogilvie, 24th Ward Alderman for the city of St. Louis, has been vocal with his opposition to various design aspects of the project. He also frowns on using local monies to fund a national park.
However, Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway, said that the City of St. Louis paid for 25 percent of the Arch’s construction costs. The National Park Service has extremely limited resources, she said.
“If we don’t care for the Arch, the federal government won’t,” she said. “We all have the responsibility to care for the park and the river. And this isn’t all about the Arch; this is about the neighborhoods. Every child should have the opportunity to have a park to play in.”
In last week’s American, St. Louis NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt said Proposition P is an investment in urban health.
“Health studies have shown that contact with nature – with plants, with animals, with pleasing landscapes, and with wilderness – offers a range of medical benefits we desperately need in the African-American community,” Pruitt said.
Studies also find that African Americans prefer urban recreational parks to other outdoorsy options. They like being close to facilities, and of course, the price is a plus. “For people who are economically disadvantaged, parks are an affordable means to healthy activities,” Pruitt said.
Need a ride on April 2? Call Souls to the Polls at314-480-6233 or visit wwww.stlsoulstothepolls.org.