MoDOT is undertaking a Planning and Environmental Linkages study of the I-64 corridor from Kingshighway to Jefferson. What is a PEL study?
Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) helps transportation decision makers consider environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process. Practitioners can also use the information, analysis, and products developed during planning to inform the environmental review process. Although not required, use of PEL is encouraged by FHWA.
FHWA
Planning and Environmental Linkages, or PEL, is a collaborative and integrated approach to transportation decision-making that considers environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process.
AASHTO
The PEL study is called Future64: Community. Transportation. Together. The website is Future64.com. The website is a bit sparse at the moment. I’m told it will be updated soon.
They have a survey running until May 17th. Be sure to fill it out. The first public meeting will be May 18th 4-7 pm at the City Foundry Food Hall.
No chance of removal or probably not a scaling down to a more humane level like it once was, but reconfigured and/or removing interchanges and onramps might be on the table. Freeing up land for development could atone, albeit a tiny bit, for the damage done to communities erased by the highway and urban renewal.
It’d be great to tamp down the noise pollution with quieter pavement surfaces, in the parks too, well everywhere near people really. Better, less hostile north-south connectivity for those outside cars, connections with the Brickline Greenway, leveraging transit is the study area, and more are all up for discussion. Get engaged!
Greg Johnson wrote about the highway construction and the Jewelite Building at Grand seen above at the right.
NextSTL – Hiding in Plain Sight: The Story of the Missouri Jewelite Building in St. Louis
Press Release
The Missouri Department of Transportation and several partners are evaluating the I-64 central corridor between Kingshighway and Jefferson to update and maintain roadways for the future.
To ensure that the community’s needs and desires are being considered while this process is underway, the department and its partners are relying heavily on the information shared from the people who live, work, shop, play and travel in and through the corridor.
This corridor is a dynamic area. Potential improvements are being evaluated such as better pedestrian and bicycle access to enhance accessibility and the travel experience.
While the interstate and connecting ramps through the corridor need rehabilitation and updates, the department is also concerned that those improvements work efficiently with other modes of transportation, and that improvements align with community desires. The department and its partners are using a process known as a Planning and Environmental Linkages Study (PEL) to gather, organize, and analyze the information provided by the community and other interested groups.
During the PEL Study for the central corridor, the department is looking at transportation, environmental, community, and economic goals early in the planning process to ensure that projects are of most benefit to the community. This broad-based study, called: Future64: Community. Transportation. Together, reflects the importance of public engagement and community involvement.
“We want to identify projects that offer better connectivity among neighborhoods in the corridor, in addition to infrastructure repairs and replacements. MoDOT needs to partner with the community to find out their transportation needs. This study will incorporate ongoing engagement that is equitable and inclusive to help ensure that a wide range and extensive number of voices are heard, and that equity is the focus of proposed solutions,” said Jen Wade, P.E., MoDOT Area Engineer for the City of St. Louis.
The first public meeting on Future64 will be on May 18, 2022 at 4:00-7:00 p.m. For a list of all scheduled public meetings and background information visit future64.com. Meanwhile, MoDOT is also asking anyone who travels in the corridor to complete a brief survey about their transportation concerns and priorities using the link below.
MoDOT is conducting Future64 in conjunction with the City of St. Louis, East-West Gateway Council of Governments, Bi-State Development, and several community partners. The study is scheduled to conclude in January 2023. Although, improvements identified by Future64 will mostly affect MoDOT’s infrastructure, it will also include suggested improvements to other transportation systems maintained by other partners.
What is the Central Corridor PEL study area?
The west-east border for the study area is Kingshighway Blvd. to Jefferson Avenue. Forest Park Avenue/Market Street is the northern boundary, and Manchester/Chouteau Avenues is the southern one. The corridor consists of a variety of homes, diverse residents, and a wide range of businesses. It has grown as an employment center and a destination for medical care, dining, and shopping.
