OK – so it’s Labor Day weekend in St. Louis.  The weather forecast suggests sunny with a healthy side of beautiful.  For weeks and weeks it’s been stick-to-your-seat hot or wash-away stormy, and here is a great opportunity for everyone to get out and enjoy the end of summer.  It’s OK if you don’t want to brave the holiday traffic and gas prices.  This weekend is a great time to stay home and have a ’staycation’ in St. Louis.

Monday, September 6, Labor Day, all MetroBus and MetroLink will run on a Sunday schedule!

This evening, the Gateway Arch Riverboats are hosting an Arch Rivalry Riverboat Happy Hour Race, Illini fans vs. Mizzou fans, down by the riverfront.  Admission gets you a one-hour cruise on the riverboats as well as one free drink and snack bar, with cash bar to follow.  The Riverboats are accessible via the Arch-Laclede’s Landing MetroLink Station.  Tomorrow is the Arch Rivalry Football Game with Mizzou v. Illini at 11:30 a.m. at the Edward Jones Dome at the Convention Center MetroLink Station.  Easy to say that the inside of MetroLink trains will be all shades of black and gold, orange and blue tomorrow.

To find what else people will be doing this weekend, I asked St. Louis tweeps how they will spend a ’staycation’ in St. Louis:

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The first thing you notice about Charles Purnell is his smile.  He’s got the sort of warm, unassuming smile that conveys openness, with a hint of wisdom beyond his 26 years.  And talking with Purnell, about his life, his love of St. Louis City and transit, you get the sense that he travels well through life.

Purnell grew up in the North Pointe neighborhood in St. Louis City, surrounded by close-knit group of neighbors.  “Everyone in the neighborhood knew everyone else.  We were like family to each other.”  He attended Hazelwood East High School, and then Millikin University in Decater, Illinois for a degree in Communications and Theater.  “I always knew I would come back to St. Louis.  Some people like living in central Illinois, and it’s nice – don’t get me wrong, but I’m a city kid.”  And when talking about St. Louis, Purnell’s voice has an inspired, lightly reverent tone. “I know it sounds cliche, but this really is a beautiful city.  Every time I walk around, I find something new.”

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Monday morning, August 30, was overcast and unseasonably cool after weeks of humid and overbearing weather in St. Louis.  With yellow school buses winding in and out of neighborhoods and slanted, orange-tinted sunlight becoming more of the evening norm, it’s impossible not to notice the seasonal changes going on around us.

And for thousands of St. Louis transit riders and employees, Monday was a day of special transition — the launch of the second  phase of the Restoration 2010 service changes.  More than 50 bus routes experienced direct changes, but the entire system experienced waves of adjustment.  New routes wound through neighborhoods, some routes extended farther into the region, and some routes split into two or changed timetables.  Regardless of the precise details, if you take MetroBus, Monday was a day of new experiences and learning.

By 9 a.m., Doris Anthony had already put in several hours of work at a local school and was waiting for the #73 Carondelet southbound at the corner of Cherokee and Jefferson.  As she joined several other passengers waiting to catch the #73 on its new route, she said she was glad that it now travelled down Cherokee to Gravois and Grand.  Once on the bus, conversation shifted toward the service changes, with most riders agreeing that they liked the changes to the #73.  A young man, Josh, nodded in agreement, but added quietly that he didn’t like the changes to the #40 Broadway through south St. Louis.

On the #8 Bates-Morganford — a new route that serves Soulard, Tower Grove, Shaw, and Morganford — MetroBus Operator Sharifa Freeman was busy helping riders navigate the service changes and chatting as they asked questions and made comments. She said that all three of the routes she drives had changed, and that she was getting used to new riders and neighborhoods.  One young man in a bright blue T-shirt asked how to get to St. Louis Community College in Forest Park and, after conferring with her and other riders, rang the bell to be let out at the transfer point for the new #14 Botanical Gardens.

The air was still cool and breezy, the sort of almost-fall weather uncommon but certainly welcome at 11 a.m. on a St. Louis August day.  The young man in the blue T-shirt adjusted his backpack and settled near a tree at a bus stop on Shaw Avenue.  After a few minutes, another young man joined him, and then another.  At 11:07 a.m., a #14 Botanical Garden northbound bus rounded the corner near the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and yet another college-aged student appeared at the stop.  Three of them carried book bags and all four clutched cell phones as they settled into the bus.

The young college student in the blue T-shirt talked earnestly with the driver about transfer options.  They settled on the #32 M.L.King-Chouteau, which runs west down Manchester towards Macklind.  The other passengers on the bus were quiet. One of the young men texted on his phone while another hugged his backpack on his lap and gazed out of the window.  The young passengers seemed unfazed by the route changes while the driver chatted comfortably about the day’s new experiences.

At Manchester, the young man got off to transfer to the #32.  A breeze of cool air entered the bus as the doors closed.  At the Central West End, the rest of the young men walked quietly toweard the bus exit doors.  The silence finally broke as one of the students answered his cell phone and said while stepping out of the door, “Hey.  Yeah, just on my way to school.”

Monday starts the second phase of service restoration and, as we have mentioned on Nextstop over the last few months, big changes are coming.  More than 50 bus routes will be changing, including new routes, different commutes, time connections, etc.  Any change in routine is an adjustment, and many transit riders will be taking new or altered trips on Monday in Missouri.  In addition, many new operators will be on the road with new, or less familiar, routes.  Service change is always a time for adjustment, but here are some of our suggestions for helping with the transition:

1.  Download Google Maps to your smartphone, if you haven’t already, and test out your typical trip. If you haven’t downloaded the Google Maps app for your smartphone, now is a great time to try it out.  You can use the layered feature to test out different routes and nearby stops, and to experiment with varying times.  And if you don’t know the address where you are, the GPS feature on Google Maps can plan your trip from your location.

Type m.google.com/maps in your phone’s browser, or send the app to your phone. You can also use Google Maps from your desktop or laptop computer, and TripFinder is still available from our website.

2.  Download and print route maps and schedule information. All of the service changes, plus the overall service change brochure, is on the service change page.  Also, you can pick up schedules at Metro Headquarters.

3.  Give yourself extra time. With so many changes for both bus operators and passengers, schedules may take time to normalize.  Please give yourself extra time to get to the bus stop early, and expect possible delays.

What to do if you get lost or miss a connection?

Even with careful planning, there is always a chance you could get lost or miss a connection and need to figure out what to do next.  Here are some options to help you find your way.

1. Customer service. The Metro Customer Service line will be open as usual from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Missouri: 314-231-2345

TTY: 314-982-1555

2.  Email transit information questions to transitinfo@metrostlouis.org.

3.  Via Twitter use “@STLMetro” with your question. We will be available with a Google Maps app and transit information to help Twitter users.

4.  Locate a Transit Service Manager throughout the system. TSMs and other available personnel will be out Monday to help customers.  TSMs wear yellow Metro polo shirts, and Metro ambassadors have white Metro polo shirts.

Also, please help one another.  If you find someone on your bus who is confused or needs some help, please consider reaching out and lending a hand.  You may just make someone’s day.

And as always, you can leave a comment for one of the blog team members to help you out.  Thanks so much for all of your feedback and discussion.

“I felt that [accepting position of President & CEO of Metro] as tremendous opportunity to give back to the region…articulate the vision that the Agency needs to move forward, the vision of Metro that the region wants.”

~ John Nations

Check out the mp3 download of new Metro President & CEO John Nations and Citizens for Modern Transit’s Tom Shrout (who is retiring from CMT August 31) talking with host Don Marsh on KWMU’s St. Louis On the Air.  Topics include the history of how MetroLink was built, economic development, partnerships with bikes, and what is coming next for Metro and St. Louis transit.

You can also watch a STLToday.com video of John Nations speaking at yesterday’s press conference, talking about what his goals will be as the President & CEO of Metro.

John Nations with current Metro President & CEO Bob Baer

Metro’s Board of Commissioners announced today the selection of John Nations as its new President and CEO.

Nations, a partner in the St. Louis office of Armstrong Teasdale and currently in his third term as mayor of Chesterfield, Missouri, will succeed Bob Baer in late October.  Baer has served as President and CEO since December 2007.  He originally agreed to a 90-day trial, but stayed almost three years through service cuts and job loss, two transit funding initiatives, the formation of the long-range transit plan and several service restorations.  Phew!

Nations will step down from his positions at Armstrong Teasdale and the City of Chesterfield prior to assuming his new role at Metro.  He remarked:

With a strong transit team already in place, Metro stands ready to expand its reach and its contribution.  I am committed to working with local leaders to form a cohesive regional coalition that will make transit growth a centerpiece of our regional agenda.

I have always understood that a comprehensive, regional economic-development plan must include a substantial public-transit system. Cities around the country that are booming offer great public-transit systems or are working on systems to support their growth. For the St. Louis region to grow and compete economically, our public-transit system has to remain first class and able to compete successfully with other transit systems.

Congratulations to Mr. Nations!  He’ll be out at North Hanley MetroLink Station this afternoon, and tomorrow will be touring Metro’s various facilities and garages.  He will start work at Metro on October 19, the day after his final council meeting with the City of Chesterfield.

Update: John Nations will be speaking at 11:30 a.m. on KWMU’s St. Louis On the Air Wednesday, August 25.

Firecracker Press: Eric Woods and Matty Kleinberg

The first thing you notice walking into Firecracker Press is the smell — rubber ink and thick paper, wood and more ink.  It’s a scent best described as oddly familiar, even if it’s your first encounter with the traditional design-to-press operation at Firecracker Press on west Cherokee Street in St. Louis City.  I’d like to think it’s the smell of handmade art rising up from our over-digitized, non-tangible lifestyles.  But however you describe it, you can tell something wonderful is being made here.  

Firecracker owners Eric Woods and Matty Kleinberg rely on traditional letter-press style printing, where most of their designs are created using wood cuts, hard set-types and restored letter-press machines that are years older than their new owners.  The overall effect is the Firecracker-signature feel: a little hip, a little timeless, and a lot of heart and soul.

So how did a letter-press shop come to design an Art Bus for the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club of St. Louis?

Metro’s Art Bus program calls for local artists and graphic designers to submit a proposal to create a design for a sponsoring organization — in this case, the Herbert Hoover Club.  Arts in Transit (AIT), Metro’s public-arts program, solicits local artists, reviews submissions, and creates a roster of artists who local organizations can work with to design and create bus art.  Organizations pay a fee for the bus advertising, a majority of which goes to the artist while the rest supplies materials for a group effort to paint the bus. Artists set up a “paint-by-number” design on the bus that makes group participation simpler and easier.

FIrecracker Press Art Bus design for Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club

This month, the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girl Club worked with Firecracker, which created a design on one of of their restored letter presses.  Firecracker designs tend to have a signature feel to them with large print and iconic images.  Woods said they do posters, wedding invitations, books, coasters, calendars, and gift items. They keep their retail shop open during all business hours to sell cards, posters, coasters, buttons, and everything stationery.

For the Herbert Hoover bus, Firecracker was asked to incorporate Hoover’s slogan, “Be Great,” but to leave a lot of ambiguity in the design.  Instead of focusing on the organization’s sports or after-school programs, Firecracker created a less predictable design that inspired and spoke to many people.  Woods explained that they wanted to do something very colorful and eye-catching that served as a “vessel of inspiration” for not just the kids involved in the program, but also for everyone who saw the bus rolling down the street.  The design uses bright colors and images that seem to explode.  ”Pink was the most popular color to paint amongst the kids,” said Woods.  ”It was finished first.” The Firecracker designers said that they had a wonderful time working with the kids from Herbert Hoover and finished the bus painting well ahead of schedule.

Woods also mentioned they are excited about the return of bus service to west Cherokee Street on August 30.  The #73 Carondelet will soon roll past their shop as part of Metro’s Service Restoration changes across the region.

So, if you see a bus painted orange, yellow and pink with its bold, exciting designs rolling around town, you will know that it’s the work of a unique and neighborhood-minded press shop in Benton Park West.  If you haven’t paid a visit to their shop, we highly recommend stopping in and appreciating the scents and craft of their work.

Visit Firecracker Press, 2838 Cherokee Street at www.firecrackerpress.com.

All this week Metro employee ambassadors and members of the transit- planning teams will be distributing Restoration 2010 August 30 Service Change brochures to riders at Transit Centers across the region.  You can use this brochure to learn which routes will change and how the changes might affect your commute.  If you don’t happen to pick up a paper copy from a Metro ambassador at one of the centers, you can download and print the brochure from here:

Restoration 2010 August 30 Service Change Brochure

Next week, members of our transit service and planning teams will be out with an Information Bus distributing paper schedules, route maps and system maps, and answering questions. Check out when we’ll be at your transit center and visit the bus with your questions.

Also, August 30 Restoration schedule info in now available on www.metrostlouis.org and Google Transit. Use the trip planning application of your choice to plan your commute on August 30.

The competition to redesign of the Arch and St. Louis riverfront, Framing a Modern Masterpiece, introduced the teams’ concepts today in the lobby of the Gateway Arch.  This international competition seeks to enhance the Arch grounds, create better connections between downtown St. Louis and the eastern and western riverfront, and reinvigorate the story of St. Louis as the Gateway to the West. The competition’s website provides information on the teams’ submitted concepts.

Since Metro operates the Arch Trams, Arch Museums, Riverboats and riverfront attractions, Old Courthouse and, of course, the neighboring MetroLink Station at Arch-Laclede’s Landing, we are very excited to see how the design competition will unfold.

One of the designs concepts for the competition

As part of the guidelines, the five chosen teams had to create a design concept that met the 10 goals:

1. Create an iconic place for the international icon, the Gateway Arch.
2. Catalyze increased vitality in the St. Louis region.
3. Honor the character of defining elements of the National Historic
Landmark.
4. Weave connections and transitions from the City and the Arch
grounds to the River.
5. Mitigate the impact of transportation systems.
6. Embrace the Mississippi River and the east bank in Illinois as integral parts of National Park.
7. Reinvigorate the mission to tell the story of St. Louis as the gateway to national expansion.
8. Create attractions to promote extended visitation to the Arch, the City and the River.
9. Develop a sustainable future.
10. Enhance the visitor experience and create a welcoming and accessible    environment.

The teams will present their plans to the competition’s jury on Aug. 26 and the winning design will be chosen on Sept. 24.  The competition is seeking public comment through Aug. 23, so spend some time looking at the designs and the teams’ concept statements, and then voice your opinion.  If you’d like to take a look at the design boards, they will be available at the Arch lobby Aug. 17-Sept. 26 during regular attraction hours.  A traveling exhibit of the designs will also be around the region at various locations.

On Aug. 20, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., the Arch Grounds will host Eero Saarinen’s 100th Birthday Celebration, cosponsored by the National Park Service and the American Institute of Architects, with hands-on activities for children and birthday cake for the architect of the Gateway Arch.

What do you think about the Arch designs?  Are you excited for a redesign of the Arch grounds and surrounding areas?

We get these questions often: What is the best area in St. Louis for transit accessibility?  What is the transit access like for a particular neighborhood?

Now, the folks at WalkScore, a website devoted to walkability (ability to walk to most or many personal amenities), have introduced TransitScore and Commuter Reports as a way to encourage and promote walking and transit use across the U.S.

WalkScore provides a feature for business, residents, real-estate brokers and others to advertise the “walkability” of an address through a “WalkScore” on a scale of 0 to 100.  Now, thanks in part to the efforts of their sister website City-Go-Round.org in encouraging transit agencies to provide open transit data, Walkscore is able to provide addresses with a TransitScore and Commuter Reports.  Metro St. Louis was one of the first transit agencies to publish open-source data based on the efforts of City-Go-Round, and now they have made information available for more than 100 transit agencies.  Here is the TransitScore and map for Blueberry Hill Restaurant in University City, MO:

Users can enter any address to find out its proximity to many amenities, including restaurants, bars, parks, schools and banks.  Now, TransitScore provides information an address’ nearby train and bus routes.

WalkScore also allows users to access to the Public Transit API (applications programming interface) to:

• Add TransitScore to website in form of embedded badges
• Show transit stops on a map of address
• Show details about nearby transit route

Businesses, real estate companies or other destinations can then use the information to tout the walkability and transit access of an address, and allows users to compare addresses for walking and transit options.

In addition, WalkScore also provides a Commuter Report, which provides the information for traveling from one destination to another by walking, biking, transit or car.

Commuter Report from Metro Headquarters to Blueberry Hill in University City

The report includes information about the area such as housing and transportation costs.

Housing and Transportation Costs Report for Blueberry Hill from Walkscore.org

While WalkScore does have some missing features, it is a tremendous tool for those seeking to advertise or find out the walking and transit amenities and options available in an area.  For another review of this new feature — and thank you for directing us to this development — please check out the St. Louis blog Exquisite Struggle.