“Thanks for your note at the end of the handicapped parking article to remind people NOT to confront those they think are abusing the system.

“I have an AutoImmune disorder called Myasthenia Gravis (one of 144 ‘invisible’ disabilities of this particular type, you also mentioned another, Fibromyalgia, further down on this page, another is Rheumatoid Arthritis).

“Many of us have been harassed by people who look at us and see our placards and make their own diagnosis that since we don’t LOOK disabled, we must not really need that close parking spot.

“Some of my similarly disabled friends have been yelled at, called names, even had their vehicles vandalized by these self-righteous ignoramuses who think they know more than our doctors do just because we’re not missing a limb or something else ‘obvious’.
“Many people feel passionately about abuses of this system, obviously the disabled do, too… but, the point is that a spectator can NEVER know just by looking at someone whether or not they really need that tag. And disabled people have enough struggles to get through without worrying about being HARASSED by some know-nothing every time they leave their homes.”

- Sick and Tired of being Judged ‘Fit’ in St. Louis

According to a brief item on its website, the magazine crunched numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Governors Highway Safety Administration and Allstate Insurance.

It looked at fatal accident rates, including those caused by excessive speeding, and data on speeding, accident frequency and seatbelt use.

Kansas City also received a failing grade and Southern cities held down seven of the 10 worst. The best city, according to the Men’s Health rankings, was Des Moines, Iowa, where drivers earned an A+. (Also earning an A+ were - gulp - New York City drivers).

The fact that two Missouri cities made the list may come as a surprise to some. Missouri highway-safety officials announced recently that statewide traffic deaths had dropped to a 14-year low. 

Here’s a link to the article on the Men’s Health web site.

One of the scenarios - expected to be the focal point of public hearings in September - would include sustaining transit service and the kinds of enhancements that would be possible with new revenue. The other would be a substantially diminished version of what you see today on the roads and light-rail tracks.

“We will be looking for your advice, your direction in terms of how you take the revenues that we do have, if we are not able to get new revenue, and effectively serve the Missouri population,” Todd Plesko, Metro’s chief of planning and new systems development, said during a public hearing on proposed fare increases at St. Louis City Hall.

The most likely permanent new source of financial stability is a half-cent transit sales tax that’s expected to be placed on the November ballot. Half of the proceeds from that tax would go to transit operations and the other half would be growing the MetroLink system in St. Louis County.

But Metro is prohibited from politicking in favor of the tax. At least one Metro critic said  the transit agency’s best-case, worst-case scenarios may come close to the line.

“It is a scare tactic,” said Tom Sullivan, the Metro critic. “The name of the game is create a doomsday scenario. That is what they are doing right now.”

Metro spokeswoman Adella Jones said that’s not the case. The law requires Metro to hold public hearings that accurately show what service adjustments will look like - good and bad. 

Some circumstances were out of Metro’s control, she said. St. Louis County originally targeted February for the tax measure but County Executive Charlie A. Dooley pushed to have it removed from the ballot after the agency lost its high-profile lawsuit against MetroLink contractors.

“We can not advocate for a tax,” Jones said. “You hear it’s a fear tactic. It is not a fear tactic.”

The overnight 15-cent jump in a gallon of gasoline is just in time for Dump the Pump Day, a national campaign promoting the benefits of public transportation.

Mike Right of AAA Missouri said there are a “whole basket full” of reasons for soaring gas prices. But while the demand for gasoline is on the rise globally, there are indicators that show U.S. demand has leveled off or even gone down in recent months. 

But he said nothing happened overnight to warrant the 15-cent increase to $3.999 at many gas stations. It may have reflected a new shipment that came in at a higher price.

“There’s nothing in the underlying indexes that suggest that these prices should be where they are at,” Right said.

Prices already were above $4 a gallon in the Metro East, where consumers pay additional taxes at the pump.

Metro marked Dump the Pump Day by distributing 10,000 free one-day passes prior to today. People had to call the transit agency, log on to Metro’s website or visit a participating bicycle shop or Metro store around town.

“The phone was ringing,” said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams. “The goal was to get new riders and I think we did that today.”

Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April 2008 than the same month last year (a 1.8 percent decrease), and 400 million miles fewer than they had in March.  

Sales of midside SUV’s were down last month 38 percent over May 2007. Smaller, more fuel-efficient vehiles plus less driving equals more money to spend on other things, like more expensive food.

“This is one of the hardest decisions for me as we have made a drastic change in the number of fatalities, injuries and DUI arrest from drinking and driving,” owner Todd Morlen wrote to members of the service. “Missouri alcohol rates have decreased over the past two years which was the first time in the past 10 years. However, over the past two years the State of Missouri has decided not to help fund our program.”

The Driver’s Seat was a nonprofit service that got drinkers and their vehicles home after a night out. Three years ago, Morlen used about $75,000 of his savings to start the service. Ten drivers were available on most nights to drive collapsible scooters to bars, where they’d meet whomever had requested a sober driver. They’d fold up the scooters, put them into the trunk of the person’s car, drive the person home, and then ride the scooter to the next stop. In three years, the service has taken more than 6,200 people home. Customers liked it because they arrived home safely, and their vehicle did, too.

Morlen is looking for a way to restructure the organization to get the service running again. But looking for money is hard these days.

“I understand times are tough for companies as well as individual families,” Morlen wrote. “Choices have to be made whether to purchase or renew a membership, sponsor our program, utilize our service or fill up your gas tank/buy groceries. These are all tough decisions that a lot of small businesses are making today.”

 Based on my count, this is the sixth to be rebuilt  so far in the New I-64 project. Others are at McKnight Road, Tamm Avenue, Bellevue Avenue, Highland Terrace and the Kingshighway bridge over Clayton Avenue. The Kingshighway overpass should be complete in September. Boland Place is in Richmond Heights.

Crews have been playing catchup, picking up more flattened critters than normal. “Nature took care of some,” said Joe Monroe, an engineer with the department, who oversees carcass removal in the Metro East.  “There were more of what we call 10-45’s, or carcasses on the road.”

The combination of severe winter weather and rising fuel costs left the department with a budget shortfall. The legislature gave the department $20 million to help the situation, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill on Friday.

Most of the work will be at night. Roads will be milled — roughed up — before the asphalt goes down. For a map of the work, click here.