Dear Mayor Spewak and Ladue City Council members,

Please stop the plans to change the Warson and Conway intersection in Ladue.

As residents of Ladue, we are deeply concerned about the City’s proposal to fully signalize the intersection of Warson and Conway Roads and to widen Warson Road in order to add left turn lanes.  We are strongly opposed to these proposed changes.  Many of us who reside in the area have just learned of this issue which would greatly affect us and Ladue as a whole.  We implore you not to move forward with the proposal.  Please stop the light!

We chose to live in Ladue because of the beauty, privacy and quiet of the tree-lined streets, the charm of the neighborhoods, the relatively small amount of traffic and the safety the City has historically featured.  Warson and Conway roads have long been wonderful spots to enjoy walking, running and riding bikes.  Many of us have children who walk to Conway School, Ladue Middle School, Ladue High School and MICDS.  This is the kind of neighborhood we chose, and we ask that you help us protect it for all to enjoy.

Many of my neighbors, individuals who have served on the Ladue Comprehensive Plan Committee and even some of you have been surprised to learn of the City’s plans for the Warson/Conway intersection.  We believe that enacting these plans would harm the neighborhood and reduce the safety of residents who walk and ride bikes along these streets.  We question the use of taxpayer dollars on an initiative which is an unwelcome surprise to so many.  We firmly believe that fully signalizing the intersection and widening the street would result in:

1)    Increased traffic through Ladue.  For example, commuters will use mobile phone apps like Waze and quickly learn that Warson Road presents a good rush hour alternative to Lindbergh.

2)    Increased traffic speeds along Warson and Conway as the stop sign is no longer there to slow them down, especially as people race to avoid missing a green light.

3)    Decreased safety making our intersection a dangerous place for children walking to school, other pedestrians and bikers due to increased traffic and driver speeds.  The results could be tragic.

4)    Increased noise due to more cars driving at higher speeds.

5)    Increased difficulty for drivers pulling out of the lanes and driveways in the vicinity of the intersection.

6)    Loss of our residential neighborhood environment for the local residents, reducing the beauty, privacy and feel of this area and harming our enjoyment of our homes and neighborhood.  

7)    Materially harmed property values for homes in the area due to increased traffic and diminished neighborhood beauty and enjoyment.

8)    A taking of property through condemnation or otherwise from some homeowners along Warson Road, further reducing selected property values.

 

We like our quiet, tree-lined streets and are opposed to any steps to turn Warson and Conway into major traffic arteries through this residential neighborhood.  This is our home, and we ask that you help protect it, first and foremost by doing no harm. 

Further, we don’t understand why the City of Ladue would want to move forward with the changes to the intersection, as they just don’t make sense.  Claims the changes are designed to address problems of too many cars backed up at the intersection do not stand up to reasonable scrutiny:

1)    The traffic during the school drop-off and pick-up periods dissipates within 10-20 minutes, so it’s not clear there is a significant problem in the first place. 

2)    To the extent traffic during these school-related times is a problem, the bottle-neck is at least as much at the schools, as at the intersection.  A stop light won’t help students get in or out of their parents’ cars any faster, and the school problem could be better solved by staggering pick-up and drop-off times as some other schools do.  Parents could also be encouraged to carpool or utilize a school bus in the future, steps that were temporarily discouraged during the pandemic.

3)    The traffic would likely be made worse than better by signalizing the intersection, as increased through-put and vehicle speeds through the intersection would only attract more cars to this area.  If concerns persist about traffic during these brief periods of the day, a traffic officer would be a far better solution, though it’s not clear that is necessary.

The City of Ladue is meeting this week to adopt a new Ladue Comprehensive Plan - recommended by a committee of residents and area business owners and managed by a paid consultant group - which recommends retaining the character of our neighborhoods and increasing the walk- and bike-ability of Ladue.  We find it highly ironic that the proposed addition of lights and widening of the road at Warson and Conway is clearly inconsistent with the Ladue Comprehensive Plan. 

Ladue's proposal to fully signalize the intersection of Warson and Conway Roads and to widen Warson Road in order to add left turn lanes would make it easier for more cars to utilize these Ladue streets as thoroughfares.  This would increase traffic and take away from the character of Ladue.  We do not feel that the proposed changes can legitimately be described as “improvements.”  We can and should work together to seek ways to reduce traffic, not increase it.  Please protect our city and stop the light at the Conway and Warson intersection.

Thank you.

Jack Gillis