By Father O'Toole

St. Peter Church exists to serve not only those who are members of our parish but also the larger community in which we live. Kirkwood has grown over the decades with our church, the foundation of which predates this city. We have mutually benefitted from one another’s presence. St. Peter desires to see the businesses in our neighborhood thrive. Part of this prosperity, however, has been gained at the expense of our parish.

Our church parking lot has been used for many years as a resource for both the staff and patrons of nearby business establishments. A typical evening, especially on the weekends, will see a majority of our lot filled with cars parked not for church-related events but for those doing business with downtown Kirkwood merchants. For many years, our Property and Buildings Committee, a group of dedicated parishioners with backgrounds in real estate and professional building trades, have advised the Pastor and the Director of Finance and Operations on the best care of our facilities. This committee has been monitoring the condition of the lot. Most recently, they retained the services of an outside consultant to obtain professional advice on how to handle the deteriorating condition. They were informed that excessive parking volume on a regular basis has accelerated the deterioration. The committee anticipates that within the near future the parking lot will require a complete replacement. This will require the lot to be brought up to current code, which will include, but not limited to, the installation of pole lighting, disability access, curb cut access and landscaped islands. Initial estimates for this work exceed $300,000.

Recently, the Property and Buildings Committee invited downtown merchants to a conversation about our parking situation. We shared the history of our efforts to work with the City of Kirkwood with those who attended. Our committee has pursued numerous avenues of collaboration with Kirkwood officials, including seeking ways to establish some source of financial assistance to offset the expense of the public’s use of our parking lot – like paving repairs, resealing and striping, litter control, snow and ice removal. Regrettably, all efforts have come to no avail, and we receive no financial support from the businesses that use our property or from the City that maintains control over the issuing of business licenses. Despite this, St. Peter continues to provide essentially unfettered use of our parking lot.

We are now at our tether’s end. The Property and Building Committee, on behalf of St. Peter Church, has communicated to our business neighbors that beginning November 3 we will close access to our parking lot each week from Wednesday through Saturday. The driveway gates on North Clay and West Jefferson Avenue will be secured at the end of the school day. All those wishing to access this lot for events held in parish facilities will have to enter and exit through Westhoff Way on West Argonne Drive (alongside the rectory).

I understand that this will be an inconvenience for those who regularly drive to our parish grounds for activities. This decision was not made lightly. I hope, however, that you share in my belief that our parish’s generosity of providing free parking to the City of Kirkwood and its merchants can no longer be taken for granted. Certainly, we want to see this situation improve, and we will continue to be in conversation with those who would like to help make the use of our parking lot a more equitable arrangement.

Start the morning off with our Dash 5k and Fun Run. Come back later for more fun at our new Fall Fest... Think of it as a one day St. Peterfest without the rides.

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