MetroLink station ridership-- Busiest and least busy?

stlgasm · PostMar 08, 2007#12007-03-08T13:24+00:00

Now that the new line has become part of the daily commuting lifestyle in St. Louis, I'm curious to know which stations have the highest ridership. On the original line, I believe the Central West End station is the busiest, followed by Grand, North Hanley and Delmar (not fact, just from my observations-- I could be wrong!). I am particularly interested to know about the Cross-County line. Which stations are least busy? I suspect the Sunnen station is pretty light traffic-wise, but who knows?

Anyone with some stats (or thoughts) please reply!

jivecitystl · PostMar 08, 2007#22007-03-08T14:47+00:00

The Forest Park-DeBaliviere station is also very busy.

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 08, 2007#32007-03-08T15:00+00:00

Can someone project the busdad spotlight into the sky?

thewayofthearch · PostMar 08, 2007#42007-03-08T17:36+00:00

I've ridden the from the Shrewsbury terminus and it is empty.

I've passed through sunnen several times, and its got some good flow in the late afternoon, but other than that not so much.

Those seem to be the least used IMO.

bprop · PostMar 08, 2007#52007-03-08T17:37+00:00

I ride it both during commutes and on nights and weekends. I would rate the cross county stations in this order, most busy to least busy, during commute times:

Brentwood

Shrewsbury*

Richmond Heights

Clayton

Big Bend

Maplewood

Skinker

Forsyth

Sunnen

*Shrewsbury probably ranks above Brentwood...but the appearance of traffic is lighter due to people waiting on the train vs waiting on the platform.

Big Bend and Skinker to a lesser extent, are heavier during the middle of weekdays and weekends.

How'd I do?

PostMar 08, 2007#62007-03-08T17:39+00:00

TheWayoftheArch wrote:I've ridden the from the Shrewsbury terminus and it is empty.

All depends on the time...were you there when buses were pulling in and out? I'm seeing a lot more people going to/from the buses during rush hours especially, while the number of cars is about the same day to day.

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 08, 2007#72007-03-08T17:42+00:00

CWE is relatively busy at all times.

Forest Park is generally busy as well with transfers, students and others.

Skinker seems to always be empty.

Big Bend is empty as well. (both stations are awesome by the way)

Forsyth is empty as well.

I travel this route at roughly 8am and 5:30pm - I'd expect Skinker, Big Bend and Forsyth to be much busier than they are. I can't believe that I can sometimes be the only person at the Forsyth station at 6pm on a weekday.

dweebe · PostMar 08, 2007#82007-03-08T18:12+00:00

On a related note, has anyone talked to the people at Kayak's Coffee to see how Metrolink Skinker station has effected their business?

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 08, 2007#92007-03-08T18:16+00:00

^ They were always nearly overrun when I went there during the construction. I don't know that they could handle more traffic! Initially they had students studying there using their free wi-fi. About a year ago I noticed that you needed a password to access the Internet. If you buy something there's a password on the bottom of the receipt that is good for 1 hr.

xing · PostMar 08, 2007#102007-03-08T19:08+00:00

5th and Missouri, in East St Louis, is probably the busiest on this side, as it's a bus transfer for everyone in Madison County, and beyond. Fairview Heights is probably the next busiest, with the East Riverfront being up there too.

viae · PostMar 08, 2007#112007-03-08T21:52+00:00

I live and use the Skinker Station everyday its very busy during the school hours and early evening. BigBend also is busy during the school hours but not as busy as Skinker. And from what I have heard, is Clayton station is way under preforming then what they expected.

jmedwick · PostMar 08, 2007#122007-03-08T21:54+00:00

^Interesting, but then again maybe not suprising. I wonder where most of those who work in Clayton live?

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 08, 2007#132007-03-08T22:01+00:00

^ I guess it's not surprising that they don't live in the StLC central corridor or Shrewbury. Parking in pretty easy in Clayton and plus, when you own a sweet 7 Series, you like to drive it.

jmedwick · PostMar 08, 2007#142007-03-08T22:07+00:00

Exactly. I have a feeling that those who work in clayton either live nearby (else where in Clayton and U City) or live in west county (Ladue to Chesterfield) or maybe a quick drive north along 170, and for allof those groups, taking metrolink to get to clayton would be more difficult than just driving there. I have a feeling the Clayton stations will only become really bussy once

a. we have more lines going more places too and from clayton (in particular north and west)

b. more people are living in Clayton within walking distance of the stations. Fortuntly, this is already starting to happen, so maybe traffic will pick up.

On a side note, I wonder how the lack of 170 going into south county has effected the long term location of those working in Clayton. If 170 had been there for 20 or more years, would more of the Clayton workforce live due south of Clayton? This too could/should be the long term benefit of the line. With convienent light rail access, perhaps over the long run more Clayton workers will located due south of Clayton.

moorlander · PostMar 09, 2007#152007-03-09T00:13+00:00

ML will/only be so popular with the current 2 lines and limited TOD. Many Clayton workers are white collar and

1. don't necessarily live close enough to a station (live west)

2. there are many who can easily pay for gas.

3. there are many who live close enough that metrolink isn't a very convenient option

4. A nice car will always be more luxurious than a train. And some people would rather drive.

5.StL traffic is bad in places but for the most part is very doable. I drive the highways every day (typically from clayton-umsl-fenton-DT) and NEVER incounter traffic jams. (traffic yes, traffic jams no).

-I think the 2 new TOD projects for the clayon hole and surrounding will bring much more traffic to the forsyth stop, and provide another destination for riders.

-My biggest beef with metro link is with the CWE stop. It's forever away from maryland/euclid. I live near the forsyth stop and would love to take it to the cwe (I'm there once a week or more) but it's just too far away.

migueltejada · PostMar 09, 2007#162007-03-09T02:56+00:00

Is there any available journey to work data in the US or STL? Where the census asks people where they travel to work to and from? That would quash this debate instantly. Someone should do this work if it doesn't exist already

jmedwick · PostMar 09, 2007#172007-03-09T03:09+00:00

The US census info would not be so helpful. Sure they can tell you where Clayton residents work in general terms, but they aren't going to say downtown, or clayton or wherever. They are more general, such as same municipality, same county, different county and same state, different state. I would think your EW Gateway work would give you a much better idea than the Census data.

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 09, 2007#182007-03-09T05:04+00:00

it's just too far away

It's six blocks (and not the long east-west blocks). Of course it would be nice to have a street car go up Euclid to Delmar then west, but by the time you wait for a car you could have walked.

jmedwick · PostMar 09, 2007#192007-03-09T12:41+00:00

Sure it is only a six block walk, but lets be honest here, those six blocks are more than 3,000 feet, which is darn close to a 10 minute walk. I know some on here will complain that people who won't walk 10 minutes are lazy, but step into reality for a minute and you will find that asking folks to walk much more than 5 minutes is crazy. Most people won't do it. While I love that the CWE station is so popular with BJC workers, I really wish the line had gone down Forest Park Parkway, cutting almost 1,000 feet off of the wall to Maryland and Euclid. Oh well.

moorlander · PostMar 09, 2007#202007-03-09T13:39+00:00

^ 10min walk to forsyth station+ wait for train+ 10 min ride to cwe+ 10 min walk... or I could drive there in less than 10... hmmm

threeonefour · PostMar 09, 2007#212007-03-09T13:54+00:00

bpe235 wrote:My biggest beef with metro link is with the CWE stop. It's forever away from maryland/euclid. I live near the forsyth stop and would love to take it to the cwe (I'm there once a week or more) but it's just too far away.

Mine too. Like JMedwick, I wish there was a way to bring the train down Forest Park Avenue, but oh well.

Hopefully we'll hear more about a station in the vicinity of Sarah and Boyle soon.

gerwitz · PostMar 09, 2007#222007-03-09T14:12+00:00

It'll all be okay when Euclid, Grand, 6th, and Sullivan Blvd have north-south streetcar lines.

Alex Ihnen · PostMar 09, 2007#232007-03-09T14:36+00:00

This sums up the challenge of Metro pretty well . . .

10min walk to forsyth station+ wait for train+ 10 min ride to cwe+ 10 min walk... or I could drive there in less than 10... hmmm

southslider · PostMar 09, 2007#242007-03-09T15:58+00:00

^Except you are comparing only the drive against walk+ride+walk. Why not compare walk+drive+park+walk to the walk+ride+walk? Many working in Clayton or living in the CWE don't have the luxury of parking close to their door. If you do, then yes, your walking time to a parking spot very near your work or home will make walking to/from MetroLink less competitive.

But for those not wanting to walk, there are numerous buses (01, 13, 18, 93, 95) connecting the greater CWE neighborhood to its station, as well as buses (01, 47, 66, 97) connecting downtown Clayton to the Central station. In fact buses serving the Clayton and CWE stations, the buses collectively have greater frequency than the trains, offering more flexibility for those not living a routine schedule.

Personally, I enjoy walking Euclid instead of taking the bus. It's a much more enjoyable walk, even at a longer distance, than even walking fewer blocks of Central Avenue in Clayton. I also think many St. Louisans are lazy, when I just walked yesterday comfortably up to Washington and Kingshighway via Euclid and McPherson (20 min.) and then back to the CWE station for church choir.

stlgasm · PostMar 09, 2007#252007-03-09T16:11+00:00

In New York, Boston, Chicago, DC or any other city that is accustomed to transit use and they would laugh at the notion that the CWE station is "far" from the core of the district. I do realize that those cities are far more traffic-snarled and parking-challenged than St. Louis, making driving more of a hassle than it is here. But still, walking is an enjoyable aspect of city living, and sometimes it's about the journey, not the destination!