urbanSTL

The second part of that tweet mentions  "a new separated bike path from Chouteau Ave. north to Market St."

Is this just redesignating the sidewalk on Jefferson a "bike path," or is there something else not depicted on this map?

As a downtown west resident, anything south of 64/the tracks feels inaccessible from a bike/ped perspective, from 40mph traffic, and, especially in the summer, no refuge from the sun for blocks.

So, it looks like the Scott Avenue "extension" is actually just a portion of the bike path, not a road, which is really nice to see. The bike path would run up Jefferson, cut east on Scott, and then north under I-64 toward 21st/20th, using the existing Eastbound I-64 to Eastbound Chestnut ramp/underpass. The underpass will no longer be needed for vehicular traffic.

Here's a link to MODOT's website discussing the project a little further (from 2018ish):

https://www.modot.org/i-64-jefferson-interchange

The Mayor wrote: ^^^ I think Tim and Chris are onto something here.  My guess is this map was drawn by MoDOT before a stadium plan was announced, I'm pretty sure MoDOT was planning on re-working this interchange long before the MLS came into the picture.

21st Street goes away and the stadium gets sandwiched between the new 22nd Street Parkway and 20th Street.  My guess is that little extension of Scott Avenue they have shown here would likely end at Clark instead.

Or maybe 21st street gets shifted as a pedestrian access between Union Station and new MLS stadium.  

It will be interesting to know if plans have already being drawn up, tweaked between City, MoDOT and the MLS ownership group.  I would assume some discussions if not serious have already been happening, or will league announcement kick off the real deal.

Does anyone know if that stretch of north-south turnaround track directly east of 21st St. / south of Clark is still used?

I'd guess it is, but if they got rid of that, and the eastbound I-64 on ramp from the 22nd Parkway, it would free up one helluva lot of space south of I-64 for development.  You could almost fit the MLS stadium on it.

chriss752 wrote: My guess would be the rectangle at the Northeast corner of 22nd and Clark.

I think this is current.  This indicates 21st St. will be torn up and redeveloped between Clark and Market (note the different pattern and lack of street name).

In addition, this indicates new construction in the form of:

1)  22nd St. being rebuilt and reconnected between Olive St. and Scott Ave., with an (underpass or overpass?) at I-64; 
2)  Clark Ave. rebuilt and reconnected between 20th St. and 22nd St.;
3)  and the previously discussed greenway / bikepath following Scott Ave. and the Metro tracks between Jefferson and Clark, under I-64.

This all seems to accommodate the most recent renderings of the MLS stadium built along Market, and up to the SW corner of 20th and Market.

Carolyn Kindle Betz was a guest on the St. Louligan's podcast this week. I haven't had a chance to listen to all of it but there should be some good information about the current status of the expansion bid, stadium, etc. Fast forward to 17:30 to skip past the updates on Saint Louis FC and go right to the CKB interview.

This Is Silly Podcast 6/24/19

urbanitas wrote: ^One other random, frustrated head-shaking note:  With the changes to 22nd St. detailed above, we COULD have had an uninterrupted 22nd Street, from Scott Ave., running past the NGA site, all the way up to Florrisant Ave. in a more or less straight shot.  All they had to do was simply flip the locations of those two huge distribution center buildings next to the Pruitt-Igoe site.

I will add mine,

Relocation metrolink station on the east side to the west side of Union Station!!!  I know that the distance would be relative minor but the perception would be huge.  You would literally have a metrolink stop at the doors/gates of new MLS station, Enterprise, and Busch Station.  In addition, the perception is that West Downtown would have an accessible metrolink stop IMO that would be along the new bike/pedestrian path connection Chouteau greenway and mall.  With some alignment change and limited tunneling/cut & cover you could probably get the station on the southwest corner of the new MLS stadium and at least closer to Jeff Ave.

That seems like something the city should try to do while securing funds for the upcoming road changes. 

How feasible is it, though? It appears the station would have to be in the shadow of the new ferris wheel they're building. 

^I wouIdn't get my hopes up. I think it would be hard to do without realigning the track. There is no straight section long enough for a station in that area. You would need to have room on both sides of the track for eastbound and westbound platforms. The track goes underground at 21st and Clark so the space is really limited.

Any guesses on what it would cost to build out an underground station in the existing tunnel with a western entrance at about 20th and Clark and an eastern entrance where the current entrance is with the platform between the two?

Black02AltimaSE wrote: Any guesses on what it would cost to build out an underground station in the existing tunnel with a western entrance at about 20th and Clark and an eastern entrance where the current entrance is with the platform between the two?

Probably more than the city is willing to spend. 
I've never used that Metrolink Station. Would it be a royal pain to get to the MLS stadium from there? Will you have to walk around Union Station to enter? 

The metro link station is basically behind Union Station and it would be a bit of a walk to the MLS stadium but very doable And there are usually numerous lime/bird scooters around

hebeters2 wrote: The metro link station is basically behind Union Station and it would be a bit of a walk to the MLS stadium but very doable And there are usually numerous lime/bird scooters around

I would be shocked if LHM didn't leave the path through the train shed open. It would be around a 5 minute walk from the metro to the stadium. It's fun to talk about but there will be zero actual consideration of moving the metro station.

I agree. I don't think LHM is going to close the path under the train shed, and I don't think the metro station is going to be moved. 

I still think LHM should keep adding attractions, including a roller coaster under the train shed, and kind of model their attraction after Nickelodeon Universe in Mall of America: free to enter, but you've got to pay to ride. 

Or, you can just keep walking and watch an MLS game - or to one of the many new restaurants/attractions in a new village that I hope is built surrounding the stadium.

Looks like STL and Sac are presenting July 15.

Sources connected to the Sacramento and St. Louis bids indicated those presentations are set to take place during the week of July 15—before the MLS board of governors meets in Orlando at the All-Star Game.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/06/26/ml ... sacramento

KansasCitian wrote:

Black02AltimaSE wrote: Any guesses on what it would cost to build out an underground station in the existing tunnel with a western entrance at about 20th and Clark and an eastern entrance where the current entrance is with the platform between the two?

Probably more than the city is willing to spend. 
I've never used that Metrolink Station. Would it be a royal pain to get to the MLS stadium from there? Will you have to walk around Union Station to enter? 

I've used it several times. It is awkwardly placed but the walk to stadium would only be about half a mile, a ten minute walk. And that's going all the way north to Market and then west. I can imagine on game days you'd feel like you were at the game as soon as you stepped off the train.

There has been work done in the tunnel under Union Station. For the aquarium, I think. It would be very cool if the station was moved into that tunnel, with a ramp leading up into Union Station. Even greater if the ramp/ tunnel were designed and decorated to match the grand hall.

^It's only about a 1000' walk from the Metro stairs up to the aquarium entrance, across the trainshed, and past the wheel to the north side of the Drury.  I am assuming there will be a stadium entrance there.

Today's tweets regarding MLS and Men's Friendly in STL.  It's interesting that these two tweets appeared on the same day...

Martin Kilcoyne
@martinkilcoyne2

As #MLS4THELOU continues to work with the league, something to remember. The #MLS does not plan on making any expansion announcements at their All-Star Game in Orlando later this month. Cities awarded teams will make those announcements in their home city.
7:58 PM · Jul 17, 2019


Roger Gonzalez
@RGonzalezCBS 55m

Confirms what I had been hearing. USMNT to face Uruguay in Sept. in a friendly. Rodrigo Romano, a journalist in Uruguay, says it will be in St. Louis.
Quote Tweet

@RodrigoRomano76
· Jul 17
Uruguay jugará un amistoso ante USA el 10/9 en Missouri. La celeste no se enfrenta ante USA desde 2002 cuando en los preparativos del mundial Corea-Japon perdió 2-1 en Washington, con gol de Sebastián Abreu. En la mencionada Fecha FIFA también se jugará ante Costa Rica el 6/9.

Here we gooooooo