urbanSTL

Kent Reporter.com - Sound Transit sets ridership records in first quarter

Sound Transit set new ridership records for the first quarter of 2016, with Link light rail ridership up 27 percent from the first quarter of last year and Sounder commuter rail ridership up 15 percent.

http://www.kentreporter.com/news/380879281.html

Messenger: With a tweet, Mayor Slay signals plan to expand transit in St. Louis

It will start with a $2 million conceptual design study that Slay hopes will be funded from the city’s parking division. He has had talks with Treasurer Tishaura Jones about using the money to help move the north-south line forward. Next would be a $40 million detailed design and land-use study, getting very specific about where each of the stops would go. Finally, there’s the matter of finding the more than $1 billion it would take to build such a system. City leaders have been meeting with county leaders and consulting with the federal Department of Transportation. In an ideal world, the city and county would go in this together, and build out the full north-south line, through the city and the county. But the challenge starts with getting beyond the thought that expanding Metrolink is so expensive, and would take so long, that it’s simply too “overwhelming” for St. Louis to handle.

link: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/colu ... 1ea90.html

as I said in the St. Louis Destiny Bonds thread

in order to get a foot in the door for New Starts funding Metro or city would need to get into a project development agreement and I would guess $30m for that process and if that stage is done to FTA satisfaction than you move into engineering stage, that's 10% of project cost, so probably $150m and if you pass that stage than FTA agrees to get into a funding agreement. So city and or metro has to lay out $180,000,000 before it finds out if it will get up to 50% for construction costs. One issue is that a lot of right leaning groups are calling for the elimination of the New Starts program...with a GOP president between now and 2024 (when the next round is available) they could kill the program & since funding agreement are always on the condition that the program is still around it would pretty much kill the project

Getting out of the project development stage is the hardest. Have to show that you can maintain the new line and your current system on top...that's a heavy lift for metro based on their last budget

Wonder why the woman in the story doesn't take the 11 Chippewa to Shrewsbury.

If both City and County passed a same sales tax- total revenue over 10 years with some growth assumed in taxable sales

1% = $2,300,000,000
.75%= $1,725,000,000
.50%= $1,115,00,000
.40%= $920,000,000
.30%= $690,000,000
.25%= $575,000,000

Somewhere between .30-.50 is whats probably needed for the local match and some operating funds
.75% could funded it 100% locally and paid in 10 years.

City alone....$490,000,000 for the 1%

1%= $490,000,000
.75%= $367,500,000
.50%= $245,000,000

^Sign me up

The city has to be willing to go at it alone in my opinion. If the county is against expansion or focused on Westport. It makes sense for the city to build a city only route until the county gets on board. Any campaign that would ask for 1% sales tax would have to guarantee full build out of the entire system. No way the region would approve a sales tax of that size without a real commitment from Metro, which clearly lied to get prop A passed.

^I tend to agree. Most people in the city seem to be on the same page regarding N/S Metrolink and for it. I hear more differences of opinion when discussing the STL Streetcar or anything similar. I don't hear anyone against N/S Metrolink in the city. The county muddies that opportunity. You've got to convince a lot of different municipalities to vote for a tax on N/S Metrolink, and a lot of those municipalities wouldn't even have Metrolink go through their neighborhood.

Does anyone think that City might try to push/make the argument for N-S within city limits with option of extending to North & South County at a later time? Slay making push N-S push but not really addressing county support. Or might this be the first step in entertaining the idea of N-S being a truncated city street car line? I doubt it, but don't see support county support until Westport line is built.
..
Slay's timing certainly matches up with the NGIA final decision on staying within the city. In addition, N-S line as envisioned now will be light rail but the reality of the system though downtown/north city would be street running and south extension could change to maximize UP rail line alignment which might be a way to minimize cost. I can see the city already making the argument for new fixed transit for south city residents to access the new NGIA north city facility after it moves.

"Does anyone think that City might try to push/make the argument for N-S within city limits with option of extending to North & South County at a later time?"

I imagine Slay is talking to people in the county. That's where all the dollars are to fund something like this.

How much would metrolink cost if built today? $100 million per mile? At that rate, just the city portion alone could cost $1.5 billion.

"City alone....$490,000,000 for the 1%

1%= $490,000,000
.75%= $367,500,000
.50%= $245,000,000"

Which means this would fall short. I think that they do have a huge opportunity to get federal dollars for transit because of the NGA site. But is there $1 billion for us to get?

I agree, the NS Metrolink should focus more like a traffic seperated streetcar than a traditional Metrolink. MSP built the 11 mi Green line for about $900M. How long would the full NS Metrolink line be?

^^Agreed. Urbos 100 streetcar with dedicated center-running ROW where practical (Jefferson, Florissant)

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/colu ... user-share

Slay says TIF and TDD has been looked at. They are evaluating a range of funding options and have talked to the county and feds. Believe that the line will cost around $2B and take about 10 years until we are up and running. Promise Zone designation and Choice Neighborhood grant could give us preference. Working as a region will be key.

ive been saying $1.5-2b for a long time now....

Do you think the City is dead set on doing Metrolink style light rail? Is it that or nothing?

KMOX - Mayor Slay Hints Long Term Projects For Lambert, Metro

Slay's other long-term project, which would likely extend a decade after his term ends, is to expand MetroLink. He cited a study that shows property values rise up to 30 percent when public transit is nearby.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2016/06/08/ ... ert-metro/

^ I find the idea of a $2M study interesting. Especially, when we already have a pretty thorough study for N-S Metrolink that was done by E-W Gateway in 2008. My guess is that there may be a reworking of the route. The final route could be something completely different than the Jefferson-Natural Bridge Route we have become accustomed to. If the county signs on, we could be looking at a route that will be more focused on getting riders from the central city or through the central city faster and that would definitely change any potential route. When cost is factored into it and of course speed to the outer suburbs. Could we be looking at a route that simply goes down I-55 or the DeSoto ROW in South City and I-70 in North City meeting up with the red line at Hanley? Going out to Lambert potentially, or going up I-170 to the 270 beltway?

^ Well get out your pitchforks, because its rumored to be heading that way.

Just a FYI, unless contstruction starts within 5 years any study outside those 5 years is worthless and needs to be redone
Just look at the population projections from the 2008 study, we are below the numbers they projected we would get to in 2030.
Page 79ish http://www.ewgateway.org/pdffiles/libra ... thside.pdf

goat314 wrote:^ Well get out your pitchforks, because its rumored to be heading that way.

I will get mine ready. Waiting for a train in the middle of a highway is miserable. Spend 19 mins at the Clayton station and imagine it way worse amidst I-70 or I-55. Plus any hope that it would increase the attractiveness of developing "city" next to it would be undermined by the highway.

I realize holding out for perfect means it may never come, but imagine if they didn't take the cheap route and the Grand station were at FPP and not under a bridge?