Well, JM, current political momentum is for the complete opposite of your suggestions. Charlie Dooley's appointed task force with Citizen for Modern Transit (CMT) connections is pushing for a Northside-Westport extension, as this Post-Dispatch article suggests.
Unfortunately, the region hasn't visited the MetroLink priority waiting list for planned extensions since 1991, as table suggests.
Personally, I'm a little suspicious that Dooley's task force has come up with essentially the same proposal that Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) did as shown here.
Other than the missing southside extension from CMT's plans, I would tend to think that their map minus Metro South would be a good direction for expansion.
As for the similarly missing (from CMT's map) "Metro North" line to Florissant, I don't think going north along I-170, besides a Clayton-Westport connection, is a top MetroLink priority any more, given how closely this route follows the original line.
It would be nice to eventually have all the proposed lines built, but ultimately, IMHO, it seems more crucial to Metro's success and potential ridership to extend the system to dense residential and employment areas furthest from existing lines in operation or under construction, like the South City and Clayton-West Port corridors.
A task force that St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley appointed last fall has recommended that the next MetroLink expansion be in north St. Louis and north and west St. Louis County.
Unfortunately, the region hasn't visited the MetroLink priority waiting list for planned extensions since 1991, as table suggests.
Personally, I'm a little suspicious that Dooley's task force has come up with essentially the same proposal that Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) did as shown here.
Other than the missing southside extension from CMT's plans, I would tend to think that their map minus Metro South would be a good direction for expansion.
As for the similarly missing (from CMT's map) "Metro North" line to Florissant, I don't think going north along I-170, besides a Clayton-Westport connection, is a top MetroLink priority any more, given how closely this route follows the original line.
It would be nice to eventually have all the proposed lines built, but ultimately, IMHO, it seems more crucial to Metro's success and potential ridership to extend the system to dense residential and employment areas furthest from existing lines in operation or under construction, like the South City and Clayton-West Port corridors.
