Hi, Just wondering with all the news going about the metrolink expansion, are there any citizen groups forming to show support and push this issue forward? I strongly believe that if this city wants to thrive in the 21st century, we need build for the 21st century. We have heard over and over again how the young are flocking to the cities, wanting to live in car-optional neighborhoods, and civic-minded people are returning life to forgotten areas. Our city was built around public transit; a vast system of street cars once crisscrossed our streets. A city built for 1 million, but today holds barely a quarter of that, is a city that desperately needs better public transit. People say it's too expensive, buses are better, or that more rail will just divided use more. That, my friends, is not true; it's been shown time and time again that light rail shows to developers that the transit and the residents/consumers are permanent. It proves to people who are on the fence about our city that we have an eye for the future, and that we see the changes that cities have to make thrive. I love this city-I truly do- and I want the best for her. I believe this project is more than just a shiny new train; this is a project that every citizen can get behind, a cause that can unite us and better the lives of so many people. I believe it's up to us, the ones who beam every time an old building is saved, the ones who take joy in seeing new ones rise in once vacant lots, the people who have stuck with St. Louis through the good years and the bad. It is up to us to spread the word and fight for this.
I know this long and and might be off topic for this site, its hard to find resources and places ask about where as citizens we go forward
thank you

Citizens for Modern Transit has long backed Metrolink expansion. Haven't seen their position on alignments yet this go around, but I'm sure they'll have one if they don't already.

I have reach out to cmt to ask if they need volunteers/ or how the public can get involved and they took my name and number and said we"ll get back. That was about two months ago

Hi, Just wondering with all the news going about the metrolink expansion, are there any citizen groups forming to show support and push this issue forward? I strongly believe that if this city wants to thrive in the 21st century, we need build for the 21st century. We have heard over and over again how the young are flocking to the cities, wanting to live in car-optional neighborhoods, and civic-minded people are returning life to forgotten areas. Our city was built around public transit; a vast system of street cars once crisscrossed our streets. A city built for 1 million, but today holds barely a quarter of that, is a city that desperately needs better public transit. People say it's too expensive, buses are better, or that more rail will just divided use more. That, my friends, is not true; it's been shown time and time again that light rail shows to developers that the transit and the residents/consumers are permanent. It proves to people who are on the fence about our city that we have an eye for the future, and that we see the changes that cities have to make thrive. I love this city-I truly do- and I want the best for her. I believe this project is more than just a shiny new train; this is a project that every citizen can get behind, a cause that can unite us and better the lives of so many people. I believe it's up to us, the ones who beam every time an old building is saved, the ones who take joy in seeing new ones rise in once vacant lots, the people who have stuck with St. Louis through the good years and the bad. It is up to us to spread the word and fight for this.
I know this long and and might be off topic for this site, its hard to find resources and places ask about where as citizens we go forward
thank you

Thank you for breathing a breath of fresh air into what is so often nothing more that hot air and bureaucratic-speak when it comes to the variety of social policy issues in St. Louis. You are exactly right. People need to be engaged. Personally engaged. Passionately engaged. And that means beyond their comfortable circle of like-minded people and friends. We need to push these efforts forward and make personal sacrifices of time and resources to make change happen.

So to directly respond to your question, I would say the first place to work on the issue of N/S Metrolink expansion is with your neighbors. Then your neighborhood association. Then your elected officials, starting at the ward level. Then branching out beyond that to neighboring wards and neighborhood associations. We need to cross traditional boundaries. We need wealthy and weaker areas working together. We need to not waste time trying to convince the unconvincable. If South County doesn't want a N/S Metrolink expansion, then let's not try to convince them otherwise. Let's find energy and support elsewhere.

Slay made it a priority. The next mayor needs to do the same. Ultimately we will need to put money behind this.

Now, all of this being said, I must admit I am a bit troubled by the notion of the Treasurer's Office being able to singularly commit $2,000,000 dollars to fund a study of N/S Metrolink expansion.

Was that something Tishaura Jones did on her own? Or was it driven by a community effort/coalition, including the mayor's office, the majority of aldermen, our state and federal officials, etc? When elected officials go rogue and start doing their own things on big iissues, they tend to fail. They haven't done the ground work to build a mass coalition around an issue. A billion dollar project like N/S Metrolink expansion will take a top to bottom effort. Tishaura's move feels a bit political to get her attention in the mayor's race. We need this be a community effort, regardless of who takes credit, because it will take years.