This is a test bus from Proterra (blog post will be published tomorrow). It'll go into service on the #99 Downtown Trolley route tomorrow for a short time.
If anyone knows there the Brentwood MetroBus Facility is, I was just by there and saw a new bus that I guess we are going to have our on the roads soon. It is on the Marshall Road side of the building and looks weird. It says Battery Powered Bus.
This is a test bus from Proterra (blog post will be published tomorrow). It'll go into service on the #99 Downtown Trolley route tomorrow for a short time.
If anyone knows there the Brentwood MetroBus Facility is, I was just by there and saw a new bus that I guess we are going to have our on the roads soon. It is on the Marshall Road side of the building and looks weird. It says Battery Powered Bus.
Per Mike Faulk: Of the 20 wards where #mls2stl lost, 5 of them also rejected the MetroLink sales tax increase. Wards 1, 4, 18, 21 and 27. All north city
I found this interesting seeing one of the biggest arguments for N/S is to help people who live in North City get to work. They don't even seem to want it or at least have taxes pay for it. This makes me start to rethink my position on it. If one of the main areas it is designed to go through doesn't seem to interested then maybe the money should be used on something else.
It's a sales tax. Maybe the folks who spend the largest portion of their income are tired of seeing their taxes increase while everybody else just skates along. Sales taxes have nearly doubled in our fair state in the last . . . oh . . . quarter century. Which means the real tax rate on the folks in the bottom quartile or so has gone up the most; maybe almost doubled. Ain't nobody else seen their taxes go up that much in the last twenty five years. The folks at the top have actually seen them go down. Ain't that funny? At some point folks get tired of being asked to pay more; to raise their own taxes. I doubt your average commuter from North Saint really minds riding a bus any more than a trolley so long as the fare's the same. It's the fancier folks that don't like riding smelly busses. You want light rail on the south side? Okay. But the price of that is extending it north too. The sales tax passed. The least you can do is let the poor schmoes paying for it actually have a stop they can reach. Maybe they didn't want to pay for it, but they will. Like it or not. I wouldn't rethink it. Everybody pretty much voted their interest, I think. Same on this as on everything else this round. Or at least that's the way it looks to me. Sometimes we like to think we know what's best for other people, but other people don't always see it that way. Different perspectives and all that. I always like the gifts I buy myself a lot better than the ones even my close friends buy me, let alone casual acquaintances. Might be the same principal at work.
My point is if they didn't want metrolink enough to raise taxes, maybe someone should figure out what they REALLY want and use the tax increase on that. If they don't mind riding a bus, then maybe they have higher things on their priority list than spending millions/billions of dollars on a metro line. Like you said, sometimes we like to think we know what is best for other people, maybe this really isn't what is best for the north side. Maybe dumping all the money into schools would be a better use of it. Metrolink still might be what they really want but they just didn't want to vote for the tax, but I don't want to make that assumption.
One more thing that isn't related to transit but I want to mention. I have all be for metrolink expansion but lately I have been thinking why aren't we putting all this money into schools? Isn't that the main reason people are moving out of the city. Your kid gets to school age so you leave for better schools. Indy, Nashville, KC (I don't count the streetcar) etc don't have a light rail and they seem to be doing well. Maybe dumping money into schools and making sure you have the right person running them would do far more for all of the city. I could be off base but that has been on my mind lately.
One more thing that isn't related to transit but I want to mention. I have all be for metrolink expansion but lately I have been thinking why aren't we putting all this money into schools? Isn't that the main reason people are moving out of the city. Your kid gets to school age so you leave for better schools. Indy, Nashville, KC (I don't count the streetcar) etc don't have a light rail and they seem to be doing well. Maybe dumping money into schools and making sure you have the right person running them would do far more for all of the city. I could be off base but that has been on my mind lately.
City schools have a surplus currently and we voted for a tax increase last year on early childhood. I think the city is doing fine on school funding. Schools and scores are improving. It's going to take time to continue the improvement but they are heading in the right path
It's a sales tax. Maybe the folks who spend the largest portion of their income are tired of seeing their taxes increase while everybody else just skates along. Sales taxes have nearly doubled in our fair state in the last . . . oh . . . quarter century. Which means the real tax rate on the folks in the bottom quartile or so has gone up the most; maybe almost doubled. Ain't nobody else seen their taxes go up that much in the last twenty five years. The folks at the top have actually seen them go down. Ain't that funny? At some point folks get tired of being asked to pay more; to raise their own taxes. I doubt your average commuter from North Saint really minds riding a bus any more than a trolley so long as the fare's the same. It's the fancier folks that don't like riding smelly busses. You want light rail on the south side? Okay. But the price of that is extending it north too. The sales tax passed. The least you can do is let the poor schmoes paying for it actually have a stop they can reach. Maybe they didn't want to pay for it, but they will. Like it or not. I wouldn't rethink it. Everybody pretty much voted their interest, I think. Same on this as on everything else this round. Or at least that's the way it looks to me. Sometimes we like to think we know what's best for other people, but other people don't always see it that way. Different perspectives and all that. I always like the gifts I buy myself a lot better than the ones even my close friends buy me, let alone casual acquaintances. Might be the same principal at work.
My point is if they didn't want metrolink enough to raise taxes, maybe someone should figure out what they REALLY want and use the tax increase on that. If theydon't mind riding a bus, then maybe they have higher things on their priority list than spending millions/billions of dollars on a metro line. Like you said, sometimes we like to think we know what is best for other people, maybe this really isn't what is best for the north side. Maybe dumping all the money into schools would be a better use of it. Metrolink still might be what they really want but they just didn't want to vote for the tax, but I don't want to make that assumption.
One more thing that isn't related to transit but I want to mention. I have all be for metrolink expansion but lately I have been thinking why aren't we putting all this money into schools? Isn't that the main reason people are moving out of the city. Your kid gets to school age so you leave for better schools. Indy, Nashville, KC (I don't count the streetcar) etc don't have a light rail and they seem to be doing well. Maybe dumping money into schools and making sure you have the right person running them would do far more for all of the city. I could be off base but that has been on my mind lately.
Wow! People want to know why we have such a polarized city, look no further.
The reason "they" didn't vote for Metrolink was probably because the proposed line is South City and Downtown focused and doesn't really go through "their" neighborhood. The current proposal we have will obviously be used to bolster Downtown and areas of South City ripe for gentrification. The line would have to go way further up Natural Bridge to really get into the heart of North City. I suspect voters in North City are smart enough to figure this out, I would not really look at it as a referendum against Metrolink.
It's a sales tax. Maybe the folks who spend the largest portion of their income are tired of seeing their taxes increase while everybody else just skates along. Sales taxes have nearly doubled in our fair state in the last . . . oh . . . quarter century. Which means the real tax rate on the folks in the bottom quartile or so has gone up the most; maybe almost doubled. Ain't nobody else seen their taxes go up that much in the last twenty five years. The folks at the top have actually seen them go down. Ain't that funny? At some point folks get tired of being asked to pay more; to raise their own taxes. I doubt your average commuter from North Saint really minds riding a bus any more than a trolley so long as the fare's the same. It's the fancier folks that don't like riding smelly busses. You want light rail on the south side? Okay. But the price of that is extending it north too. The sales tax passed. The least you can do is let the poor schmoes paying for it actually have a stop they can reach. Maybe they didn't want to pay for it, but they will. Like it or not. I wouldn't rethink it. Everybody pretty much voted their interest, I think. Same on this as on everything else this round. Or at least that's the way it looks to me. Sometimes we like to think we know what's best for other people, but other people don't always see it that way. Different perspectives and all that. I always like the gifts I buy myself a lot better than the ones even my close friends buy me, let alone casual acquaintances. Might be the same principal at work.
My point is if they didn't want metrolink enough to raise taxes, maybe someone should figure out what they REALLY want and use the tax increase on that. If theydon't mind riding a bus, then maybe they have higher things on their priority list than spending millions/billions of dollars on a metro line. Like you said, sometimes we like to think we know what is best for other people, maybe this really isn't what is best for the north side. Maybe dumping all the money into schools would be a better use of it. Metrolink still might be what they really want but they just didn't want to vote for the tax, but I don't want to make that assumption.
One more thing that isn't related to transit but I want to mention. I have all be for metrolink expansion but lately I have been thinking why aren't we putting all this money into schools? Isn't that the main reason people are moving out of the city. Your kid gets to school age so you leave for better schools. Indy, Nashville, KC (I don't count the streetcar) etc don't have a light rail and they seem to be doing well. Maybe dumping money into schools and making sure you have the right person running them would do far more for all of the city. I could be off base but that has been on my mind lately.
Wow! People want to know why we have such a polarized city, look no further.
The reason "they" didn't vote for Metrolink was probably because the proposed line is South City and Downtown focused and doesn't really go through "their" neighborhood. The current proposal we have will obviously be used to bolster Downtown and areas of South City ripe for gentrification. The line would have to go way further up Natural Bridge to really get into the heart of North City. I suspect voters in North City are smart enough to figure this out, I would not really look at it as a referendum against Metrolink.
I know that's a very obvious attempt to get race shoehorned into the conversation, but I think it's reasonable to say that the reference to "they" refers only to those people who voted no.
City schools have a surplus currently and we voted for a tax increase last year on early childhood. I think the city is doing fine on school funding. Schools and scores are improving. It's going to take time to continue the improvement but they are heading in the right path
That is good to hear! I was not aware they had a surplus. Hopefully things continue in the right direction.
Wow! People want to know why we have such a polarized city, look no further.
The reason "they" didn't vote for Metrolink was probably because the proposed line is South City and Downtown focused and doesn't really go through "their" neighborhood. The current proposal we have will obviously be used to bolster Downtown and areas of South City ripe for gentrification. The line would have to go way further up Natural Bridge to really get into the heart of North City. I suspect voters in North City are smart enough to figure this out, I would not really look at it as a referendum against Metrolink.
I know that's a very obvious attempt to get race shoehorned into the conversation, but I think it's reasonable to say that the reference to "they" refers only to those people who voted no.
I am not sure where race was thrown into this? Anyways, "they" referred to wards that voted no. I thought were on the proposed metrolink line. I thought it was suppose to go pretty far north and south. If those areas are not on the line then I retract my comment.
My overall comment was I think putting schools first and using the money wisely towards them will do a lot to start to turn the city around. Having better education system will help keep people in the city who feel the need to move for better education. It will help the people who stay in the city and cannot afford private schools to have a better education for their future. Which all would make the city more attractive to live in and help with other issues in the long run. If wanting to know what a part or parts of the city really think we should do with the use tax to benefit them and wanting the education system to become better is polarizing, then I guess I will take on that label. I feel like too often city hall has their own interests in mind and projects what they think each area needs on it, instead of going to the source. I don't pretend to know what they want that is why I am just throwing out my ideas and asking for feedback from people. I just get tired of seeing all money the government wastes and want it used in smarter ways.
My point is if they didn't want metrolink enough to raise taxes, maybe someone should figure out what they REALLY want and use the tax increase on that. If theydon't mind riding a bus, then maybe they have higher things on their priority list than spending millions/billions of dollars on a metro line. Like you said, sometimes we like to think we know what is best for other people, maybe this really isn't what is best for the north side. Maybe dumping all the money into schools would be a better use of it. Metrolink still might be what they really want but they just didn't want to vote for the tax, but I don't want to make that assumption.
One more thing that isn't related to transit but I want to mention. I have all be for metrolink expansion but lately I have been thinking why aren't we putting all this money into schools? Isn't that the main reason people are moving out of the city. Your kid gets to school age so you leave for better schools. Indy, Nashville, KC (I don't count the streetcar) etc don't have a light rail and they seem to be doing well. Maybe dumping money into schools and making sure you have the right person running them would do far more for all of the city. I could be off base but that has been on my mind lately.
Wow! People want to know why we have such a polarized city, look no further.
The reason "they" didn't vote for Metrolink was probably because the proposed line is South City and Downtown focused and doesn't really go through "their" neighborhood. The current proposal we have will obviously be used to bolster Downtown and areas of South City ripe for gentrification. The line would have to go way further up Natural Bridge to really get into the heart of North City. I suspect voters in North City are smart enough to figure this out, I would not really look at it as a referendum against Metrolink.
I know that's a very obvious attempt to get race shoehorned into the conversation, but I think it's reasonable to say that the reference to "they" refers only to those people who voted no.
Never once was race mentioned. I was referring more to the south and north city divide. Obviously the blackest areas of South City are where the proposed line is going.
And it passed in all southside wards, though by less in 20 than others. I see jshank's point. In fact, I felt really uncomfortable voting for a tax increase for Metrolink as I'm not altogether sure it's really better than busses. I prefer it, but . . . I'm a rail fan. So how much of that is just personal preference or, "Ain't it neat to see new rails laid down?" (No matter where that rail might have been rolled.) Left me quite torn on weather it was a good investment. (Almost as torn as on prop 2.) But . . . this calls for a map!
Here's the prop 1 vote with the route from one of East West Gateway's maps in June of 2016. (I neither recall nor saw anything more recent.) I've left the NGA option and the segments that would extend into the county in hash marks and I'm not quite clear where the north leg would end. I ended it at Fairgrounds park, in part because that was easily visible and it's maybe what folks fear. In reality I'd guess N. Kingshighway by the industrial park might actually make more sense, and it would cover about half the distance from the park to the city limits. Really, you could take it all the way to city limits up there, since you could put a park and ride right at the boundary more easily than you could in Carondelet. Anyway . . . there you have it.
They ran a train track from here to the Pacific Ocean through the Rocky Mountains and the desert with their bare hands and some shovels and we can't run a track from Cherokee to downtown?
They ran a train track from here to the Pacific Ocean through the Rocky Mountains and the desert with their bare hands and some shovels and we can't run a track from Cherokee to downtown?
The chinaman did that. Frustrating isn't it though? So much used to be built but now everything is so expensive to do and local and state governments are raising taxes just to maintain existing infrastructure.
So since Prop 1 passed, does that mean the expansion starts soon
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No, any expansion is at least a decade away, if ever.
It seemed at a glance prop 1 was simply sold as "Metrolink expansion". As in, "if you vote for this, we'll expand Metrolink". I think this might've been a mistake. Runs the risk of disgruntling a lot of folks when they realize what they actually voted for.
They ran a train track from here to the Pacific Ocean through the Rocky Mountains and the desert with their bare hands and some shovels and we can't run a track from Cherokee to downtown?
Different time, different place, different circumstances... Let's hope for the best though.
It seemed at a glance prop 1 was simply sold as "Metrolink expansion". As in, "if you vote for this, we'll expand Metrolink". I think this might've been a mistake. Runs the risk of disgruntling a lot of folks when they realize what they actually voted for.
Nations said he didn’t really know how much it would cost to retrofit the stations with turnstiles. But when the agency looked at that option several years ago, it estimated the cost to be in excess of $100 million.
Speiss said Stenger asked for an unofficial ballpark figure for installing turnstiles along with facial recognition technology at all MetroLink stations.
Speiss contacted a turnstile company and put together a $10 million estimate, which included stations in Illinois as well as Missouri. The largest variable was the cost of reconfiguring entrances to accommodate the devices.
Speiss said the company looked at pictures of several stations and told him that it appeared MetroLink was designed for turnstiles.
So Nations said turnstiles would cost $100M to retrofit system for turnstiles. Speiss (a senior partner at a security technology company) says they could do all stations on the system for about $10M.
I think the real number is in the middle, but I think turnstiles would actually help safety on the system. Currently Metrolink functions more like a heavy rail system and I can't imagine any heavy rail system lacking security.
It seemed at a glance prop 1 was simply sold as "Metrolink expansion". As in, "if you vote for this, we'll expand Metrolink". I think this might've been a mistake. Runs the risk of disgruntling a lot of folks when they realize what they actually voted for.
So what was the vote for?
Since its looking like no soccer stadium next to union station, I will again throw out my idea to reroute metrolink from union station to market and follow market back to the station at grand. Two new stops, one at Jefferson and the other at Compton.
Also throw in a new stop at vandeventer.
It seemed at a glance prop 1 was simply sold as "Metrolink expansion". As in, "if you vote for this, we'll expand Metrolink". I think this might've been a mistake. Runs the risk of disgruntling a lot of folks when they realize what they actually voted for.
So what was the vote for?
My understanding is that it's more of a "hope to get Metrolink expansion". If I understand correctly, the projected cost for the 8 mile line is $700 million. The tax has the possibility of getting the city half of $700 million in financing but the other half would need to be obtained from the federal gov't. I'm not aware that obtaining the federal funds is a given.
