STLEnginerd wrote: ↑Jan 26, 2018
Yes I've always hated this. Of course I prefer Tucker instead of 14th. Largely because its MUCH wider than 14th and could accommodate dedicated ROW. AND I think the new bus hub is a crammed up mess. Maybe it just because of everything else in the little corner that make it feel so tight. Amtrack, bus hub, Metrolink, onramp to freeway, off ramp from freeway. Now they want another rail system to run through there???
Actually, that may be the point. Turning east on Chouteau makes sense to me so that you can better serve Lafeyette Park. And then turning up 14th and dropping a station at Clark facilitates easy transfers to the red and blue lines. That said, I think I might agree with you that it makes better sense and better serves downtown to move the stations a bit further from the existing stations at 8th and Pine and the convention center. Tucker would work fine, but just going straight up fourteenth might work almost better. Stations at 14th and Pine and 14th and Washington would put virtually all of downtown within a quarter mile's walk to a station. Either or. But yes, that does seem better than the 9th/10th allignment.
Also I think the ridership to and from NGA is highly optimistic. If they were allowing the rail system to drop off in the middle of the campus, it might be a different story but if they are dead set on a 1/4 mile or more from the drop to the building re-routing is a waste of time. 95% will drive and those that don't can easily take a bus. Would rather have it take the florrisant alignment.
I suppose you could maybe judge by comparing to Wash U. I would guess that if NGA offers free passes to employees, much as Wash U does, ridership would be pretty heavy. The distances from a station at St. Louis and Parnell to the bulk of NGA would be pretty similar to current Wash U distances. (Shorter than quite a few, actually.) A lot will depend on the cost of a pass. The projections might be a bit optimistic, but I bet ridership is better than you fear.
I will say I see no reason why this can't just be BRT. ANyone who think this is the key to turning around the north side are not looking at what metrolink has done for Wellston and Pagedale. Its a nice amenity but its not going to drive development to the degree people give it credit for.
It might depend on what you envision as the purpose of it. I don't see development as the key benefit of transit. Rather, I think the important benefit is economic mobility. It gives people access to affordable transportation and all the opportunity that goes with that. That said, there are some signs of life in Wellston now, what with the new training centers. Right by the Metrolink stop. Is it a silver bullet that will make everything better? No. Will it allow people that live in poorer neighborhoods access to at least a few more jobs downtown, at the airport, Wash U, NGA, or wherever else you might want to discuss? Yes. And that, to me, is very much the point. Make it a little easier to live without a car. Get a few more wrecked automobiles off the streets. Make all our insurance a little cheaper. Make it a little less likely someone with no license or insurance rear ends you on a rainy day. Win win. And if development eventually follows? That's just a nice bonus.
Personally I would MUCH rather see further expansion along the current line. Realignment of the tracks to follow Market street to Union station for instance. A new station at Vandeventer. Those are areas that are showing signs of recovery that rail service could really benefit. I do want transit service from old north to say Cherokee but BRT would do the job. IMHO.
I think the Boyle/Sarah station will do much of what you might want with a Vandeventer station. Though . . . the old Wabash station sight would be rather ideal. That said, good dedicated BRT wouldn't necessarily be that much cheaper. (With dedicated lanes, station stops, and so forth, to get light rail grade timings and speeds.) And the capacity would be at least a little lower, the long term operating costs probably a little higher (thanks to higher fuel costs, even for electric busses due to greater rolling resistance), and the symbolic impact would be quite a lot less. BRT is fine, but we really need to expand our system to new areas. Just stretching the line we already have isn't enough. This does that. It's not perfect, but it's a darn good thing. No, it won't magically save the city, but Metrolink so far has been a pretty darn good thing. And we need to make it better. Unless we invest in the city there's nothing that's going to really get better. And it passed the vote. We're already paying for it. Let's get this darn thing built. The best possible thing, yes. But let's build it.
