Chicago NUMTOT has been comparing Chicago’s Metra to other regional geographies.
And in return…
And in return…
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^I'm honestly surprised Metrolink compares that favorably. It's a pretty good system, but we could use a lot more of it.
Agreed. An it'd look even more favorable if you rotated the Metrolink map about 80 degrees clockwise.symphonicpoet wrote: ↑Sep 13, 2021^I'm honestly surprised Metrolink compares that favorably. It's a pretty good system, but we could use a lot more of it.
Really emphasizes the difference in coverage even just a few small extensions could make.
More studying!
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... f959b.htmlPage also said the county and the city of St. Louis were partnering “to study” MetroLink expansion. “We’ll be talking about that as well,” he said.
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^Do other cities waste as much money on pricey consultants’ studies as we do? Seems like one of our worst bad habits as a region.
Outside of N/S, have any of the other proposed routes actually been studied? Legitimate question because I’m almost certain they haven’t. Stenger offered to study several County routes but the contract went to a politically connected donor and was canceled.
So unless they’ve secretly studied all those proposed County routes, and completed the N/S alternative study (my guess is they didn’t) then we’ve got nothing in the tank outside of the Fairgrounds to Cherokee section which would be a colossal waste of money when we could cover the city in gold standard BRT lines for the same price.
The smart move would have been getting these studies done BEFORE the bill passed…
So unless they’ve secretly studied all those proposed County routes, and completed the N/S alternative study (my guess is they didn’t) then we’ve got nothing in the tank outside of the Fairgrounds to Cherokee section which would be a colossal waste of money when we could cover the city in gold standard BRT lines for the same price.
The smart move would have been getting these studies done BEFORE the bill passed…
N/S alternatives study has not started. These studies are a waste when you don’t have the will or funds to actually pursue. Otherwise everything you study becomes dated quickly.
There was an extensive study of various MetroSouth studies published in 2005.sc4mayor wrote: ↑Nov 15, 2021Outside of N/S, have any of the other proposed routes actually been studied? Legitimate question because I’m almost certain they haven’t. Stenger offered to study several County routes but the contract went to a politically connected donor and was canceled.
So unless they’ve secretly studied all those proposed County routes, and completed the N/S alternative study (my guess is they didn’t) then we’ve got nothing in the tank outside of the Fairgrounds to Cherokee section which would be a colossal waste of money when we could cover the city in gold standard BRT lines for the same price.
The smart move would have been getting these studies done BEFORE the bill passed…
Available here: https://www.ewgateway.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MetroLink-MetroSouth-DEIS-VolI.pdf
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I feel a lot of Local leadership don't want an more walkable region. There vision is just a lot of 'small towns" connected by cars.quincunx wrote: ↑Nov 15, 2021It's a great way to look like you're doing something.
Using a picture of a construction project in Poland to illustrate an article about an American transportation bill is just lazy.Thatguy644 wrote: ↑Nov 16, 2021https://www.governing.com/now/the-infra ... -after-all
So the bill is just a slush fund for cars?
With all of this transportation money floating around right now, is there a spur that would make sense for Madison County into Granite City? It could hug the Amtrack route also?
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It'd be so great if we could see the start of a seriously expanded Metrolink system.
In a dream world, St. Charles would be on board with bringing Metrolink to their riverfront, from Riverpointe and Ameristar all the way down to Main Street and Frenchtown.
In a dream world, St. Charles would be on board with bringing Metrolink to their riverfront, from Riverpointe and Ameristar all the way down to Main Street and Frenchtown.
Always possible. Illinois has a way of surprising everyone with infrastructure investments. I think a line to Edwardsville would be priority.pattimagee wrote:With all of this transportation money floating around right now, is there a spur that would make sense for Madison County into Granite City? It could hug the Amtrack route also?
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If Madison County wanted to build a line to Granite City, I hope they'd go big and extend it all the way out to Edwardsville to near SIUe.pattimagee wrote: ↑Nov 17, 2021With all of this transportation money floating around right now, is there a spur that would make sense for Madison County into Granite City? It could hug the Amtrack route also?
Would love this. Connect the population centers, that's what will really increase ridership, put it where people want to go. Imagine the crowd pre-gaming a Cardinals / Blues / STLSC game on Main Street, then hopping on the Metrolink towards downtown for the game. Avoids traffic, avoids parking cost, easy and safe way to get there vs needing to find a designated driver / the a**holes we know drink/drive anyway.KansasCitian wrote: ↑Nov 17, 2021It'd be so great if we could see the start of a seriously expanded Metrolink system.
In a dream world, St. Charles would be on board with bringing Metrolink to their riverfront, from Riverpointe and Ameristar all the way down to Main Street and Frenchtown.
Or people using it to commute to Clayton for work, avoid the I-170 traffic and the awful 270 coming into St. Charles on the way home.
Or County/City people taking the line up for a night at the casinos or Streets of St. Charles.
If people can see the Metrolink as an attractive alternative to get around to places they want to be, instead of only for commutes or low income people, it'll drastically change the perception and ridership.
The amount of use that line would get would be huge. If it can get built in conjunction with N/S or as the next expansion, it would be a game changer.
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^ Yeah, I truly think a line connecting downtown St. Louis to downtown St. Charles would be a fantastic thing for this region. There could be more synergy there than I think a lot of people would expect.
And if "downtown" Chesterfield ends up becoming something worthwhile, I would support a line to that jobs and entertainment center as well.
Though down on the priority list a great deal, another suburban location I could see needing a future line would be Fenton.
And if "downtown" Chesterfield ends up becoming something worthwhile, I would support a line to that jobs and entertainment center as well.
Though down on the priority list a great deal, another suburban location I could see needing a future line would be Fenton.
St. Charles and Madison County would both have to initiate tax increases before Metro would even look at them for LRT expansion. So, sadly, no that won’t happen.
I personally think it would be easier to sell a traditional commuter rail line between St. Louis and Wentzville than a MetroLink line. Would be cheaper and the density in St. Charles County isn’t exactly MetroLink friendly anyway. Still, would require St. Charles tax dollars and those won’t be easy to come by.
In terms of West County/Chesterfield service, build an HOV lane on 40 between downtown and Chesterfield and run buses out that way. Would be an easier and much cheaper connection to the “downtown” that Chesterfield is trying to build anyway.
I personally think it would be easier to sell a traditional commuter rail line between St. Louis and Wentzville than a MetroLink line. Would be cheaper and the density in St. Charles County isn’t exactly MetroLink friendly anyway. Still, would require St. Charles tax dollars and those won’t be easy to come by.
In terms of West County/Chesterfield service, build an HOV lane on 40 between downtown and Chesterfield and run buses out that way. Would be an easier and much cheaper connection to the “downtown” that Chesterfield is trying to build anyway.
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Any ward thats not 60%+ AA will have majority white population by voter registration.
I think the most bang for the buck would be clayton up to the airport along 170. A lot of actual ridership would occur and could spur some TOD along the way.
^ 100% agree. I have my own selfish reasons for that being a Clayton resident anyway. But Clayton and other regional business leaders (especially those HQ’ed in Clayton) not pushing for a one seat ride between downtown Clayton and the airport has always been a bit odd to me.
I'd rather see the MetroSouth or Daniel Boone alignments at this point than accommodation of "single seat rides". Basically focusing on serving new areas/communities (even if primarily park-n-ride) than more direct connections for areas that are already served by the existing system. A MetroNorth line from Clayton to Florissant (via Boeing) could be good though.sc4mayor wrote: ↑Nov 17, 2021^ 100% agree. I have my own selfish reasons for that being a Clayton resident anyway. But Clayton and other regional business leaders (especially those HQ’ed in Clayton) not pushing for a one seat ride between downtown Clayton and the airport has always been a bit odd to me.
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Never going to happen because to state the obvious you can get on metrolink in Clayton today and take it to the airport