urbanSTL

It was disappointing to hear how parking at the Edwin was a key desire. Nice that shoppers get to subsidize it via the CID.

The expansion is unfortunately officially on hold

https://www.stlmag.com/news/metrolink-g ... n-on-hold/

Up to 10% of the tax proceeds approved in 2017 could be dedicated towards neighborhood revitalization. Could the city start using that at the planned stops to make STL more competitive when a new federal administration is elected?

Might as well shelve it and let the pot of money grow in this high interest environment. There is basically no chance it gets funded by the feds, especially when you consider that the plan was competitive because it scored so high on the "serves undeserved populations" criteria that is no longer federally in vogue.

What's going to drive me nuts is that this is going to be shelved until another federal administration is in office, and it's going to take St. Louis just long enough to sort things out to watch that progress shelved again when yet another administration comes in. 

RockChalkSTL wrote: ↑

Apr 29, 2025

What's going to drive me nuts is that this is going to be shelved until another federal administration is in office, and it's going to take St. Louis just long enough to sort things out to watch that progress shelved again when yet another administration comes in. 

Yup.

GoHarvOrGoHome wrote: ↑

Apr 29, 2025

Might as well shelve it and let the pot of money grow in this high interest environment. There is basically no chance it gets funded by the feds, especially when you consider that the plan was competitive because it scored so high on the "serves undeserved populations" criteria that is no longer federally in vogue.

Nah, find a way to spend it on transit now. Especially after this development, I see 0 reason to expect this line ever gets built. We've been studying it since 2008! And now going back to the drawing board?! Make the buses frequent and reliable in the city. 

New Starts Grant is not the only way to get federal funds for N/S metrolink. Democrats will mostly likely take the house in 2026 &funding for it can be part of the budget negotiations. Pausing now & restarting when democrat takes the WH in 3.5 years just delays it by 3.5 years
the current City NS metrolink account will have $100,000,000 by this time next year. We should continue the work towards positioning the project to win Fed funds in 2027 or 2029.

I'm not confident in Rep Bell to make that happen.

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Apr 29, 2025

New Starts Grant is not the only way to get federal funds for N/S metrolink. Democrats will mostly likely take the house in 2026 &funding for it can be part of the budget negotiations. Pausing now & restarting when democrat takes the WH in 3.5 years just delays it by 3.5 years
the current City NS metrolink account will have $100,000,000 by this time next year.  We should continue the work towards positioning  the project to win Fed funds in 2027 or 2029.

Was thinking some money that is assigned to it could be used to help make it easier when fed funds do occur. Also work on encouraging development along the route to improve chances as well.

N-S low floor streetcar within city and city committed to make fare free.   Accomplishes a couple things financially and politically in my mind.  I believe it would keep existing route and studies intact, value Engineering of going to streetcar reduces cost, the city commits to the operational cost side if truly wants to serve community, and finally piggyback on KC equipment to further leverage a common system and streetcars sets.  

Finally, N-S is where it is at in large part because the county wouldn't make the political commitment IMO.   So city needs a new direction which might have a better shot at new start funds in 2027 or 2029 and at same time allows for a future County-City BRT to overlay the system.    

Given Trump's well-known love of gold-colored aesthetics, backers of the N-S line should seriously consider changing the name from the Green Line to the Gold Line to get his buy-in. I am only halfway joking about this.

Gold 47 line

Devils advocate. The public transportation industry needs to end the transit THEN development model. Successful mass transportation replaces or improves existing trips and successful transit is the best way to get more transit. Washington/Market to Broadway is the only section of the Jefferson ROW where this is true, thanks to density.

St. Louis has a MetroLink system with endless development opportunities that are untouched after 30+ years. St. Louis County has a branch with similar socioeconomic conditions as North Jefferson. Unfortunately, MetroLink has yet to deliver as a catalyst for North Hanley, Rock Road, and Wellston.

Show me that St. Louis can broadly leverage the existing MetroLink to overcome market conditions and generate new developments + new ridership and I’ll get on board with spending $1.3B on a plan that hopes to spur redevelopment. Just as the NGA is a hope to spur redevelopment.

You're asking how do we turn back the rip tide of development on the edges of the region.

Agree with Denis and other arguments for continuing. Voters have approved spending...people want to see N-S expansion, and this just delays local progress and design. 

If density dips in 2030, and we have similar leadership, transit expansion is bleak. 

St. Louis not taking a billion dollar bet on Jefferson Ave is a win for the city.   TOD zoning and ROW are still there for BRT which was always a more right-sized approach.  Hopefully this opens up  several options for n-s transit with metrolink as the "trunk" and BRT as the "limbs"

St. Louis should immediately issue RFPs for most park-and-ride lots across the system. 

RockChalkSTL wrote:St. Louis should immediately issue RFPs for most park-and-ride lots across the system. 

Yep. Use the 10% from City funds that can be moved, get St. Louis and St. Clair County to match. Establish the MetroLink Development Improvement Council and ask Bi-State to orchestrate a mass release of RFPs for development proposals. Use funds to remove barriers to land ownership and support infrastructure.

I am surprised the state of Illinois hasn't been more involved in trying to densify the areas around their many stations. Could be a huge boon to the population strapped Metro-East. Literally every single metro east stop has opportunity for TOD. Stations from Fairview Heights to the west are probably desirable enough to justify development tomorrow with a little tax incentive.

GoHarvOrGoHome wrote:I am surprised the state of Illinois hasn't been more involved in trying to densify the areas around their many stations. Could be a huge boon to the population strapped Metro-East. Literally every single metro east stop has opportunity for TOD. Stations from Fairview Heights to the west are probably desirable enough to justify development tomorrow with a little tax incentive.

When I managed Chicago’s Access to Transit Program and Community Planning Program I recommended to a rep that the program should be duplicated for MetroLink in Metro East. Their response was basically “lol wut”.

That rep should be voted out or removed. 

There could be truly dramatic transformations around the stations that we already support if only we had some vision. 

One last note for now. I understand the negative reaction to a “pause”. I voted and canvassed for North/South MetroLink in 2017. I wouldn’t have voted for the proposal as it stands today. My distaste for the project built over time as closed door “planning” meetings pealed back the route, the neighborhoods, the stops, and even the lines color (Green).

It became obvious that community based decision making was compromised for simply getting it done and then getting it done cheaper. That’s not how I personally want St. Louis to make transit investments.

Even just the Scott AFB stop, so much opportunity. Build a little plaza with some apartments and a couple hotels. Some "off base" bars and restaurants.

I always thought street running N-S Metrolink was a bad idea. Metrolink should keep the same technology and remain grade separated. Running metrolink down I-70 into the county through the Northside, use UP ROW or even I-55 through the Southside. Transfer station downtown. I think it would be cheaper and you could actually get the county on board with a line like that. If you're going to do a street running line, you'd be better off just building a modern streetcar system like KC for a much cheaper cost.

Never run Metrolink in the highway. It's miserable and polluted. We shouldn't put people through that. Spend 19 mins at the Clayton station for a taste. Puts it far away from things. Imagine how much better the Clayton station would be if it were are Forsyth and Central instead of off to the side. No, no, no.