St. Louis MetroLink: One good line, with not-so-good stations and urban impact

 I revisited St. Louis not long ago and took the opportunity to ride the MetroLink, which I had not done in a few years.  MetroLink is the region’s one-line (with branches) light rail system, which serves several important destinations, including the airport, the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and downtown St. Louis.  As I was headed to the ballpark, which has its own station, it was especially convenient for me.

The good news is that the line worked fine, with clean cars and a smooth ride.  What was not so good was some of the stations.  And the impact on the surrounding urban fabric was disappointing.  

I’ll mention a few of the stations.

Airport

There may have been an easier way to get there, but I found myself traversing an underground parking garage and going up an elevator which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in 10 years.  The station platform was spartan and was inhabited by a homeless man who was busy checking out the platform for any usable refuse.  And the headway between trains was 30 minutes, at least twice as long as it should be.  In fairness, the transit agency is no doubt starved for operations and maintenance funding and does the best it can.  (Not good enough, America!)  Photo below.

Wellston

Missouri’s poorest, nearly all minority town, Wellston is fortunate enough to have a MetroLink

station near the center of town with lots of clear space around it.  What an opportunity for public

investment in mixed-use development that could spur revitalization!  But this is Missouri, so it’s

not happening.  Photo below.

Central West End

Not much to see here at the station, which is in a cut, but a great location convenient to the

vibrant, mixed-use Central West End neighborhood.

Cortex

This is an infill station, built to serve the burgeoning “Cortex Innovation District.”  Great idea,

but couldn’t something be done at the station to make a more appealing pedestrian connection? 

Photo below.

Stadium

Again, pretty basic station in a cut.  The station and neighborhood are very lively during

St. Louis Cardinals game days, perhaps not so much at other times (a nearby sign reminds

people that public urination is illegal).  The area itself – Busch Stadium, Ballpark Village –

still looks good, but I didn’t see signs of urban revitalization spreading very far. 

Photos below.

8th and Pine

This is the central downtown station, as well as one of the main access points via

transit to the Gateway Arch.  I wasn’t in the station itself (now closed for renovation) but

I have to say that the surrounding area is a bit scruffy.  Adjacent to the station is the

Wainwright Building, an architectural gem, which should be the centerpiece of transit

oriented development at this location.  Ideally, that development would include taking

down the ugly 1980s annex, which is fronted by garage doors, and replacing it with a

plaza of some sort.  The Wainwright Building has been occupied by state offices, but the

benighted state leadership has decided to sell off the building and move all 600 state

employees to an exurban office park.  (How much do Missouri Republicans hate cities

and transit?) Fortunately, the building has been purchased, and we can hope for proper

redevelopment (story here).  Photo below.

So, not much visible progress in transit-oriented redevelopment since my last visit a few

years ago.  But the light rail line still purrs right along, there are plans for expansion (good

luck with the funding), and lots of raw opportunity in what was once – and could be again –

one of America’s premier cities

Baltimore’s Red Line: We have light rail, now we need tunnels!

 It was super good news to learn that Maryland Governor Wes Moore decided to move forward with light rail as the preferred technology for Baltimore’s Red Line (story here).  Moore resurrected the Red Line after taking office in 2023.  Former Governor Larry Hogan had cancelled the project in 2015, with disastrous consequences for the city of Baltimore, the regional transit network, transportation equity, and Maryland’s long-term economic development.

I have been an active supporter of the Red Line for years (see, for instance, my blog posting here), so it was very heartening to see the project reborn, especially as a light rail line.  Bus rapid transit – while great in some applications – is not what we need here.  What we need is light rail – and tunnels!

Why tunnels?  If you have ever tried to drive along an east-west route through central Baltimore, you will know that it is very constricted both by the limited street network and by water.  Even if you could carve a dedicated surface route through it, you would be limiting yourself to providing streetcar-type service.  With judicious use of tunneling, you could provide real rapid-transit service.  Realistically, however, comparative costs (very expensive vs. very very expensive) will tend to tug decision-makers toward surface options.  (An overview of the options under consideration can be found on the project web page here.)

So, carry on, Red Line advocates!  More work to be done!

Tim Walz's Transportation Bill

 You have no doubt heard a lot about what Tim Walz and the Democratic legislature havd accomplished once they had a “trifecta” (majorities in both houses and the Governor’s mansion).  But it’s worth doing a quick bullet list of some the high points:

• Free school breakfast and lunch for students;

• Guaranteed paid leave and paid sick days;

• A child tax credit to cut child poverty by a third;

• Expansion of voting rights, including automatic voter registration;

• A guarantee of reproductive freedom;

• Reduced prescription drug costs;

• A plan for 100% clean energy by 2040;

• A $1 Billion investment in affordable housing;

• Legalization of recreational cannabis; and

• New gun safety laws.

Impressive stuff!  And I’m sure you can add to that list.

What hasn’t been talked about much is Governor Walz’s legislative record on transportation.  And that is just as impressive.  In 2023 the legislature enacted an appropriations bill with very robust and innovative transportation provisions.  The advocacy group Move Minnesota, which was active in shaping the bill, said it achieved “nation-leading wins” and Streetsblog USA said it might be “the best statewide transportation bill yet.”

OK, time for another bullet list.  This is some of what the bill included:

• Pump more money into transportation, including indexing the gas tax to inflation;

• Create a long-term, stable funding stream for transit;

• Create a retail delivery fee, so that Amazon and friends will help pay for the public infrastructure they use;

• Set up a free-fare pilot program;

• Provide increased funding for bus rapid transit, intercity rail, bicycle and pedestrian programs; 

• Create a statewide e-bike tax rebate; and

• (Saving the best for last) require the Minnesota DOT to review state arterial highway expansion projects to determine if they decrease greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled to meet state climate goals, and, if they don’t, either kill the project or provide mitigation measures.

Again, pretty impressive.

This last provision – reviewing highway expansion projects through a climate change lens – is probably the most consequential of all.  (It was amended this year to apply to all state arterial (“trunk”) highway projects, not just capacity increases.  The law becomes effective for capacity increase projects on 1 February 2025, with all projects covered by 2027.  

The law spells out in detail the measures that Minnesota DOT can take to mitigate a project’s shortfall on greenhouse gas emissions or VMT:

1. Transit expansion;

2. Transit service improvements;

3. Active transportation infrastructure;

4. Micromobility infrastructure and service;

5. Transportation demand management;

6. Parking management (including reductions in parking requirements);

7. Land use (increase in residential density, mixed use development, transit oriented development);

8. Infrastructure related to traffic operations (roundabouts, reduced conflict intersections); and

9. Natural systems (prairie restoration, reforestation, urban green space).

Of course, the devil is very much in the details when it comes to implementing such a complicated provision.  But it looks like the agency (Minnesota DOT) is administering it in good faith.  The working group set up to design the process included a representative from Move Minnesota.

We can’t give all the credit for this bill to Governor Walz – the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party majority (Trifecta for the win!) and outside groups like Move Minnesota were essential.  But it happened on his watch and under his leadership, so it should go on his resume!

The Move Minnesota story explaining how this remarkable bill came in to being is available here.