Potential MetroLink Extension Selected for St. Louis City Dec.

2007, Issue 4

The Board of Directors of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, our region’s metropolitan planning agency, has approved a
potential MetroLink extension in the City of St. Louis. The board’s vote means that if or when light rail is expanded in the City, this is the
route that should be considered. The approved extension, known in transit planning as a locally preferred alternative, would travel in the
street, except along the I-55 right-of-way, as follows:
• From I-70 north near the Goodfellow Avenue exit
south to Natural Bridge;
• East to North Florissant, south on 14th Street into
Downtown;
• East on Convention Plaza, south to 10th Street, west
on Clark, south to 14th Street; and
• West on Chouteau Avenue, exit south onto Jefferson,
to Broadway exit to I-55 right-of-way and terminating
at Bayless/I-55.
A separate set of tracks would move passengers, in the
opposite direction, from south to north.

The board’s approval culminates a two-year planning

study sponsored by East-West Gateway, Metro and
the Missouri Department of Transportation called the
“Northside-Southside Transit Improvements Study,” which
examined several potential light rail extensions for north
St. Louis, south St. Louis and downtown. At the study’s
start, with input from elected officials, stakeholders and
the general public, it was determined that an expanded
light rail system in the City was worth pursuing because
it would: encourage economic development, provide
access to opportunity, spur job growth and stabilize
neighborhoods. Armed with this information, the study
team began looking at several potential routes that
would achieve these goals. It started with eight possible
extensions, then through detailed analysis that included
costs, development opportunities, property impacts
and ridership, combined with public input, study team
members narrowed the options down to one. It was this
option that East-West Gateway’s board approved.

Planning Transit Improvements for St. Louis City Dec. 2007 page 1
 Northside-Southside Study
c/o Vector Communications
701 N. 15th Street, Mailbox 43
St. Louis. MO 63103
What’s Next?
Even though a new MetroLink
extension has been approved for
the City of St. Louis, it does not mean
it will be built in the near future. That’s
because currently there is no money
available to expand light rail anywhere
in the St. Louis area. Plus, the federal
government requires that in order to
receive federal funding to build a light
rail extension, an environmental study
must be conducted.
The purpose of the Environmental
Impact Study is to analyze in detail the
economic, social and environmental
effects of the proposed alternative and
to evaluate whether there are other
alternatives that could minimize
adverse impacts.
www.northsouthstudy.org
Public Participation - Key to Study’s Success
Thanks to you, the “Northside-Southside Major Transit Improvements
Study” had more citizen involvement than any St. Louis area transit study
in recent history. Furthermore, it far exceeded the federal government’s
requirements for public engagement. During the study:
• Presentations were made to 33 neighborhood groups, business
organizations, ward groups not once, but several times;
• St. Louis Aldermen and other elected officials, especially those wards
directly involved, were briefed periodically throughout the study;
• Three rounds of public meetings were held in north St. Louis, south St.
Louis and downtown at major study milestones;
• A Technical Advisory Group consisting of well-respected transit officials,
engineers and city officials met six times to provide advice to the study
team;
• A Policy Advisory Group composed of neighborhood and community
leaders met three times to offer suggestions to the study team;
• A telephone hotline, a website with all project information and
information sites at area public libraries were established; and
• A project brochure and four newsletters, including this one, were
distributed to more than 1,600 households.
Local media outlets were also kept informed throughout the study and
several television stations and newspapers reported on project
milestones.
Although there can never be too much public input, the study team thanks
you for your participation. Whenever the next stage of planning begins, we
hope you will be involved.
Thank You!
Dec. 2007 page 2