By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – St. Louis's mass transit agency has laid out a "wish list" for the Metro system.
Metro's board voted Friday to approve a long-range plan that includes possible expansions of MetroLink, and the development of bus rapid transit corridors and regional commuter rail.
The MetroLink expansion to south St. Louis County drew heavy criticism for cost overruns and a failed lawsuit to recover the money.
Metro CEO Bob Baer says the agency has learned its lesson.
"We've made two commitments," he said. "We won't build anything without federal funds, and we won't build it if we can't operate it. So those are if's, but what do want as a region, as a community, and what are we willing to pay for?"
The plan does not commit the agency to building anything, and officials say their first priority is restoring service cuts made last spring. In order to do that, the agency needs county voters to a sales tax hike in April. That led long-time Metro critic Tom Sullivan to call the latest long-range plan nothing more than campaign propaganda.
"In 1994, when we had the first vote on MetroLink, all kinds of maps and plans were provided, we had arrows pointing everywhere. And after the voters approved what happened? I think about 10 minutes later, it was all forgotten about," he said.