Mayor Cara Spencer’s decision to pull the plug on the MetroLink Green Line plan was a big setback for proponents of expanding light rail in St. Louis.
But Bi-State Development President and CEO Taulby Roach said the reaction to Spencer’s announcement hasn’t been as overwhelmingly negative as some people think. During an appearance on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, Roach said the demise of the Green Line is an opportunity to pursue projects like bus rapid transit — which have a track record of success in other cities.
“And I think one of the things that we certainly heard from thousands of public outreach interviews is that folks want to see a project that's impactful but will still be affordable from the city,” Roach said.
The proposed Green Line was a roughly $1.1 billion above-ground expansion of the light rail system that went along Jefferson Avenue, connecting Chippewa Avenue in south St. Louis and Fairground Park in north St. Louis. Roach said it was fairly similar to a streetcar system in Kansas City.
Both Roach and Spencer cited the cost of the project and the inability to get federal funding for shelving the Green Line.
“And frustratingly, it's really coming out too expensive given where we are on a tax revenue standpoint,” Roach said.
Some members of the JeffVanderLou Neighborhood Association were pleased with Spencer’s decision.
One of the group’s advisory board members, Clara Alexander, said neighbors expressed grave concerns about how the Green Line would affect residents who live on Jefferson Avenue.
“Major, major concerns with a light rail running street level in front of homes,” Alexander said. “That was our biggest thing, the safety factor. Stepping out of your front door, can you imagine? We couldn't.”
While Roach said he disagreed about a light rail system hurting residential neighborhoods, he added that the pivot to bus rapid transit is “being cognizant of what some of the neighbors have concerns about.”
“And moving to a bus rapid transit line will be less impactful than a larger train, and we'll be able to run along the streetscape, albeit with some of the benefits of light rail,” Roach said.
What is bus rapid transit?
While each city handles its bus rapid transit system differently, at its core it includes dedicated lanes for buses – meaning it's often less expensive than light rail and easier to implement. Roach said putting bus rapid transit on the Green Line route would cost $400 million to $450 million.
He added that bus rapid transit doesn’t require putting tracks into roadways or a power source for the train.
“Obviously bus rapid transit, which would be on the existing road bed, has less impact, right? So it's a little easier from an environmental assessment standpoint,” Roach said. “But all of these boxes must be checked in this application, ultimately, to get federal funds from Washington, D.C.”
Asked whether President Donald Trump’s administration is interested in investing in new mass transit projects, Roach said, “I need to advance an application that I think will be competitive.”
“We had a $1.1 billion project in rail. We saw it as being too expensive. So we looked at it and talked to the public about it, and now we're pivoting to a much more affordable project,” Roach said. “I think that will be well received in D.C.”
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
