Robert Baer

If the region started now to plan for the next MetroLink expansion, eight years may pass before the new segment opens, Metro officials say.

And under questioning from from St. Louis County Councilman Greg Quinn, R-Ballwin, Metro President Robert Baer said it is conceivable that his agency would lack the money to operate the addition.

Baer and three other top transit officials on Tuesday reported to the council on the agency’s long-range planning. The county is its largest source of money. And voters next April may consider raising a transportation sales tax by a half-cent to provide the agency an additional $80 million a year with $40 million to operate the system and $40 million for MetroLink expansion.

After the council session ended, Jessica Mefford-Miller, Metro’s chief planner, and Chris Poehler, the vice president for engineering and new construction, discussed the length of time needed to complete a MetroLink expansion.
Before construction could begin, they said, the region has to:

> Agree to a plan and designate the general route – a corridor – where the expansion would occur.

> Persuade the federal government to finance the expansion and find sources of the local match for the federal share. St. Louis would compete with proposals from across the country.

> Complete a design, an environmental impact statement and detailed plans for the project. Construction of the expansion would take 2 ½ years to three years, Poehler said.

Ray Friem, Metro’s chief operating officer for transit services, expanding MetroLink by a series of short additions made sense. But federal officials favor longer segments and walking away from a project after a transit agency builds it, he said. “What we build is what the federal government will support,” he said.

The officials talked about bus rapid transit, flex transit and high-speed commuter rail a new approaches for expanded service.

Bus rapid transit lines would have large low-floor buses running between stations that would be similar to MetroLink ones, Mefford-Miller said. They might travel on their own right of way, she said.

Flex transit would link large employment centers and the residential areas around them, she said. Officials only mentioned high-speed commuter rail.
Metro last month held a series of workshops on long-range plans which drew about 400 people. MetroLink remained the most popular expansion mode. Officials said they were surprised by the number of participants who were willing to favor bus rapid transit and expanded bus service, particularly after they learned how expensive extending MetroLink would be.

Friem said Metro faced challenges raising the money for pay for expanded service. Among them are the inability to raise local money to match federal funds and little state support of transit in Missouri, he said.

County Councilwoman Barbara Fraser, D-University City, noted that some opponents of the half-cent tax increase want a sunset clause in it. She asked if it is a good idea.

Baer said Metro had needs “that would never go away” and that it needs “a secure revenue stream” to deal with them. Having invested $1.8 billion in Metro, the public should not walk away from the system, he said.

Metro is planning at three levels: five-year short-range, 10-year midrange and 30-year long range. The agency’s schedule calls for:

> A briefing for elected officials and business leaders on Dec. 4.

> A draft showing service enhancement presented the week of Dec. 7.

> A draft plan made public the week of Jan. 18 that takes into account comments the public made in the previous month.

> Adoption of a plan in March.

The timetable would give county voters the agency’s long-term plans before an April election.