Just one question for Lewis Reed: Bump the city transit tax?
Eddie Roth/Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed paid us a visit this morning, catching us up with various initiatives from his office.
He came with Harry Kennedy in tow, his new legislative director and a longtime Missouri lawmaker.
Mr. Reed ran down a list of priorities ranging from promoting public safety to pushing for regional environmental collaboration to returning the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to local control.
I expect to be learning and writing more about all three issues.
But I used the occasion to ask Mr. Reed about what he saw as the city response to the defeat of Proposition M in St. Louis County.
He spoke generally of the need for Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley to get together.
I think of it as a matter that will require leadership not just from the mayor but all of City Hall and the business community.
A massive cut transit service will hurt a lot of people in this community.
The only way to limit service cuts is to find new revenue sources, and we mapped one strategy for doing so in a Sunday editorial.
Click on the MP3 audio button below to hear Mr. Reed discuss the possibility of putting a one-quarter-cent sales tax on the ballot before scheduled cuts begin on April 1:
Eddie Roth writes about education, social justice, public safety, transportation, legal affairs and historic preservation. He joined the Post-Dispatch editorial page in 2008 after six years as an editorial writer with the Dayton Daily News. But he is not new to St. Louis. Eddie grew up in Webster Groves and south St. Louis County. He's a lawyer who for many years practiced with a downtown firm, and was active in civic affairs, including serving a term on the St. Louis Police Board. He and his wife, Jeanne, and their three daughters, Emily, Julia and Alice, live in the Shaw Neighborhood.
When it comes to community organizing, he endorses Quentin Crisp's advice: Rather than keeping up with the Joneses, it's better to pull them down to your level. 
Too much too soon. An eighth cent might pass in August if gas is still under $3.00 and Metro has installed turnstiles.
President Reed shows his characteristic concern about the possible negative impact of City government action on St. Louis small businesses.
“A massive cut transit service will hurt a lot of people in this community”…
Oh dear! Yet another heart rending appeal for responsible people to carry the load for the irresponsible people…
“The only way to limit service cuts is to find new revenue sources, and we mapped one strategy for doing so in a Sunday editorial”…
I have a better idea, why don’t the people who ride the public transportation pay for it themselves?
“Oh dear! Yet another heart rending appeal for responsible people to carry the load for the irresponsible people…”
Yes, how irresponsible for those people to work for as little money as they do. They should have just held out and lived off welfare until they could afford cars so they could get to higher paying jobs.
jjk - install turnstile with what money? Metro is putting it’s money into running the system as it is and is going to have to cut service to do that. Turnstiles cost money. Reconfiguring platforms to restrict access to the turnstiles cost money. And, honestly, is it a good idea to remove the presence of security people to do that? I’ll concede that maybe the people who should be checking for tickets are not doing the best job. But, I think that having properly trained personnel doing the job could give the organization a human face and provide security. Maybe better training and better people doing the job instead of just replacing the people with machines?
A 2007 study in LA found It would take six years to recoup the cost (which in LA was estimated at $30 mil and would be much less here). They supported the move not only because they were losing millions in cheated fares, but also because of the safety and cleanliness aspects of restricting entry. They speculated a safer system would attract new riders and new fares. The other reason they were looking at the move, which apparently was suggested to be phased in over time starting with the worst cheating locations, was the implementation of a fee card system. The one thing I don’t like about NYC and CHI is having to stand in line to buy a card. These turnstiles could be programmed to swipe a credit or debit card which would speed up entry. For those of you who have never been to NYC or CHI, unless you are talking about the hubs like Grand Central, there are only a few turnstiles in each stop. This would be a great investment for Metro.
jjk - I’m not questioning the study you mention, but I would be interested to see it. Do you know where it might be available? Perhaps a link? Thanks.