Historical June 1997 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to the Times on April 10. Since that time, a route for MetroLink expansion has not yet been selected.
We are printing edited excerpts from this letter in order to continue the dialogue on this subject.
I have never received the flyer referred to by the letters’ authors but it is clear that it advocated against the “northern” route for expansion.
If a route has not been selected by the end of August we will be happy to print further information on this topic. Dear neighbors, Recently, you may have received a flyer published by an anonymous source regarding the proposed MetroLink alignment that is being considered along Forest Park Parkway/Millbrook Boulevard between the existing DeBaliviere station and downtown Clayton. Our group, “Neighbors for MetroLink,” formed to help ensure that the people of our community have access to accurate facts and information about this issue and provide a voice for the great number of people who already support extending MetroLink along this route.
The original study conducted by Sverdrup Civil, Inc. called for the (northern route) to be “below grade” (approximately 20 feet below ground level) along that stretch, except for the area near Des Peres, at which point the alignment was to return to the surface because it was thought that the sewer was only six feet underground, while the minimum desirable vertical clearance for MetroLink is about 16 feet.
We have now learned that the top of the sewer is 19 feet below ground, which would allow the line to remain “below grade” for that entire section of the route. Re the issue of parking and concern over the fact that the proposed stops near Washington University would be “walk-on only” stations.
The existing MetroLink alignment successfully mixes both “park and ride” and “walk-on” stations.
In fact, several of the most heavily patronized stations have no parking and pose no problems for the surrounding areas.
In addition, there are now in excess of 200 unused parking spaces available at the nearby Delmar station.
In any instance in which neighborhood street parking becomes a problem, neigh borhoods across the country, including some near Washington University, have instituted permit systems to control unwanted vehicles. Efficient connectivity between employment and activity centers is the secret to high ridership The northern route directly connects 95,000 jobs in downtown St. Louis with 8.000 jobs in Midtown, 21.000 jobs at the BJC Hospitals/Washington University Medical Center, 8.000 jobs at Washington University’s hilltop campus and 30,000 jobs in Clayton.
This route will provide residents of Skinker DeBaliviere with direct high speed access to all of these destinations. Fiftythree percent of current MetroLink riders use the system to go to work each dayAccording to Sverdrup, the line will be constructed in a manner that preserves both the alley behind Lindell and the alley behind Pershing without taking any back yards.
The northern route would serve a greater ridership at a lower cost, take no homes to be built, and can be constructed now with the local funds available. Sincerely, Deborah Patterson Joe Edwards Co-chairs. Neighbors for MetroLink
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, June 1997.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1997_06.pdf, printed page(s) 2, 5; PDF page(s) 2, 5.
