» Moving Transit Forward

Part of the Moving Transit Forward team: (left to right) Renee Ducker of URS, Jayson Hagen, Mark Phillips, Jessica Mefford-Miller, Ken Kinney of URS and Todd Hennessy

The Board of East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCG) today unanimously approved and adopted Moving Transit Forward, the long-range plan Metro developed through transportation research and community input.  The plan offers options that EWGCG, the region’s planning agency, can use when deciding next steps for public transit in St. Louis.  Once EWGCG makes those decisions on transit service, Metro implements and operates those services.

Metro’s Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the plan on February 12.

The plan is a blueprint designed to help EWGCG decide how best to meet transit needs in all sectors of the region in manageable time frames. The projects discussed in each phase are:

Short-Range (1-5 years)

• Restoring services cut last year to increase coverage and frequency back to levels before the reductions
• Planning and design for the next MetroLink extension that would be determined by EWGCG
• Two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes. BRT offers higher speed, high capacity service (also to be determined by EWGCG)
• Improved passenger amenities and technology

Medium-Range (5-10 Years)

• Construction and operation of one light-rail expansion route
• Additional BRT routes
• Additional transit centers

Long-Range (10-30 years)

• Planning, construction and operation of a second light-rail alignment
• Begin planning and engineering for a third light- rail extension

The plan is designed to meet citizens’ request for fiscally responsible and realistic options for transit in St. Louis.  Metro cannot build any project outlined in its long-range plan until EWGCG officials approve it, and all possibilities depend on obtaining a new, long-term source of local revenue and increases in state and federal support.  A timeline for reviewing the projects will be determined by the EWGCG.

Check out the details of the long-range plan on the Moving Transit Forward website.

As part of Metro’s plan to tell the region about our Moving Transit Forward long-range plan and to gather community feedback, we will be presenting at a series of city council meetings across the region. In case you can’t attend one of our public meetings, or want to find out how public transit affects your city, here is a list of upcoming city council presentations:

View Metro Moving Transit Forward Presentations to City Councils in a larger map

1/26/10 7:00 PM Ferguson
2/1/10 7:00 PM St. John
2/1/10 7:00 PM Brentwood
2/2/10 7:00 PM Rock Hill
2/2/10 7:30 PM Black Jack
2/2/10 7:30 PM Clarkson Valley
2/2/10 7:30 PM Normandy
2/2/10 7:30 PM Pine Lawn
2/2/10 7:30 PM Webster Groves
2/8/10 6:00 PM Uplands Park
2/8/10 7:00 PM Marlborough
2/8/10 7:00 PM Lakeshire
2/8/10 7:00 PM Town and Country
2/8/10 7:15 PM Oakland
2/8/10 7:30 PM Dellwood
2/9/10 6:15 PM Clayton
2/9/10 7:00 PM Crestwood
2/10/10 7:00 PM Country Club Hills
2/10/10 7:30 PM Winchester
2/10/10 7:30 PM Velda City
2/16/10 7:30 PM Vinita Park
2/16/10 7:00 PM Frontenac
2/16/10 7:00 PM Warson Woods
2/16/10 7:30 PM Grantwood Village
2/18/10 7:00 PM Hanley Hills
2/22/10 4:00 PM Ladue
2/22/10 7:00 PM Jennings
2/23/10 4:00 PM St. Louis County
2/23/10 7:30 PM Olivette
2/25/10 TBD Fenton
2/25/10 7:00 PM Bella Villa
3/1/10 7:30 PM Richmond Heights
3/15/10 7:00 PM Breckenridge Hills

We know everyone is busy. There is a lot of information out there to ingest. So this post is designed to be a 60-second summary (actual time may vary!) of the draft “Moving Transit Forward” plan presentation that we released yesterday.  You’ve got 60 seconds for the future of St. Louis transit, right?  Let’s go.

What is “Moving Transit Forward”?

STL region’s vision for transit restoration, growth and enhancement: 5-year, 10-year, 30-year.

How do we make transit decisions?

The planning team studies land use and regional data on population, employment, travel patterns and projections, and incorporates public input via community workshops, meetings, and websites.

But…East-West Gateway Council of Governments selects projects for design and construction.

Projects must be eligible for federal funding, and must have financial support at local and state level.

Using which criteria will we select projects?

1. Best service for as many people as possible.
2. Cost effective
3. Encourage economic development
4. Help mitigate congestion and pollution
5. Contribute to strength of region’s core

Assumption:

Service restoration and any expansion will require additional financial resources.

THE PLAN

First Step

Service restoration of MetroBus, MetroLink and Call-A-Ride to pre-March 2009 levels

Passenger Amenities and Technology

Smart Cards
Computer-aided dispatch/automated vehicle location (used in CTA’s BusTracker)
More transit centers
Web- and cellphone-based applications

Light-Rail

Potential corridors:

Planning, design, construction requires about 10 years, costs $60 million per mile
Final planning & design phase will determine stations, end points

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Potential corridors:

Planning, design & construction requires about 5 years and costs approximately $30 million per route
Final planning & design phase will determine stations, end points

Commuter Rail

Potential corridors:

Success depends on federal and state support of high-speed rail initiatives
Costs approximately $20 million per route if federal and state governments build rail infrastructure

How would we fund the plan?

Additional local funding is required for sustaining system, restoration and expansion.
Additional state funding is required to implement full scope of projects.
Federal funding is required for any major expansion project.

When could we see these projects?

1-5 years

1. Service Restoration
2. Planning and engineering for next light rail route
3. Three bus rapid transit routes
4. East-West Gateway selects light rail and BRT routes
5. Passenger amenities and technology

5-10 years

1. One light rail extension constructed and operating
2. Fourth BRT route
3. East-west Gateway selects next options for expansion
4. Additional transit centers

10-30 years

1. Second light-rail alignment
2. Begin planning and engineering phases for third light rail extension

Commuter rail?

Depends on federal and state support for high-speed rail

St. Charles County, Jefferson County, and Madison County, IL?

Depends on intent and funding from these counties

What happens now?

Seek public input through February 2010
Seek Metro Board of Commissioners approval in February 2010
Seek plan adoption from East-West Gateway Board
Final plan recommendation released in March 2010

There you have it. We are still seeking public input on the draft through February, so please check out this the long-range plans’s online survey to give us your feedback on the specifics of the plan.  If you have any questions about the plan, please let us know at blog@nextstopstl.org.

During the community workshops in November, the Metro long-term planning team went around the region and conducted community workshops to get a handle on what are St. Louisans’ priorities for transit spending, now and in the future.  People chose which corridors and modes they preferred, and which amenities were important to them.  Now, Metro’s Moving Transit Forward planning team is conducting another round of community workshops to present findings and solicit feedback and answer questions.  At these meetings, Ray Friem and Jessica Mefford-Miller also describe how the planning process works, and explain limitations and future opportunities.

So here is my breakdown of the workshop results:

(more…)

Participants work through the planning exercise at the Community Workshop in Chesterfield.

Moving Transit Forward’s Round 1 Public Workshop results are in!

Round 2’s workshops will begin on December 7th and run through the 17th.  Be sure to come to one of these follow-up meetings to hear what your community said it wants from the region’s transit system, as well as potential strategies for meeting those needs.  There will be a brief presentation of the ongoing planning process, followed by an opportunity for you to share your thoughts. Check out the Moving Transit Forward website for more information on locations and dates, or to download the full schedule. (UPDATE: The schedule I initially posted had the wrong times for the City Hall and Mehlville High School meetings; the schedule posted now is correct.)

And if you haven’t already, be sure to take our new poll and lend us your thoughts on Wi-Fi + Transit.  There is a comment section following your vote – We’d enjoy hearing what you have to say about syncing this technology with St. Louis public transit.

The Moving Transit Forward team has added another public workshop, hosted by Madison County Transit on Tuesday, November 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Edwardsville Station, Main and Hillsboro Streets in Edwardsville, Illinois. If you haven’t had a chance to make it to one of the public workshops, this is your last opportunity.

If attendance at public events isn’t your thing, we’ve put all of the workshop materials on the Moving Transit Forward long-range planning website for you to review and then send us your feedback. And remember, there will be another round of public input next month when Metro’s planners begin to put together the long-range plan based on this first round of feedback.

Tuesday’s workshop at the World Trade Center in Clayton went very well. Nearly fifty people showed up over the course of two hours and made their way around the four information stations that were put together and staffed by our Planning Department. These stations, which you can view and download as .pdfs on the Moving Transit Forward website, are designed to provide the information necessary so that when a person reaches the fifth station, they can sit down with a map, pencils, and cost information and design their ideal transit system for the St. Louis region. Finally, at the sixth station, you get to rank your top three preferences for transit enhancements.

Of course, not every single detail can be covered using exhibit boards, so Metro’s Planning staff, Finance staff, and other members of the Moving Transit Forward team are available at each station to answer questions. At the end of the evening, team members collect all of the participant’s maps to analyze and help guide the team when drawing up the preliminary thirty-year plan.

I was pleased to see how many people came, and I also appreciated how much time and energy people were putting into drawing their maps and working through the financing exercise. This public input is crucial for the plan because the whole point of these workshops is to get out and talk to folks about what they want to see from their transit system, and answer any questions they have so that their choices are based on good information.

The workshops are continuing for the rest of this week and all of next, up to the last one on October 27 at Mehlville High School. You’ve got plenty of time to get out to one or, if you just can’t make it, take a look at those downloadable materials on the Moving Transit Forward site, and work through the mapping and finance exercise. If you have questions while you’re working through the materials, please email the Moving Transit Forward team or use the Contact Form on the website to get your questions answered. When you’re done, scan & email your map & exercise back to us, or drop it in the mail to:

Moving Transit Forward
Mail Stop 144
707 North First Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63102

Remember, we want your input so we’re making it as easy as possible for you to let us know what you think.

If you’ve ever had an opinion about transit in St. Louis – what kind of vehicles are used, where those vehicles should go, whether there should be restrooms at transfer facilities, whether you like the idea of commuter rail trains or accordion-style buses – tonight is the night to come out and give it. Tonight Metro and the Moving Transit Forward team is holding the first of its transit planning Public Workshops:

Tuesday, October 13 from 5-7 p.m. at the World Trade Center in Clayton, 121 S. Meramec Avenue Room 1012, Clayton, MO. (Arrive via Clayton Transit Center.)

The event is scheduled for two hours, but the workshops are set up so that people can come and go as they are able. There won’t be any big speeches or a single Q&A session. Instead, you will be conducted through six workstations by members of the Planning Department and other Metro Staff and Moving Transit Forward team members. The workstations will help acquaint you with the purpose of the planning, the technologies and enhancements that are available, and the costs of implementing and operating any service enhancements – Transit 101. At the end, you will be a newly-minted regional transit planner.

At the final workstation, you will sit down with a map and some colored pencils and draw out your preferred transit system, and work your way through a financial exercise to help you prioritize where you would spend money on transit. At every station there will be people available to answer any questions you have and take any feedback you would like to give. Metro will collect the maps and financial worksheets at the end of your session. If the entire exercise only takes you ten minutes, you can come and go in ten minutes. If you want to stay for the entire two hours, ask a lot of questions, and see what other people are wishing for transit in St. Louis, you are free to do that as well.

Why is Metro collecting the maps and financial worksheet? Because the planning team will use this data to gauge the transit preferences of the St. Louis region.

What does it mean for me to become a regional transit planner? Your voice will be heard in the planning process, and you will be helping to shape the economic development of the region for the next three decades. Your voice is critical to this process and, depending on turnout at the workshops, you may have a chance to have a very large impact on transit.

How can I follow up on developments in the plan? You will be able to sign up to receive email updates as the plan progresses (sign up online by registering at MovingTransitForward.org), including announcements of the next two rounds of public input. You can also follow this blog, subscribe to the RSS feed, follow the Transit Plan on Twitter (@STLTransitPlan), and visit the long-range planning website at www.MovingTransitForward.org.

Our Moving Transit Forward team has added another location and time to the public roundtable forums that will be happening from October 13 (next Tuesday!) until October 27, and I think a lot of blog readers will find this one easy to get to.

Tuesday, October 20 at 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
City of St. Louis City Hall, 1200 Market Street
(Transit arrival via Civic Center MetroLink Station or #99 Downtown Circulator)

Obviously we hope you will come, visit every station and then participate in a discussion; but if you don’t have the entire two hours you are welcome to come and go as you please at any of the meetings.

Also, the Moving Transit Forward website will be online this evening at movingtransitforward.org.( If you go there now, you will see our development frame, but we are spending the day making final tweaks and transferring the content from our development site to the live site.) Bookmark it now and check it out tomorrow (or Monday) for details about the planning process, team, and vision.

Bob Baer briefs the crowd

UPDATE: An additional forum date announced.

At yesterday’s executive briefing, Metro’s planning officials announced the dates and locations for the first round of public engagement meetings for the long-range planning process. We’re posting the schedule here, and you can expect an announcement of the long-range plan website prior to the first meeting on October 13. Please spread the word about these meetings and encourage your friends, neighbors, co-workers, elected officials, barristas, and family members to come to these forums – and bring their opinions.

You are welcome at any and all of these public meetings, of course, but they are being held at different locations throughout the region to ensure maximum public engagement.

• Tuesday, October 13 from 5-7 p.m. at the World Trade Center in Clayton, 121 S. Meramec Avenue Room 1012, Clayton, MO. (Arrive via Clayton Transit Center.)
• Wednesday, October 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Chesterfield City Hall Council Chambers, 690 Chesterfield Parkway West, Chesterfield, MO. (Arrive via #258 Clayton Chesterfield bus.)
• Thursday, October 15 from 6-8 p.m. at the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club Sportsman’s Park Unit, 2910 North Grand Avenue, St. Louis, MO. (Arrive via #70 Grand bus.)
• Saturday, October 17 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Southwestern Illinois College, Main Complex Room 1410, 2500 Carlyle Avenue, Belleville, IL. ** Campus map .pdf here. ** (Arrive via College MetroLink Station.)
• Monday, October 19 from 5-7 p.m. at St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley, Student Center Multi-Purpose Room, 3400 Pershall Avenue, Ferguson, MO. ** Campus map here. ** (Arrive via #36 Spanish Lake.)
• Thursday, October 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Washington University Medical Center, Eric P. Newman Center, 320 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO. (Arrive via Central West End MetroLink Station.)
• Monday, October 26 from 5-7 pm. at St. Louis Public Library, Carpenter Branch, 3309 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO. (Arrive via #70 Grand.)
• Tuesday, October 27 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Mehlville High School Library, 3200 Lemay Ferry Road, Mehlville, MO. (Arrive via #73 Carondelet.)

All of the links above (except the links to the two college campus maps) go to Google Maps; the first link shows just the location and the second link shows how to get there via transit. Just change the starting address (currently Metro HQ!) to where you’re starting from. I even put in the date and the time you’ll want to arrive by in order to get you onto the right bus and train so you can get there on time. (You can see that by clicking “Show Options”; Google gives you the option to use your departure or arrival time to plan your trip.)