Quote:
Originally Posted by jbermingham123
Exactly. It doesnt need this, and I'd argue it doesnt need anything.
The area needed investment 50 years ago, but it didnt get it. And I need to be as blunt as possible here: it. is. too. late. now. North St. Louis is gone.
The remaining population there are almost entirely baby boomer and silent generation holdouts. The (legal, official) population will drop fully to zero in 20 years. i guarantee it. But saying "anything is possible" gets people elected, so civic leaders and aldermen will always say that. But its a lie. Cities are living things. living things can die. watering dead plants doesnt make them green again.
This project, like the delmar trolley, is part of a death spiral of wasting money on things that healthy cities have, without doing anything to make the city healthy. Kind of like noticing that racecars all have advertisements on them, and concluding that you can make your car go faster by painting advertisements on it.
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1. St. Louis has a relatively successful light rail systen with nearly 50 miles of track in two states that serves a metropolitan area of almost 3 Million people. Why would the region just abandon it's transit ambitions just because it's not a fast growing or "it" city? There are many citizens, major corporations, universities, civic institutions, etc. that are invested in the city and want to reinvigorate the urban core.
2. The near northside of St. Louis is the least populated area of the city and a product of failed urban renewal programs like slum clearance, massive public housing disasters, and systematic disinvestment. There is a lot of empty land up there, but there are still people that call it home and will never move. Your mindset of just let them die on the vine is the exact reason areas like that exist in this country, smart redevelopment plans are needed to bolster areas like this. In fact, there are major plans for the area whether the area builds the light rail or not. The NGA has built a major multi-billion dollar facility directly on North Jefferson Avenue and will get a stop on the light rail.
3. The feds have already surveyed the area several times and Buttigeg even took a tour of the area. The feds have pretty much told St. Louis that if they have a federal mandate to reinvigorate the area around the newly built federal facility and the Obama adminstration purposely chose to build that facility (which will be complete in 2026) in the roughest area of town to help
promote economic development within the "promise zone".
4. Conveniently, you pointed out the most desolate area along the route to draw your conclusion. It seems like you have a personal disdain for St. Louis, which is strange to me. You're from Jacksonville, I've lived there. Not really anything to write home about from an urbanist perspective.
5. This is literally, less than 1000 ft from the area you posted. There are still some intact urban blocks near by with beautiful historic homes. The area just needs infill and there are already plans to do so.
St. Louis Avenue:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6521...8192?entry=ttu
Also, it seems that you failed to point out that the proposed line also goes through some of the densest areas in the metropolitan area. Many residential neighborhoods like this with 10,000 ppsm density.
Cherokee St.:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5938...8192?entry=ttu
Lafayette Square:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6202...8192?entry=ttu
Downtown West:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6340...8192?entry=ttu
5. In conclusion, it's amazing to me how much hate a place like St. Louis gets for trying to improve the quality of life for it's citizenry. This is something that the people of the city voted and increased their taxes for (something a lot of "successful cities" like Nashville and Austin have struggled with), because they see the value of the current Metrolink system and want to expand it. St. Louis is a legacy city and is definitely has it's fair share of problems, but I never hear this when a place like Charlotte or Phoenix proposed transit expansions. Are cities not allowed to reinvest in themselves?