Federal government may take back grant money for St. Louis trolley

[Sherman A1]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Federal Transit Administration is giving St. Louis area officials until Feb. 1 to submit a plan to restart service of the Loop Trolley, or else the region may be required to pay back millions of dollars in federal grants.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that in a letter sent Monday to Mayor Tishaura Jones, the FTA’s regional administrator said the plan must include at least four days of trolley service per week involving three trolley vehicles. The letter says the service must restart by June 1.

The 2.2-mile streetcar line in the Delmar Loop area of St. Louis and University City opened in November 2018 after years of delays. But ticket sales and revenue lagged and the trolley shut down in December 2019.

FTA regional chief Mokhtee Ahmad said in the letter that various pools of federal money helped pay for the $51 million project.

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/federal-government-may-take-back-grant-money-for-st-louis-trolley

[Gore1FL]

1. Who didn't see this coming?

I've never been a big "Loop" person either pre or post gentrifying; it's never been a real hangout for me, especially since Cicero's closed.

The few times I was down there while they were building it, I could only ask "why?"

I never saw the point of duplicating a metro-link path down the middle of an already crowded street to ferry people where they aren't going.

I think paying back the money and repaving the street is the cheapest and best solution to this fiasco.

[Sherman A1]

2. I have to agree

I always thought it was a dumb idea from the get-go. Been to Blueberry Hill a few times, but overall it isn't a place I frequent.