St. Louis — No Money for Streetcar Study

Rail Transit Online, December 2010

A request by Republican Congressman Lacy Clay for $500,000 in federal funding to study a proposed downtown streetcar circulator has been rejected, placing the proposal on indefinite hold. Lacy had asked for an earmark in this year's transportation bill but, because of the anti-earmark policy being pursued by Republicans in the next Congress that takes office in January, he doesn't plan to re-submit his application.

Although an exact route has not been selected, preliminary plans called for a 4.7-mi. (7.6 km) line between downtown, Grand Center and the Central West End using Locust and Olive streets. Clay's office estimated the streetcar would have eliminated 1.5 million car trips annually while connecting several communities with MetroLink light rail stations.

The president of the civic group Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, Maggie Campbell, said the scheme has merit and may eventually re-emerge. "Good ideas always do, don't they?" she told the Post-Dispatch.