St. Louis region’s public transit plans moves forward

Residents of the St. Louis region will have one last opportunity to help shape the next 30 years of public transit by attending the final round of public workshops that begin on January 19, 2010. Metro will present a draft of the "Moving Transit Forward" plan that will address the region's short-range, mid-range and long-range transit needs at the January meetings. The draft incorporates suggestions from the public collected during 18 workshops held in October and December.

Suggestions include:

• Restoring service for
MetroBus, MetroLink and Metro Call-A-Ride following reductions made last year,
and then expanding service and adding routes as needed.


• Improving passenger
comfort and security.


• Considering new transit
options such as commuter rail service and bus rapid transit to serve job
centers in the region.

The draft will be posted
at www.movingtransitforward.org on January 18, 2010. Ray Friem, Chief
Operating Officer of Transit Services, encourages residents from across the
region to review the draft online, and attend one of the workshops that will be
held around the region or participate in the interactive online Webinar, to
ensure that the final plan reflects their priorities and meets their needs.

"People throughout the
bi-state area gave us their ideas on where and how to expand transit in the
region," Friem said. "Now, everyone can see the blueprint they helped create
for transit investments over the next five, ten and thirty years."

Metro, in cooperation
with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, is creating this
comprehensive Long-Range Plan to guide the development of public transit in the
St. Louis region. The plan is intended to be a 30-year vision for how the
transit system can bolster the regional economy, improve customer service to
the community, and continue an established tradition of operational excellence
into the future.

To help guide the
formation of this plan, Metro has asked community leaders, elected officials,
business owners and the general public to take part in community workshops and
share their ideas on how to evolve public transit in the St. Louis region.

After this final round of
workshops, Metro will present the draft to the Metro Board of Commissioners and
the East-West Gateway Council of Governments for consideration. The East-West
Gateway Council of Governments serves as the planning authority for the
bi-state area, and will make the final decisions on future public transit
expansion.

Dates and locations for the
final round of public workshops are also available at www.movingtransitforward.org.