$35.6 Million Streetcar

St. Louis is receiving more than $35 million in federal funds for “an old-fashioned style-trolley system” that will run on a 2.2-mile line from the Missouri History Museum to the University City Library. The federal funds for the project include a $25 million Federal Transit Administration Urban Circulator grant, a $3.5 million New Markets Tax Credit, and $7.1 million in other federal transportation grants. The federal amount will pay more than half of the project’s $44 million construction cost.

Some residents say the trolley is a poor use of federal money and others question its financial viability. Others note the library and museum to be connected by the trolley already have nearby MetroLink light-rail stops and bus service. “It’s duplicating public transit,” said Tom Sullivan, who lives in University City and opposes the project. “I can’t see what type of benefit that would bring.”

The project’s supporters are “vague about what happens if the trolleys don’t make enough money” to cover the administration budget, but have suggested “the difference could be made up by increasing revenues from the sales tax.”