The Loop Trolley appears stuck in an endless loop of delays.
It was recently announced that the opening of the over-budget historic streetcar line will be delayed yet again. This is, by our estimates, at least the fifth time the project’s opening has been delayed. Besides these delays, other snags have caught the project up along the way too.
The trolley line, which will run between University City Hall and the Missouri History Museum on Delmar Blvd and DeBaliviere Ave, was originally slated to begin operations in mid-2016. Since then, it’s been bailed out by taxpayers and private firms, threatened by the Federal Transit Administration, and under such financial strain it had to reduce its planned operating hours. It’s become increasingly hard to see the project as anything besides a policy and infrastructure disaster.
Whether you ultimately think the trolley will be a welcome addition to the Loop or just an eyesore and a money pit, all parties can agree the process of getting it up and running has been slow, painful, and embarrassing. This just doesn’t seem like how good policy is rolled out.
St. Louis, University City, County, and federal taxpayers deserve far better.
