Loop Trolley Informational Meeting Is Tonight

 residents have an opportunity tonight to hear from the project organizers of the Loop Trolley.

There will be a public information meeting on the Loop Trolley at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, at the  in the auditorium. A detailed presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. 

Construction on the  is slated to begin in late fall, with a 2013 completion date.

Since a March meeting on the trolley at the , there have been several developments in the project. St. Louis County is  to University City, Mayor Shelley Welsch announced April 25. 

The Route

The Loop Trolley route is a 2.2 mile fixed-rail trolley line along Delmar Blvd and DeBaliviere Avenue, extending from the Delmar/Trinity Ave. intersection to the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. 

The trolley itself will be a a restored trolley or replica heritage trolley that will operat on an Overhead Contact System (OCS). The OCS will use a single wire connected to light poles to run the trolley at speeds between 15-25 miles per hour.

Operations

Once operational, the trolley will run year round, seven days a week. Currently plans are to run the trolley from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday with extended hours until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturdays.

The trolley will move at 20 minute headways.

Project Costs

Planners anticipate construction costs to build the system to reach $43 million. They anticipate a yearly operating and maintenance costs of $1.3 million once the system is up.

Construction funding is coming from the following sources:

• $25 million from a Federal Urban Circulator Grant
• $6 million from other federal funding.
• $3.5 million from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Monetization
• $3.5 million from New Markets Tax Credits 
• $2-5 million in private donations.

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