The countdown to Prop A is on. St. Louis County voters will have their say Tuesday, April 6. The pros and cons of supporting Metro, possible system expansion, and specifically Prop A, has been discussed several times here at urbanSTL and the forum discussion is ongoing – to join in click here. A lot has been said, but in an attempt to bring into focus the decision in front of voters, in the coming days I’ll be presenting a few reasons why you should vote “YES” on Prop A.
First up: Vote “YES” on Prop A because you don’t like traffic.
“Why should I help pay for Metro? I NEVER use it! (OK, maybe for a Cardinals game every once-in-a-while).” This is the sentiment expressed by many when considering the request for support by Metro. It’s implied that if one doesn’t use something then one doesn’t benefit from it. Of course we know that this isn’t true. Every transit rider means one less car trip, one less car in your way when you drive, one more open parking space at the store or at work. Maybe the lot at Spruce and 10th has a spot left when you arrive 20 minutes before the first pitch!
If you tried to get to Forest Park this spring when the weather finally broke you likely found a few too many cars exiting at Hampton. If mass transit were more widely available some of those drivers would have taken a bus or train and not been “in your way”. Did you have to park a mile from the Zoo? Or were you annoyed at having to pay to park at the free Zoo? More transit options would help you.
So vote “YES” on Prop A, give yourself more transit options and more options when you don’t use transit.
