Local News

By Spending Big to Lower MetroLink Access, BiState Shows Its Priorities

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

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Did you know that this year BiState Development, the agency responsible for Metro Transit in St. Louis, will cover the annual fare for more than 50,000 riders with the help of corporate donors?

No? Well, that’s because they won’t.

Instead, BiState will spend $52 million on faregates blocking MetroLink access and new surveillance technologies at stations — what would be enough money to provide nearly 56,000 riders with free monthly metro passes for the entirety of a year. This is BiState Development’s “Secure Platforms Plan,” and it’s coming soon to a station near you.

But faregates aren’t that bad.

I mean — they may look like prison gates, and they may add an entirely new barrier to our already mediocre transit system, but surely, BiState must be adding them for a reason.

And clearly, surveillance can be good.

It isn’t like the state of Missouri would ever misuse video surveillance to target anyone seeking abortion treatment or gender-affirming care in Illinois —

Missouri is especially well known for protecting the personal liberties of nonwhite people—

Right?

(If it was not already clear, I am being sarcastic.)

So what?

I personally think surveillance and faregates suck, but at least BiState Development garnered popular support for this plan from others.

Well — no.

They did not even try.

Instead, they held meetings during common work hours, ignored or belittled the critiques of skeptical transit riders and canceled meetings last minute, seemingly in anticipation of pushback. Most riders I’ve spoken with on recent commutes were not even aware of the Secure Platforms Plan.

BiState Development only engaged with about “30 individuals and organizations about the Secure Platforms plan” according to its own website. This is embarrassing given that a single bus can typically hold about 50 riders.

Clearly, community engagement with actual transit riders was not BiState Development’s priority.

Despite most of these funds coming from the public, the voices of private donors, who donated $10.4 million, has been prioritized. As a matter of fact, the top donor for this plan is, oddly enough, Enterprise. A car rental company! Their involvement exposes a clear conflict of interest.

So why is BiState Development still pursuing this plan?

Proponents claim it is about the “perception of safety.” Why the “perception of safety” as opposed to actual safety, you ask?

For starters, addressing actual safety requires the real work of community engagement. As I pointed out earlier, BiState Development is either not equipped with the skills to handle this or they do not value the voices of their own transit riders.

Furthermore, MetroLink does not have a unique crime issue, contrary to what popular headlines may suggest. Even Chesterfield “has a violent crime rate 8-times that of MetroLink,” as Tony Nipertnoted in NextSTL in 2022.

East-West Gateway’s very own consultants advised against faregates in 2019, writing, “There isn’t much correlation between fare evasion and serious crime.” Instead, consultants suggested that BiState Development focus on the presence of security personnel, which they cited as a major concern for most MetroLink riders.

If the Secure Platforms Plan neither addresses actual safety nor the “perception of safety,” what the hell does it do?

It throws away millions of dollars to appease the whims of classism and racism.

Public transit has always been the target of bigoted attacks in our region. It is no secret that St. Louis transit riders are predominantly Black and working-class. This fact alone is enough to make many in the region shudder in fear.

It is bewildering that this reality is rarely acknowledged aloud.

In the podcast “The Problem We All Live With – Part One,” this racism toward Black transit riders becomes clear. In an audio snippet, a St. Charles mother expresses her frustration with Black children from the Normandy School District attending the Francis Howell district.

She states that the reason that St. Charles County voted against MetroLink is because “we don’t want the different areas coming across on our side of the bridge, bringing with it everything that we’re fighting today against.”

St. Charles is not the only predominantly white community that has shown hostility toward transit riders. Ever wonder why MetroLink’s Blue Line turns abruptly before reaching Ladue? Or why the large wealthy suburb does not contain a single bus stop, let alone a bus route?

I do. It’s called racism.

Even the mere mention of MetroLink in the news summons local racists to express their unsubstantiated views in online forums.

Now this plan — influenced heavily by bigotry — received more than $10 million in private corporate funding and the blessing of elected officials (e.g., the St. Louis mayor and St. Louis county executive). Meanwhile, the majority of its funds come from our public dollars.

This is our great democracy at work.

But seriously—

We cannot let our transit system become hijacked by racism or classism, and we should not waste millions of dollars as a result.

BiState Development and our elected officials could have easily trusted the expertise of the consultants hired. These consultants did the real work and community engagement, yet BiState opted for an unpopular plan. They skipped straight to the support of private donors.

By supporting this plan, private corporate donors, including Centene, Express Scripts and Ameren, invalidate their own proclaimed values of diversity, equity, or inclusion. Instead, they chose to contribute to an ongoing legacy of racism and classism in the St. Louis region.

Imagine, just for one second, if these private corporate donors funded fare-free transit for all St. Louisans, paid increases for transit workers, or even bus rapid transit.

They would then be true champions for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Imagine if elected officials valued transit riders as equal citizens.

I know — that’s a big ask—

But imagine if they regularly rode the bus or MetroLink to engage with working class constituents.Imagine if they put forward bold visions that make transit more convenient, efficient, and useful to riders. Imagine if Bistate Development treated its metro riders with dignity and respect.

And imagine if they stood in solidarity with their riders who are predominantly black and working-class against racist and classist smears —

I want to support Metro because I rely on it, but BiState Development must support us riders.

Malik Lendell is a cyclist and bus rider residing in Fox Park. You can connect with him on Instagram at @maliklendell. The RFT welcomes succinct essays on topics of local interest. Email [email protected] if you’ve got something to say.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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