Back on July 8, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the Loop Trolley project $25 million as part of its Urban Circulator Grant program. Other major streetcar grant winners included Charlotte, Cincinnati, and Fort Worth. The federal funding puts the $44 million Loop Trolley project well on its way toward possible completion in 2012.
Moving in lockstep with the Loop Trolley is planning for the St. Vincent Greenway, a trail project spearheaded by Great Rivers Greenway. When fully implemented, the greenway will stretch from the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park to the North Hanley MetroLink station. The southernmost segment of the St. Vincent Greenway is planned to run alongside the length of DeBaliviere Ave and through Ruth Porter Mall to the north.
According to current plans, the St. Vincent Greenway and single Loop Trolley track will occupy the current northbound lanes of DeBaliviere Ave. The driving lanes of DeBaliviere Ave will be reduced from 5 including median to just 2 or 3 and will be confined to the present southbound lanes. Given the road’s present low traffic volume, the reduced lane count should not cause any trouble, whatsoever.
I'd still like to see modern streetcars someday on Delmar. Maybe Phase II would extend the line east on Delmar to Euclid with a vehicle upgrade. The vintage fleet could still run at lower frequencies on what would then become a single-track DeBaliviere spur and appropriately loop around the History Museum.