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By a measure of 63 percent in favor to 37 percent opposed, voters in St. Louis County, MO, demonstrated their support for public transportation April 6 by approving a half-cent sales tax to support the Metro transit system. The measure, known as Proposition A, will help Metro reverse service cuts and, later, will support MetroLink light rail expansion and operations.

The positive vote reverses the defeat of a similar half-cent sales tax in 2008, which had led to fare increases, service cuts, and layoffs of some 500 Metro employees. The new tax is expected to bring in about $75 million annually in St. Louis County.

Bob Baer, Metro president and chief executive officer, called the victory “a tremendous win for our region and for us.” He recognized the broad coalition supporting the effort, including the business community; health care facilities and hospitals; every educational institution in the region; and various religious groups, noting that the Catholic Archbishop of St. Louis and several African-American ministers mentioned the issue on Easter Sunday.

“I think what worked to our advantage is that people really understood the value of transit when they didn’t have it,” Baer said. “That’s what brought all these groups together, which is a great victory in itself. This coalition proved to me that nothing’s impossible when we work together.” He added: “Getting 63 percent in this economy where we’re all tax-fatigued—I’m proud of the community coming together on an issue of this importance.”

Photo by Laurie Skrivan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Liz Kramer, dressed as “Miss MetroLink,” exults in the passage of Proposition A during an election watch April 6 at Washington University in St. Louis, hosted by the university and Citizens for Modern Transit. “I think it is essential for St. Louis to be a strong city and retain and attract young people," she said.

 

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