ST. LOUIS – The East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCOG) voted Wednesday to approve giving the Delmar Loop Trolley $1.2 million in federal grant funds.
The vote was 15 to 4 to approve the money. St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones has been pushing to save the trolley. She said she convinced Bi-State to take over operating the Trolley which was shut down at the time.
The trolley will now start running from Thursday through Sunday. Bi-State pushed for $1.2 million to help fund the Loop Trolley Operations. Currently, the agency is using the money from a special taxing district to run the trolley but it’s not enough.
Some people have argued against spending more money on the trolley. Madison County board chair Kurt Prenzler is one of the people who said no to more federal funds for the trolley. Prenzler said the businesses along the trolley route through the Delmar Loop and part of the City of St. Louis should pay.
In addition to the $1.2 million, the Loop Trolley Organization will contribute an additional $600,000 which totals to $1.8 million.
The trolley project faced challenges when it first began because there were not enough riders. Many of the trolley cars were near empty going down Delmar.
The trolley will run until late October, then resume operations in the spring.
