St. Charles Area Transit
Encyclopedia
St. Charles Area Transit, branding its service as SCAT, is a public transportation service located in St. Charles County, Missouri. The goal of the service is to provide mass transit access for these St. Louis, Missouri
suburb
s, which are not part of the city's Bi-State Development Agency
transportation system. Four local bus
routes are provided, plus one commuter route to St. Louis County, Missouri
.
: The City of St. Charles along with Whittaker Homes have formed a Trolley Committee and having initial talks about the possibility of bringing a streetcar system to the new city development called New Town St. Charles. At least nine PCC streetcars were brought from San Francisco to make the system a reality for the heritage of New Town. The streetcars will run on a seven-mile loop that will connect from New Town to downtown St. Charles.
in St. Charles County that is spilling over into Warren County
, the construction of New Town
in the floodplains of North St. Charles County, and several attempts by local civic leaders in O'Fallon
and Dardenne Prairie
to expand their civic plans across Highway 40
into the Busch Wildlife Conservation Area.
Some have argued that St. Charles County's resistance to expand their mass transit system or to integrate it with the St. Louis Metro Transit system are cost and ridership. A few critics have accused St. Charles County's resistance due to "white flight
" and the New Urbanism
movement.
As mass transit becomes more popular in the Greater St. Louis Area, transit riders from both sides of the Missouri River will begin to demand Metro expand along the Interstate 70 Corridor.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, which are not part of the city's Bi-State Development Agency
Bi-State Development Agency
The Bi-State Development Agency is an interstate compact formed by Missouri and Illinois in 1949. Since February 2003 the agency has been doing business as Metro. It operates with a budget of $160 million, which is funded by sales taxes from the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, the St...
transportation system. Four local bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
routes are provided, plus one commuter route to St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...
.
Routes
All of these routes converge on St. Charles O'Dell Senior Center.- I-70 Commuter - St. Joseph's Hospital to North HanleyNorth Hanley (St. Louis Metrolink)North Hanley is a St. Louis MetroLink Station, located by the North Hanley overpass of I-70. It is primarily a commuter station featuring 1583 Park-Ride spaces . The station also serves as a major bus transfer center for Metro in North St...
- Orange Line - St. Charles Convention CenterSt. Charles Convention CenterThe St. Charles Convention Center, managed by Global Spectrum, opened in April 2005 and hosts over 400 events each year.The facility itself has a . Grand Ballroom, and . of Exhibit Hall space expandable to . through the adjacent Junior Ballroom. The facility features additional meeting rooms, the...
to 5th & Boone's Lick - Red Line - 6th & First Capitol to Cunningham & Boone's Lick
- Blue Line - Three Flags Center to St. Charles Convention Center
- Green Line - Hwy 94 & Veterans to First Capitol & Boone's Lick
Plans
St. Charles City StreetcarSt. Charles City Streetcar
The St. Charles City Streetcar is a proposed new heritage streetcar line to be built connecting the New Town, Missouri residential development to the nearby city of St. Charles. This is a joint effort between Whittaker Builders, Inc, and the City of St. Charles and St. Charles Area Transit...
: The City of St. Charles along with Whittaker Homes have formed a Trolley Committee and having initial talks about the possibility of bringing a streetcar system to the new city development called New Town St. Charles. At least nine PCC streetcars were brought from San Francisco to make the system a reality for the heritage of New Town. The streetcars will run on a seven-mile loop that will connect from New Town to downtown St. Charles.
Criticism
Local environmental groups have been critical that SCAT isn't being serious enough to bring transit into St. Charles County, especially with urban sprawlUrban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
in St. Charles County that is spilling over into Warren County
Warren County, Missouri
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Warren County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area and is located west of the city on the north side of the Missouri River. As of 2008, the population was estimated to be 31,214. Its county seat is Warrenton...
, the construction of New Town
New Town, Missouri
New Town at St. Charles is a partially completed planned community within the city of St. Charles, Missouri. The community's developers espouse the principles of Traditional Neighborhood Design and New Urbanism...
in the floodplains of North St. Charles County, and several attempts by local civic leaders in O'Fallon
O'Fallon, Missouri
O'Fallon is a suburban city along Interstate 70 between Lake St. Louis and St. Peters in Saint Charles County, Missouri. It is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census population of 79,329, it is the seventh largest city in the state and the largest in St. Charles...
and Dardenne Prairie
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Dardenne Prairie is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dardenne Prairie is located at...
to expand their civic plans across Highway 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...
into the Busch Wildlife Conservation Area.
Some have argued that St. Charles County's resistance to expand their mass transit system or to integrate it with the St. Louis Metro Transit system are cost and ridership. A few critics have accused St. Charles County's resistance due to "white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
" and the New Urbanism
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
movement.
As mass transit becomes more popular in the Greater St. Louis Area, transit riders from both sides of the Missouri River will begin to demand Metro expand along the Interstate 70 Corridor.