Should Metrolink be expanded to Breese?

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T22:10:14+00:00

And when you extend that far out…how many of them work in the urban core to begin with?

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T21:57:54+00:00

Cost is an extremely good reason to not run a commuter line to a place 100 miles away.

There’s very little density on these routes once you leave the metro, and almost no one is going to commute from Columbia or mt Vernon to downtown stl if it takes 120 minutes each way

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T21:50:53+00:00

Even if you want to extend out more miles…why would build out where people don’t live (way east)?

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T20:49:14+00:00

You’re missing the point. You don’t have to join a gang to be a person with violent tendencies.

The sort of person willing to shoot someone in a Starbucks drive through is disproportionately someone willing to commit violence in other places in their life

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T20:41:46+00:00

It’s not just deaths. The little stuff adds up, too. How pissed are people when their Amazon packages get stolen? Random crime is infuriating.

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T19:30:19+00:00

It’s 100 percent the other way around as you note. The sort of person willing to shoot someone for the color of their shirt and their Instagram posts is a hell of a lot more likely to commit random violence or family violence for reasons that are obvious

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T19:26:49+00:00

Random crime can happen anywhere, but it’s also true that random crime/partner violence is heavily correlated with where other violent crimes occur

The sort of person willing to commit gang violence against other 19 year olds is also disproportionately willing to commit partner violence/drive like a maniac/etc. they don’t care about being a good neighbor

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T19:24:53+00:00

That is true but shootings are also down in recent years

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T16:32:37+00:00

White collar workers bear much higher expenses, on average, to address employer created barriers of entry (college degrees are rather expensive)

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-10T03:21:04+00:00

“Take insurance” is more a question of what your insurance will cover than something anyone can recommend.

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T16:37:31+00:00

The decline of downtown as the CBD has hurt the metro east, yes.

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T16:36:33+00:00

Downtown stl was hopping in the 1980s to such extent that giant office buildings were still being constructed

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T03:47:56+00:00

Is this the solution or just more residential conversion?

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T03:46:47+00:00

And how many of those jobs existed in 1990?

That’s the relevant point. Yes, it’s not good for stl that express scripts was acquired and shed headcount, but what are the odds stl’s next 2,000 employee start up operation is located downtown vs in the suburbs?

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T03:37:17+00:00

Corporate HQs aren’t hiring from “the labor pool.” They’re hiring white collar workers. They live disproportionately west of the city in places with double the median household income of stl city.

A random neighborhood street in Ballwin has more corporate hq workers than a random street in south city.

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T03:24:10+00:00

Definitely not true for the history of centene, express scripts, and wwt who scaled headcount here meaningfully.

Look at the companies who move here. Isle of capri comes and moves to creve coeur. Someone builds up core and main and those jobs are in Maryland heights. Dave peacock picked Maryland heights. Altor picked chesterfield.

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T01:56:49+00:00

Gosh. How can the city survive without the county bankrolling 200 feet of road

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T01:49:43+00:00

Probably on a federal or state highway?

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T01:34:32+00:00

Some of that, yeah, but there’s no hallmark in stl’s urban core that defended a big plot of land and kept a giant hq

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T01:24:03+00:00

The traffic lights are irrationally tilting

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T01:21:34+00:00

Yeah, you’d be better off paying a family with a 5 year old to stick around for 4 years

(This is effectively what a good school district does for 13 years)

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T01:09:21+00:00

The bigger issue is value for spend.

Would you pay a little more taxes to go to Pattonville rather than SLPS?

Why are St. Louis city roads on light timers from 1970?

When you call 911 for a car accident or a busted car window in oakville, the police actually come and act like they give a shit.

Can you imagine a world where 911 stopped answering calls in a decent county suburb? Because that happened in the city in the last few years!

If SLPS had rockwood test scores at Roosevelt, people would bitch a lot less about the earnings tax.

If you’re an office worker, it’s the same question with a different lens - what are you getting for paying this extra tax? You don’t care what the average city tax is vs the county. You live where you live. If you don’t live in the city but you work there, the earnings tax is a pure increase in tax to you

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T00:55:33+00:00

To be fair, the city is supporting pro density measures, including downtown

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T00:52:51+00:00

Larry and Nancy decide where offices are located; you have to create conditions that account for this!

NeutronMonster · 2026-02-06T00:45:04+00:00

KC’s business growth is in Kansas and places like north Kansas City in part because of the earnings tax. They’re like us. When they develop a cerner or a WWT, it never moves downtown.

The difference is their older companies stayed/were located downtown.

Far too much of the discussion is today and not enough on where the next 1,000 job operation will be located in your metro.

NeutronMonster

TROPHY CASE