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MetroLink Safety Bi-State Task Force’s Top Priority
Stenger Hosts Meeting of Leaders
Bi-State leaders created a joint law enforcement task force this week to increase patrols, coordinate 911 calls, and improve police response to security problems on MetroLink. Attendees reached the unanimous agreement on a plan designed to improve MetroLink security. According to St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger the plan is “a structure and approach that will keep MetroLink riders safe.”
Hosted by Stenger, the meeting included elected officials and law enforcement leadership from the three jurisdictions that fund Bi-State Development, Bi-State Development President and CEO John Nations and Bi-State Development Board members David Dietzel, Constance Gully and Vincent Schoemehl.
“We will have further discussions as implementation begins, but today we have taken significant steps to protect those who ride MetroLink,” Stenger stated. The plan focuses on a unified law enforcement command with greater officer presence and controlled access for the system, and the group will meet again to ensure that all issues are addressed.
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson stated. “Our focus in approving and implementing this plan has been on making and keeping MetroLink safe for all those people who rely on it. We want everyone to feel safe, especially those who have no other transportation options.”
The plan’s joint task force includes law enforcement from St. Clair, St. Louis City, and St. Louis Counties. The number of officers dedicated to MetroLink from each jurisdiction will increased as will patrols. All MetroLink law enforcement personnel will be part of a unified police radio communication system sharing 911 calls and dispatching law enforcement personnel. Task force officers will be empowered to operate in all three political jurisdictions.
According to St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern, “MetroLink is such an important part of joining our region together. We fully support the multi-jurisdictional task force approach as the best way to ensure safety and increase MetroLink ridership.”
Headquartered at a dedicated facility at the Delmar Loop stop at Washington University, the task force will be under a single operational commander, who was named asSt. Louis County Captain Scott Melies. Rail-related safety and contract security will report to a to-be-determined officer from the St. Louis City’s Metropolitan Police Department.
The plan will limit access to train platforms. Currently MetroLink operates as an “open” system, which “was the region’s least expensive option 30 years ago,” Bi-State’s Nations said. “Clearly, now the physical aspects of the system need to be re-evaluated and redesigned.” The task force will work with safety consultants to determine the most effective way to physically control access. This could include turnstiles or other measures.
“We have seen great cooperation from this group and a real desire to improve safety as quickly as possible,” Stenger said. “There is a lot of work still to be done, but the bottom line is that it will be safer for all who ride MetroLink.”
At the meeting, St. Louis County Police Chief John Belmar, Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Larry O’Toole, and St. Clair County Sheriff Richard “Rick” Watson represented law enforcement. Chairman Kern and Sheriff Watson rode MetroLink to the meeting in County Executive Stenger’s office.
