Emerson Park station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system.[6] This at-grade station is located near 15th Street and Bowman Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois. It also serves as a transfer for MetroBus and Madison County Transit and features 841 park and ride spaces.
Emerson Park | ||||||||||||||||
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| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | 929 North 15th Street East St. Louis, Illinois | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°37′44″N 90°08′13″W / 38.628781°N 90.136856°W | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Bi-State Development | |||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Metro Transit | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Bus stands | 10[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Connections |
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| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | 841 spaces[4] | |||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Rack | |||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | May 5, 2001[5] | |||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 1,094 daily | |||||||||||||||
| Rank | 15 out of 38 | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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There is a pedestrian bridge across nearby Interstate 64 that connects this station to other parts of East St. Louis.
History edit
In 2014, a transit-oriented development called Jazz at Walter Circle opened adjacent to this station. The 74-unit mixed-use apartment building offers more than 100,000 square feet of floor space and includes a full-service grocery store.[7]
In 2021, the concrete area between the bus bays and MetroLink entrance was updated into a space with a vibrant-colored jazz theme, spaces to gather, greenery, shaded seating, canopies, and a mural inspired by design concepts that were submitted by East St. Louis High School students. The second "Transit Stop Transformation" project to be completed, it was unveiled on August 23, 2021, by Citizens for Modern Transit, the St. Clair County Transit District, AARP in St. Louis, and Metro Transit.[8]
In 2022, the St. Clair County Transit District awarded a $13.5 million contract to construct a new public safety center at this station. The new center will house office space for St. Clair County MetroLink sheriff’s deputies, a Metro Transit Operational Control Center and the St. Clair County CENCOM West 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch Center. It will have public restrooms for riders and is expected to open in 2024.[9]
Station layout edit
The island platform is accessed via a single ramp on its west end that connects to the bus boarding area and Bowman Avenue.
| Westbound | ← Blue Line toward Shrewsbury (5th & Missouri) ← Red Line toward Lambert Airport (5th & Missouri) |
| Island platform, doors will open on the left | |
| Eastbound | Red Line toward Shiloh–Scott (JJK Center) → Blue Line toward Fairview Heights (JJK Center) → |
| Street | Entrance/exit, bus bays, park and ride |
References edit
- ^ "Bus Bays" (PDF). Metro Transit. January 2021. p. 12. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ^ "Illinois System Map" (Map). Metro Transit. April 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ^ "System Map" (PDF) (Map). Madison County Transit. August 15, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ^ "System Addresses". Metro Transit. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ^ Leiser, Ken (April 30, 2001). "MetroLink Extension Opens This Weekend With Parking to Spare". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A9. Retrieved April 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Emerson Park Station". metrostlouis.org. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
- ^ Hibbard, Matthew (December 22, 2014). "Emerson Park MetroLink Station Development Spurs Economic Success". metrostlouis.org. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
- ^ Box, Mallory (August 23, 2021). "The "Transit Stop Transformation Project" at Emerson Park Transit Center Opens to The Public". Citizens For Modern Transit. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
- ^ Cella, Kim (September 26, 2022). "St. Clair County Transit District Awards $13.5 Million Contract to Poetkker Construction for New Public Safety Center at Emerson Park Transit Center". Citizens For Modern Transit. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
