Someone Tell Google Maps: 8th & Pine Is The Arch Station
The other day I noticed a sign on MetroLink promoting 8th & Pine as the station for visiting the Arch.
Since our original light rail line opened in 1993 the Laclede’s Landing station has been the most direct but given the planned new West-facing museum entrance it’s logical to begin directing visitors through downtown to reach the Arch. Also planned demolition of the North Arch parking garage that pedestrians walked through will be a confusing mess until the grounds are finished.
Someone really should tell Google and other mapping services:
I also tried to use Metro’s Trip Planner but got the following message on two different browsers: “Error 500. The server was unable to complete your request.”
Hopefully someone from Metro has already contacted Google Maps to change their routing to the Arch. The other helpful thing would be to locate wayfinding at 8th & Pine to help orient visitors coming up from the underground rail line, I’ve given directions to hotels & the Arch from that station numerous times. It’s actually two stations — one for each direction of travel.
I have no idea how we plan to map drivers to numerous downtown parking garages — until now mapping services have directed motorists to the North garage.
— Steve Patterson
Is this a temporary situation resulting from Arch grounds construction and pedestrian traffic diversions?
Yes and no. The new Arch entrance will face the Old Courthouse so the goal is to get visitors to enter from the West instead of the North.
After work is complete people will be able to use the Landing MetroLink station to reach the new West-facing entrance.
Interesting timing as I was just thinking yesterday about whether this station will see a boost in usage in the future, but because of the Arcade/Wright redevelopment and not the Arch work. And of course dwindling occupancy of the AT&T tower should have some negative impact. I guess it won’t be clear-cut as to what may be the reasons for any changes in station ridership.
It would be nice to think so, but I don’t believe anyone, at least very few people take the train to see the arch and not drive.
Do you know how the elderly and infirm get to the arch? I assume there is a shuttle of some sort, it is a long way to walk for someone who really can’t, and forget the steps on the river. Truthfully it would probably be a better design if some category of transit had an exit at the foot of the Arch.
There will be drop off points near the new entrance.