UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — If everything goes according to plan, the Delmar Loop Trolley will leave the station with passengers for the very first time this Thursday.
But the project literally hit a snag Tuesday.
The Loop Trolley company confirmed one of their train cars hit an illegally parked pickup truck's side mirror in front of Delmar Hall.
The company sent out the following statement:
"We can confirm that a trolley came into contact with the mirror of an illegally parked vehicle in the eastbound direction of travel in the 5100 block of Delmar Blvd. at a speed lower than 3mph. No damage occurred to the trolley and damage to the illegally parked vehicle’s mirror was minimal. SLMPD did issue a citation to the driver of the illegally parked vehicle.
Our goal is to ensure that upon start of service, events such as these are reduced as visitors to the Delmar Loop become aware the Trolleys are in operation. Outward messaging will increase awareness and help to inform patrons. In order for the system to perform safely and effectively for its passengers and to avoid negative traffic conditions, vehicles parking on Delmar Boulevard should park firmly against the curb with all parts of the vehicle (including mirrors) within the striped parking lanes. Side-street and off-street parking is located along much of the Delmar portion of the route from DeBaliviere to Kingsland.
Upon identification of an illegally parked vehicle that is fouling or obstructing the trackway, and if the driver cannot be immediately located to move the vehicle, Loop Trolley Dispatch initiates a request to the police department for the jurisdiction in which the illegally parked vehicle is located. The police will then respond accordingly.
If you'd like to hop aboard the trolley Thursday, you'll need to find one of ten stations along the route. At each station is a kiosk. It costs $2 for an hour-long ride or $5 to ride all day long.
There are also plans for a mobile app to buy a pass, but so far, there hasn't been much 'buzz buzz buzz' on whether that will ever take off.
There's one other thing could throw the brakes on the trolley launching Thursday: weather.
The trolley spokesperson said if the predicted snowfall is too deep or if the temperature gets too low, the launch may not happen.
Here are the days and hours the trolley will be running:
- Thursday: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sunday: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
