The answer to unruly teens? Shut down a key MetroLink station on the night's people want to use it (St. Louis: house, closing)

[aragx6]

WTF mate?

I guess the Loop is having some teen troubles ... So the police are stepping up enforcement. Some don't think that's good enough though!

Some Loop diners and business owners wondered if closing the Loop's MetroLink station early on Fridays and Saturdays would help.

"I would think taking away (teens) means of getting here would go a long way to solving the problem," said Pat Woodling, 22, of south St. Louis County, who was having lunch at Ranoush restaurant.

St. Louis, U. City officials promise crackdown on unruly youths in the Loop

Obviously, never gonna happen. It's just the unbearable stupidity of some people that frightens me!

[BoomBoxing]

Yeah because I'm sure none of these unruly teens have cars, can walk, ride a bike, or take the bus.

[moorlander]

hahah! I love how they quoted someone from south county. Like Pat has ANY knowledge of how these kids are getting there. You can't close the metrolinks stop, too many people depend on it. Not gonna happen.

It's nice out and teens like to gather together. They can't go to the malls any more so now they're hitting up the Loop. A couple weeks of increased police presence and this all goes away. And they'll move on to another spot. They have the same issues in every major city.

Lots of discussion on this very topic going on over on nextstl.

[RichMonk]

Gee, just get some elderly community organization to have meetings let out around the same time. Give em some canes and watch those sticks wave in the air as they suck the teenage fun right out of the place. :P

Now, get off my lawn.

[DespicableMe]

The teens aren't as much trouble as the idiot that fired gun shots in the air from Popeye's on the loop.

[rmc01]

Originally Posted by RichMonk

Gee, just get some elderly community organization to have meetings let out around the same time. Give em some canes and watch those sticks wave in the air as they suck the teenage fun right out of the place. :P

Now, get off my lawn.

Along the same lines, I remember reading a while back that Boston had a similar problem with one of its subway stations. Apparently they decided to play Sousa marches and the like over the loudspeaker to deter the teens.

[maseyjean]

Forward movement would be to find a positive outlet for the kids instead of herding them back and forth like cattle between U-City and St. Louis City limits. I was in the Loop last Friday, the day before that big fight happened, and I had never seen so many kids down there in my history of going there. But where do they expect these kids to go? The only option I see is for them to increase security for the sake of business owners and residents. In addition, parents need to teach their kids how to act like they have some sense out in public. I know they're young and it happens with every generation, but I'd be damned if I allow my daughter to prance around in the streets wearing short mini-skirts, stealing, fighting and acting a plum fool. Discipline has to start from within the living quarters and maybe it can help with their behavior outside of the home??

[flynavyj]

Agree w/ Masey Jean on things starting at home, you've gotta learn values from somewhere. On the other hand, good luck not letting your daughter out of the house w/ the mini-skirt, hoop ear rings and gogo boots....you're only luck is if she's just not into that fashion, or she really really really thinks you'll kill her (and that probably doesn't deter them that much). Expect the "long" skirt she's wearing to be rolled 3 times so that it's suddenly sitting 4 inches above the knee.

As to the kid concerns in the Loop, i can remember going to the loop several times on the motorcycles last summer. It seemed common that the place was just littered with large groups of teenage kids, just roaming from place to place and most likely not spending any money. I'd agree that things are typically much more enjoyable without a bunch of teens hanging around, being loud, and getting into fights but when you get large gatherings of youth together in one spot that's exactly what's going to happen, despite police presence or anything else....

Also, cops aren't always the answer...It was one of the things that put a nail into Northwest Plaza.

[1greatcity]

The problems with teens in the Loop can be controlled with a strict curfew and a stronger presence of police and security. After all, under-age kids don't belong running around the Loop after 10:00 at night. Most all of the shops are closed by then, and what's open are basically establishments that serve alcohol.
Put simply, the kids need to be run out of the Loop after a certain time of the night. To quote a line from the song "Closing Time": "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here."

[aragx6]

^Now they're talking about a 6 pm. curfew. I think I agree with you that curfews are probably the way to go, but doesn't that seem excessive? What are 15-year-old kids supposed to do?