ST. LOUIS – Police are taking a step toward improving safety downtown by moving their bike unit to a more visible location at the corner of Convention Plaza and Tucker Boulevard.
The new 4,000-square-foot location will be the new home for the city’s police bike unit for the next 10 years.
“It is in a prominent location; it allows them to have a great presence in the downtown corridor, as well as be accessible and more visible in their space,” Kelli McCrary, executive director of the Downtown Community Improvement District, said.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said the move into the new substation location is part of a larger plan to address the perception and reality of downtown safety, an issue residents have raised concerns about for awhile.
“Residents are happy that they’ll have an accessible place where law enforcement won’t be in the location where they are now, which is kind of tucked away in the fashion square building,” McCrary said.
The move comes at zero cost to taxpayers and the hope is to improve safety in the area, according to McCrary.
“This will have people who are coming through here, visiting in downtown, working in downtown, or living in downtown—I have a police station with officers who are here to help me if I need,” she said.
The new location is set to open in late September.