Stenger has since said that he wasn’t arguing against the Northside-Southside route, but rather against the process.

The route, which has been estimated to cost $2.2 billion, would stretch from north St. Louis County near the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College, into downtown and south St. Louis and down Interstate 55 into south St. Louis County.

Metro is one of 16 groups nationwide to get a share of $14.7 million in grants to support comprehensive planning projects that improve access to public transit, the agency said Tuesday. The money is coming from its transit-oriented development planning pilot program for communities looking to develop or expand public transit.

The FTA said the funding will be used to “plan for ways that diverse populations can benefit from a proposed 17-mile, 28-station MetroLink light rail line that will connect downtown St. Louis with the city’s northern and southern limits.”

That effort will include looking at transit-oriented development — including incentives for such projects and a citywide commission on the effort — as well as land use and zoning policies and access plans.