The study is needed to get the project in the pipeline to compete for federal money.

Once it’s complete, it will allow city leaders to enter the project development phase with the Federal Transit Administration to start the process to apply for those federal dollars.

The city mandates that the treasurer’s office conduct periodic studies on parking, which take other factors such as access to public transportation into account.

The Northside-Southside line would run from West Florissant Avenue near Interstate 270 in north St. Louis County, down through the city — including downtown — and along thoroughfares such as Goodfellow Boulevard, Natural Bridge Road and Jefferson Avenue, and ending at Meramec Bottom Road in south St. Louis County.

The cost of the line has been estimated at $2.2 billion.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay strongly backs the Northside-Southside line, but St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger has not endorsed it, arguing that three other routes that mostly extend into the county also should be studied.