As restrictions continue to be lifted as part of our community’s reopening plan, Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) today announced the resumption of its award-winning Ten Toe Express program. The program provides area older adults – and other interested individuals – with the tools they need to integrate walking with public transit use to get around town and explore St. Louis. The shortened, 6-week summer session will kick-off on Thursday, June 4, at 9:15 a.m. at the Shrewsbury MetroLink Station. Participants will be taking part in a two-mile outdoor walk and 45-minute tour, led by local commercial real estate development firm Green Street, discussing the history and renovation plans for 200,000 square-foot St. Louis Armory building. All Ten Toe Express program participants will be required to wear a face covering and abide by social distancing parameters. The indoor walking tours will be limited to 10 per group socially distanced. Those taking part in the kick-off event and other special walks will receive a face mask, gloves and an alcohol wipe courtesy of Citizens for Modern Transit.
The Ten Toe Express program enables participants to gain access to a variety of helpful resources, including walk maps that provide detailed directives on how to utilize transit to get to many of the region’s cultural and entertainment hot spots. New registrants receive a walking kit containing a pedometer, maps, transit tickets, a safety tips flyer and a Ten Toe tote bag. Participants can take part in weekly guided Ten Toe Express Walking Tours, which allow walkers to be part of a group as they become familiar with the transit system and how to utilize it to get to destinations. These walks, led by trained, volunteer walk leaders, range in length from 0.3 to 5 miles, depending on the group and destination, and originate from the Brentwood, Forest Park, Belleville, Rock Road, North Hanley and Shrewsbury MetroLink stations.
Ten Toe Express groups walk in a variety of places, including Forest Park or Carondelet Park, downtown St. Louis or the Delmar Loop. Participants can also take part in several special walks, including a Suffragette Walk with special guest guide Doug Schneider on Friday, June 19; a behind-the-scenes tour of Great Rivers Greenway’s Chouteau Greenway on Thursday, June 25; and an Illinois Bus Depot Tour on Thursday, July 9. Each session typically runs 12-weeks long, but this year was postponed and then modified to a total of 6-weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost to participate in the summer session is $10. Many of this year’s walks will be focused on outdoor destinations.
“Over the past 13 years, the Ten Toe Express program has introduced more than 8,000 seniors to our region’s transit system, making it easier than ever for them to explore many new and unique destinations around St. Louis,” said Kimberly Cella, executive director of CMT. “While this program is more focused on recreational public transportation use, the past several months have really emphasized how essential transit really is to our local communities. One of the benefits of this program is that it allows older adults to better familiarize with the transit system in a group setting so they feel comfortable using it on their own to gain access to groceries, doctors appointments or other essential services.”