KC Light Rail

The Star's Prime Buzz details the three upcoming light rail ordinances that would face the City Council by Nov. 20 (the deadline for February ballot items):

1. Repeal the Chastain Plan on it's own, without going to voters.
2. Place the Nutter repeal initiative petition on the February ballot.
3. Place a new, alternative plan on the February ballot to replace the Chastain Plan.

The bold is our emphasis, by the way.

The Light Rail Citizens Task Force meets Oct. 18, 23, and 30, and might agree on an alternative plan by the deadline. We'll post meeting times and locations as soon as we confirm them, since KCATA or the City hasn't posted such information on their respective websites.

UPDATE: The Oct. 18 meeting will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the North Kansas City Community Center, 1999 Iron Street, in North Kansas City. The public may attend.

KCK residents made it quite clear last night: why have a meeting about public transit at a time when our system won't allow us to get here and back home? Granted, about 80 (edit: UG says 100!) people still showed up, but it's clear that improvements are wanted and needed by KCK residents.

First, some facts about the State Avenue corridor and the current transit situation in KCK:

- Three systems (KCATA's five routes, six routes operated by the Unified Government, and one lonely JO route).
- 1.2 million rides annually (850K on KCATA routes, 213K on UG routes).
- $6 million budget with less than 1% fare recovery (KCATA recovers 15%).
- No Sunday service; very limited Saturday service.
- Transfers required to rest of KCATA system and to routes west of Indian Springs.
- Five routes serving the study area generate about 3,100 rides daily (a tick less than the old #56 was carrying before it was replaced by MAX in 2004).
- Top three routes and ridership: #106 (1000/day), #101 (975/day), #114 (480/day).

Next, some major amenities and attractions along the corridor:

- Downtown KCMO (Power & Light District, Sprint Center, Bartle Hall, MAX)
- Downtown KCK (Unified Government, Federal, and State offices; Memorial Hall; Screenland Granada; Strawberry Hill Museum)
- Indian Springs Center (future development, Children's Museum)
- Kansas City Kansas Community College
- Providence Medical Center
- Village West (Speedway, T-Bone Stadium, Legends, Schlitterbahn, future casino)

Now, the timeline for what will inevitably be a BRT route between downtown KCMO and Village West (even though other "alternatives", such as light rail, will be "discussed"):

- Alternatives Analysis and Locally Preferred Alternative (includes public input) will be completed in 9 months.
- Additional public meetings will be held during the above timeframe.
- Detailed planning will begin in 2008.
- Implementation, based on the Troost BRT timeline, as early as 2010.

Finally, the public input:

- Lots of complaints about interoperability between KCATA, JO, and UG routes (transfers, passes, connections, operating hours).
- Over an hour to Village West, transfer at Indian Springs required (while Village West is considered a tourist attraction, almost everyone placed one dot on the map at that location, and there have been well-publicized issues attracting employees to all of the low-paying retail jobs in such a far-flung location).
- UG routes don't run after 7 p.m.
- Lack of pedestrian and ADA considerations along existing routes and throughout KCK (sidewalks, bus shelters, safe lighting or emergency call boxes, bike lanes).

Next, the outstanding questions to be answered in future steps:

- Will KCMO residents use this line to get to Village West?
- Will the West Bottoms be served as it is today by #101 and #106? Currently, there is no safe way for pedestrians and bikers to access this part of the city, although the Riverfront Trail is getting there.
- What affect will the redevelopment plan of Indian Springs Mall have on the effort?
- What affect will the future Schlitterbahn and casino additions to Village West have on ridership estimates?
- Will existing KCK routes be reorganized to provide better overall coverage (such as new north/south routes), even if transfers are required?
- How will operation of the new service be funded? It is assumed that construction and bus acquisition will be covered by a Very Small Starts FTA funding.
- Is a single-seat ride possible with the Troost BRT line (SmartMoves' Yellow Line)?
- Will UG address land use planning around transit stops to boost future ridership?

We were intrigued by a question posed recently by the KC Star's Prime Buzz blog: Who will carry the torch for improved transit in the Metro? We answered UG's Joe Reardon, knowing that Johnson County's leaders are still way too mired in the status quo. Mayor Reardon, having been handed the keys to the other development juggernaut in the region, is spearheading this effort with MARC, KCATA, and KDOT and we hope the results are fast, efficient, and well marketed… results that this transit-dependent part of the community deserves.

Just a quick reminder that the State Avenue Corridor meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the Reardon Center [map] in downtown KCK. Routes #101 and #106 provide evening service from the 10th and Main Transit Center (one block northwest of the 11th/12th and Main MAX stops) to the front door of the Reardon Center.

In addition, two additional MARC meetings to discuss SmartMoves will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, this week:

3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 10
Southtown Council
4875 Troost Ave. [map] [#25, #47]

5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 11
Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council
3700 Woodland [map] [#35, #39, #53]

Google Transit is simply amazing. Note to KCATA and The JO: please call Google to sign up for the transit feed.

The Missouri Department of Transportation will help St. Louis weather the I-64/US-40 rebuild by paying Metro $1 per additional rider during the two-year construction period (capped at $3 million). Why is this important for people in Kansas City? First, it's a complete 180 for MoDOT and their approach to transportation spending (Before you go there, the Amtrak subsidy is mandated by the Legislature). Second, it's a sign that there may be hope for Northland commuters once the Paseo Bridge project begins (95,000 vehicles/day). Currently, MoDOT pays 1% of KCATA's insanely-lean budget. It may also point to another potential funding source for light rail.

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