Four lessons for Mike Sanders
As we've had time to digest Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders' Regional Rapid Rail System proposal, we've found the following flaws that must be addressed before the plan will get any serious traction:
1. Lack of visible regional cooperation.
Showing your plan to 2,000 or so officials and having them nod their head when told it will be FREE (see #2) is not a plan for success. Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, who inevitably botched his own regional plan, had other mayors standing with him every step of the way. Keep pushing as a one-man lightning rod and people will dismiss you as the next Clay Chastain.
Also, MARC, MoDOT, KDOT, and KCATA were nowhere to be found; all are planning elements that either duplicate (State Avenue BRT), compete with (I-70 truck lanes), or complement (downtown streetcar) the commuter rail lines.
LESSON: Prove you can share and play nice, or please go home.
2. Funding.
Sorry, but there isn't a second stimulus (yet). All deadlines for passenger rail and transit stimulus funding have passed. The Feds don't pay 100% capital and operating costs for anyone, and even if they did, Sanders hasn't identified an operator who could receive the funding. The current DOT secretary also prefers communities and their states to be on the same page (see #1) and have skin in the game.
And the argument about Jackson County being cheated on stimulus? Stimulus money is indeed being spent in Jackson county, it's just not being sent directly through Jackson County for Sanders to spend.
LESSON: Be smart with the money, like you said you would be. Ask for a new regional transit sales tax, then get out there and sell it.
3. An urban light rail spine.
A major drawback to any commuter rail plan has been the distance between Union Station and the downtown loop. It's only one mile and served by frequent (yet scattered) bus service, but it's clearly been one of the top mental blocks for transit planners. And here's a Plan B, in case the streetcar doesn't materialize: Consolidate all north/south bus routes into dedicated bus lanes on Main Street, effectively creating a dependable and high-frequency transit corridor.
LESSON: Get comfy with KC Councilman Russ Johnson and KCATA and make the downtown streetcar happen. What's $60 million when you're pushing a $1 billion plan?
4. Confusion about "private operators".
Yes, private operators run lots of commuter lines all over the country. We even have a respected one headquartered in nearby St. Joseph. But don't let anyone think that having a private operator means the lines will be profitable. The only question to answer is this: should the operations staff be county employees or contractors? Based on real world US examples, the "cheaper" option could come from either camp. There is a premium on safety (here's why) and performance (here's why), with cost a very distant third.
LESSON: No mode of transportation will ever make a profit (including roads, bridges, and airports).
In conclusion, we're pretty confident the rushed press conference was a way to steal Clay Chastain's thunder — move on, nothing to see here… except THIS! The proposal has merit, but the price tag and voter fatigue require much more pragmatism. Ultimately, KC does have a great rail network that is underutilized, and a heap of free labor from TranSystems is nothing to downplay.
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1. Clay and platte County’s have already signed agreement’s/contracts for the operation of a regional system (Star reported this in April). Is there anything more visible than that?
2. If you don’t ask, then you won’t receive. KC has NEVER qualified for rail funds before given that this community has been too divided over minutia and turf wars to cooperate for the greater good. We’ll see if people continue to sit on the sidelines while an elected official TRIES to put a plan together that would work, or whether people like us quit just blogging about this topic and actually do something in the real world to help.
3. You clearly have not seen the plan. It calls for over 60 miles of modern street-car lines to “circulate” through all of KC (designed as part of the plan, total cost?: $400 mil), OR for a light rail-spine. This is left up to KC to decide.
4. Who cares at this point who runs the damn thing.
Now, a lesson for the people of this BLOG: I have advocated for over 15 years for rail-transit in KC to have a plan I support thwarted every time by either the establishment or the media. For the FIRST Time in my freaking life I see a popular politician (Funk is and was a disaster) and head of the head of democratic party in KC (That is his title folks, and how much more “establishment” can you get with the Dem’s in charge in DC?) advocating for a rail plan! In KC?! During my lifetime?! I for one think it is wiser (if we honestly want rail transit, and don’t just want to be blogging about it’s “possibilty” for the next 40 years) to get involved in a positive way, and not just sitting on the sidelines criticizing or nit-picking. There will be PLENTY of that already from the non-rail folks who think that anyone that wants a rail plan is a “weirdo.” I for one am calling Mr. Sanders office TOMORROW and asking what I can do to help this new effort.
As you said, it has merit as a plan. The only real questions surround whether it can ever happen (i.e.- will the feds EVER give us a nickel in KC?). Well, I know one thing, if we aren’t united (Like St. Louis or Denver or countless otgher cities were that got fed money), then you are right, we ARE doomed. And I for one will quit reading this blog as it no longer will have any relevance to the real world and consider moving to Denver where I can actually ride a transit system that the community had the vision to build….and I will saddly watch my home city of KC become Omaha-lite.
1) clay/platte/wyandotte county officials should have been at the press conference, that’s our only point. the exclusion of other entities that are planning similar routes or services is inexcusable. a commuter rail system must interact with the local bus system, and that should be apparent when talking to the media.
2) kansas city made it through preliminary engineering on a light rail line with federal funds in the 90s; unfortunately, then-mayor cleaver uttered one phrase that shot the thing down (”touristy frou-frou”). KCATA received several federal earmarks to cover the last alternatives analysis, only to see the vote fail again. the only point is that it is unrealistic to rely solely on federal funds for all capital and operating costs when there is no precedent for it anywhere in US transit history. the reality is new local revenue will be required, and it’s foolish to pretend otherwise.
3) i have not seen the plan, other than what the media has presented. i would love to see it, but it is not yet posted on the jackson county website. what’s up with that? you can email a copy to info@kclightrail.com, if you’d like. regardless, if the streetcars are a critical aspect — and i do realize they were in the plan, but not funded by the plan… not sure why there is such a distinction — KCMO and KCATA should have been represented, if only to speak to those specifics themselves. again, collaboration was simply not evident (or even implied) in the public presentation.
4) my point about the “private operator” was that no one will benefit by confusion on what that means. that doesn’t mean it will be privatized or profitable in any way. i’ve already seen confusion in media reports on this, so it must be stated clearly what the objective is.
we are also advocates AND regular transit users (in KC, not just when traveling). we attend every public meeting about transit whether it’s for a bus route or a light rail line. our readers know this. if you’re not a regular reader, feel free to browse the three years of regular posts about every official AND unofficial transit proposal that been made public.
again, we appreciate the plan on merit (note we did not discuss routes or overall cost… both are realistic), but reserve the right to critique the way it was presented.
If your problem is not with the actual plan (you called it “realistic”), then are you to many moves down the poltical chess board? Sanders has said he is attempting to raise the profile of this plan (which he likes) to drive public support that will allow us to get fed money (right now, our city has NO plans for anything but the 1960’s). Seems like you have to start somewhere. Also, if you think unanimity of support is a prerequisite to stumping for a transit plan, then we will never see another plan again in our lives….that hurdle will never be cleared. Too many vested interests that are against rail. Those same interests have killed rail for the last 30 years.
I think the questions raised in this post are reasonable. It’s not nitpicking. I want to get in the game on this. I’d personally knock on every door in the metro if it were possible. If Sanders doesn’t have his ducks in a row, no amount of grassroots activity in the world can make up for that.
If there are questions to ask, now’s the time to ask them. As anyone familiar with project planning will tell you, the farther you get into a project, the more expensive it is to change. If Chastain’s 2006 plan were given proper scrutiny early on and if he were smart enough to listen to criticisms, we might already have a starter lightrail line in KC. Good questions early in the planning are helpful to the plan.
Good analysis on Sander’s plan. It has some merit, and in fact his plans two most prominent commuter rail lines are also a feature of my plan.
Where is your expert analysis on the multimodal transit plan, also headquartered at Union Station, I am currently proposing for Kansas City that would form the foundation of a broader regional system?
Are you going to continue to deny your readers any analysis on citizen-led transit initiatives?
In general, your commentary is very intelligent, thoughtful, and extremely well written.
I believe our plan has a solid consensus of the public behind it—see Focus report and the 75,000 voters who voted for a similar plan in 2006.
Also, my design includes modern streecars that act as circulators and also feed the light rail spine.
I remain steadfast, for a host of reasons, that a centrally located light rail spine— not a streetcar line— is the preferred mode of transit for connecting the central city to the southern suburbs and to KCI.
Please don’t discount the huge economic impact a 35 mile light rail spine from Lee’s Summit to KCI would have on Kansas City and its desperate need to reverse its decline. I believe this high-profile green transit line would enjoy tremendous ridership levels and be the catalyst to turn the city around, turn it green, and make it work again.
If you would like the current transit initiative and a more deep analysis into the rationale behind everything it includes I can provide it.
Sincerely,
Clay Chastain
I’m not convinced that that was Chastain himself, but you DO need to do an analysis of his plan.
alright, already! look for a post on sunday evening…
oh, and by the way, clay… please send whatever electronic version of the plan to info@kclightrail.com.