We recorded the above message for advocates with Dan Johnson-Weinberger, a lobbyist for the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, at their annual meeting over the weekend. Dan's message is basically to keep it local by talking to your local elected officials first (mayor, council, aldermen), then having them talk to their state and federal counterparts.

While Sens. Bond or Brownback may not take a personal call from you, they will take one from your mayor.

Feel free to pass the message on to others.

A perfect example of this groundswell is the recent success in Kansas. Bipartisan majorities supported a bill that enables (but does not fund) state-sponsored passenger rail service in the state… something that, until recently, was widely touted as forbidden by the state's constitution. Grassroots advocates sought resolutions of support from every city council along the proposed route, encouraging their legislators to act.

As of yet, there's still no second stimulus on which Mike Sanders can hang his commuter rail hat. Meanwhile, Clay Chastain has until summer to collect enough signatures for his latest light rail plan. Construction on Troost BRT is underway, but stations won't be visible until late summer. Johnson County Transit is offering temporary holiday service between Mission and the Plaza.

In the interim, please follow us on Twitter @kclightrail.

Happy Holidays!

Punch #1 – Another light/commuter rail plan. PrimeBuzz has the details.
Punch #2 – Strip the City Council's ability to invalidate petition initiatives.

We've maintained that Chastain's motivation actually seems quite pure and is valuable in keeping the city's feet to the fire on transit improvements. Our system is undeniably underfunded and has yet to make the leap from poor-people mover to economic development engine.

BRT, commuter rail, and streetcars are all great proposals, but none of them will ever come to fruition if our operational funding isn't significantly increased (and preferably on a truly regional basis).

Regarding Punch #2, the Council will never live down repealing the only successful vote on light rail, flawed as it was. Since that first repeal of a petition initiative didn't go so well, expect voters to do some punishing.

UPDATE: The ozone fare will be 50 cents again for individual rides for all providers. However, discounts for passes will not be honored this year.

Now that you've been primed, the movement is hitting home as a Complete Streets bill will be heard this week in the Missouri Legislature (it's the second time, see here for a recap).

Why are we covering this? It's quite simple: Complete Streets make good Transit Streets, whether for buses or light rail, and most of Kansas City's streets and beloved boulevards are downright hostile to anything but fast-moving traffic.

We have a task before us to rebuild America. As a nation, we need to continue to be the world leader in infrastructure development, Amtrak, mass transit, light rail, air travel, and our roads and bridges all play a vital role in our economy and our well-being as a nation.

We cannot stand by our infrastructure ages and crumbles. We must pursue solid policies that allow our states and communities to address their transportation needs. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to rebuild our infrastructure and reinvigorate our economy, and I look forward to the challenge.

A hallmark of my career has been my work with our local and state leaders as we have improved the infrastructure of Illinois. I’ve served on the House Transportation and infrastructure committee as we reauthorize the Federal Highway Bill. I understand first hand what good infrastructure and transportation means to communities, and understand it is the local folks who know best their transportation needs. We’ll bring that same approach to the Department of Transportation.

Basically, moderate is the word to emphasize here. LaHood, while as fiscally conservative as his downstate constituents, has been on record supporting state-subsidized Amtrak service (Illinois has the fastest-growing network of state-sponsored trains) and is part of a Congressional Bike Caucus. He's even uttered the phrase Complete Streets without rolling his eyes.

The Overhead Wire has a nice recap of various viewpoints on this selection ranging from good (knows the appropriations system) to bad (basic left-wing conspiracy theorists).

Of course, anything is better than Mary Peters, the current Secretary who was tasked with carrying out the Bush Administration's starvation diet for all modes except highways (and even those were being pushed towards tolling, congestion pricing, and HOT lanes). Peters is universally reviled amongst transportation advocates, as is our current President.