KC Light Rail

Often forgotten in transit circles is the long-distance, or inter-city, bus — especially in KC since stations are nearly invisible. Greyhound and Jefferson are still serving more passengers here than Amtrak (from a small-yet-tidy facility at 11th and Troost; upstart MegaBus is a hidden gem for cheap trips to Columbia, St. Louis, or Chicago (from a lonely bus stop pole at the 3rd and Grand park-and-ride… don't blink!).

Options within the state are fairly limited, however, so MoDOT is asking for your input on experiences and needs for possible expansion of LD bus service within the state and the area.

If you've actually used the services that the market provides KC today, you know connectivity is a major issue. St. Louis has resolved this with the new Gateway Multimodal Center (combining LD and local bus, light rail, taxi, and Amtrak). Ideally, all services should be combined at Union Station's existing footprint, but that would probably require an ownership change (transit hubs aren't big profit centers).

Read this update from the Missouri Bicycle Federation. Complete Streets is a concept that makes streets accessible to all users, not just cars. Similar measures are being debated and passed around the country (Hawaii is the most recent).

So does it make sense for a state DOT to spend taxpayer money to lobby against legislation that affects them? We'll answer that for you: NO.

The Missouri General Assembly defeated a budget amendment for KCATA emergency aid yesterday. We're back to being a city that's allowing fare hikes, service cuts, and layoffs. Yes, this was a choice our city leadership made without exhibiting any public interest in a back-up plan, leaving KCATA to fend for itself.

As we continue to starve the system we have it's clear there is simply no leadership on transit in this city whether it's for a light rail campaign or for preventing service cuts (that were 100% preventable).

Please take the time to thank Sens. Yvonne Wilson and Jolie Justus for their valiant efforts.

This just arrived in our inbox…

URGENT UPDATE

Kansas City's bus system needs your help TODAY!

In an unexpected move last night, lawmakers passed a stimulus bill that provided $12 million for St. Louis' transit system and ZERO dollars for Kansas City.

While we support the funding for St. Louis, Kansas City should not be left behind. Particularly, when our community has voted repeatedly to support public transit. Without this one-time funding, critical service cuts will go into effect in June.

There is still a chance to get money for Kansas City. The Senate Appropriations Committee meets at 1p.m. today.

We need your help to convince legislators to also provide funding for the Kansas City bus system.

Please use the contact information provided below to e-mail or call the key legislators considering this issue by 1p.m.. Please give them a simple, personal message based on the following important points:

* Tell them why public transit is important to you,
* Tell them it's an outrage that Kansas City isn't getting any money, and
* Ask them to include funding for the KCATA.

Thank you for your support.

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA)

Legislator Contact Information

Please call and/or e-mail these three legislators TODAY!

President Pro Tem
Senator Charlie Shields
(573) 751-9476
charlie_shields@senate.mo.gov

Majority Floor Leader
Senator Kevin Engler
(573) 751-3455
Kevin.engler@senate.mo.gov

Majority Caucus Whip
Senator Tom Dempsey
(573) 751-1141
tom.dempsey@senate.mo.gov

Minority Caucus Secretary
Senator Yvonne Wilson
(573) 751-9758
Yvonne.Wilson@senate.mo.gov

Senator Gary Nodler, Chair
(573) 751-2306
Gary.Nodler@senate.mo.gov

Senator Rob Mayer, Vice-Chair
(573) 751-3859
Rob.Mayer@senate.mo.gov

If you have time, please also contact your own State Senator today! Click here to find your State Senator's contact information.

Thank you!

We're not touching the Clay Chastain story this time until the city's attorneys vet his plan before he starts collecting signatures.

Federal Surface Transportation Bill – Rep. Oberstar continues to pledge on-time delivery and passage of the "son of SAFETEA-LU". Even though it will cover all surface modes — light rail, passenger rail, etc… not just highways — transportation planners continue to ask for lop-sided amounts for highway spending, even though VMT continues to decline.

High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail – Expect interim improvements over many years to get consistent speeds (79 mph) and reliability before we ever get bullet trains (150+ mph) to St. Louis. Regardless, it's door-to-door trip time, reliability, and frequency that count (not train speed). UPDATE: A new siding in California, MO, broke ground today.

KCATA Rescue – Not gonna happen, unless the Obama administration slaps down the state legislature's effort to use stimulus funds as tax refunds (we call it the South Carolina Reach-Around). Fare hike took effect March 1, service cuts begin June 28 (just in time for Ozone Days). Thanks again, Wayne!

Imagine KC – If you missed the live broadcast last week of the KCPT special that included lots of transit talk (and neat videos), you can catch up on it here.

Pedestian/Bicycle Counts – Would you believe it if we told you that Kansas City has never counted pedestrians or bicyclists anywhere for any reason? Well, it's unfortunately very true. A trial count was held last week with formal participation in a nationwide count coming this fall.

Missouri River Crossing – It's also quite unfortunate that there is no safe river crossing for pedestrians or bicyclists, especially with anemic off-peak bus service as the only non-car option. Thankfully, stimulus funding to the rescue! MoDOT is accelerating plans to rehab the Heart of America bridge with a bike path.

According to breaking news from The Star, about half of the ATA's deficit for the year. St. Louis would get $20 million, about half of their deficit.