KC Light Rail

Ready for some detail on the new and improved SmartMoves? Your chance is tonight in Riverside. MARC is hosting a community input meeting on the proposal at:

7-8:30 p.m.
Riverside City Hall
2950 NW Vivion Road
Riverside, MO [map]

The site is not transit accessible after 7 p.m., so please plan accordingly.

It's almost too good to be true: Could we be voting on a regional transit plan by spring? Prime Buzz has the update. Take note that the next regional discussion (8:30 a.m. Friday) will have time set aside for public comment.

Troost BRT is back on the public's radar this week as the ATA is seeking input on "station locations, station configurations, integration into surrounding neighborhoods, opportunities for station enhancements." Unfortunately, these public meetings have been scheduled during the work day, so plan for a long lunch!

North Zone (Downtown and North of 31st Street)
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 11
HNTB Office
715 Kirk Drive, Room 434 [map]

Central Zone (31st Street to 75th Street)
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday, March 10
YMCA
7000 Troost Ave. [map]

South Zone (South of 75th to the Three Trails Redevelopment Area)
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 13
Mazuma Credit Union
9300 Troost [map]

UPDATE: Evening meetings will be held in early April for those who can't make this week's sessions. Stay tuned…

MARC has released a summary and notes from all 25 SmartMoves update sessions held late last year for about 300 participants. The results are not very surprising to us: the highest priority corridors are the ones with the most congestion (I-35, I-70, I-29) and least political will to provide a real alternative (commuter rail, not "freeway flyer" buses).

It would be great if MARC were out front on the light rail issue explaining to people that what KCMO is proposing for a starter line is actually a big chunk of the Red Line (Vivion Road to UMKC). They could also easily explain that the regional approach that Funkhouser is proposing is just a variation on SmartMoves as a whole (bi-state legislation, cross-metro services). Instead, participants are left wondering how this update fits into Kansas City's transit puzzle and who's really in charge.

This blogger made tracks to the Central Library last night for MARC's SmartMoves workshop. I'd guess there were a little over 50 people. Attendees were asked to help identify key corridors for transit in the region. We were broken into smaller groups of about 8 and seated around a large map. My group was somewhat well-distributed with residents from the Northland, Downtown, East-central city, South Plaza and Shawnee.

Our group's discussion facilitators asked us what criteria transit should focus on when selecting a route. Popular criteria at our table included commuting, getting to recreation destinations (like stadiums), tourism (airport to hotels to cultural attractions), access to other transit lines / reducing the number of transfers to reach one's destination, and human services / security (hospital access, evacuation).

Our facilitator then asked us to use those criteria to draw lines along corridors on the large map of the metro in front of us. We could each draw two lines, and by about the fourth person, everyone's lines were on the map.

Our map looked like a trimmed-down SmartMoves map of olde, with corridors identified as I-35 from Liberty to Olathe (by far the most popular route at our table), I-70 from Blue Springs to the Speedway, KCI Airport to Belton, and Downtown to the Plaza. Most agreed a rail solution was preferred, but didn't think we'd see it initially due to cost; they seemed okay with buses.

Several people suggested their second route not be a corridor but more of a local circulator in areas like College Boulevard to the Grandview Triangle, Shawnee Mission Parkway, or Barry Road. The argument was after you park, ride and get off, you then have to get the last few miles to your door.

Other points brought up:

• Connect the local universities
• Will the Fed's really like us laying down Light Rail tracks in the same corridor they just gave us millions to add two pseudo-BRT lines?

Up next: MARC talks to elected officials for funding. I was told these officials have said in the past that they haven't heard from their constituents that there's a need for this kind of transit — too bad I recognized only one of them there — Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders. If this is important to you then let your local and state officials know.

Look for updates from MARC in spring 2008.

More info: http://www.marc.org/kcsmartmoves/

The second meeting for MARC's SmartMoves update is tonight at the Central Library. Originally scheduled for last Monday, the downtown meeting was moved due to inclement weather. The other session was held as scheduled last Tuesday in downtown KCK.