KC Light Rail

Platte County Economic Development Council's Public Policy Committee has recommended that any future light rail connection to KCI run east of Interstate 29. The voter-approved alignment also runs east of I-29 in Platte County until aligning with Barry Road, where it then runs west of the interstate, turns north on Amity Avenue, and terminates at an airport park-and-ride. The EDC committee then provided three eastern alignment variations to the Northland Chamber of Commerce Light Rail Task Force.

In last week's public forum, project consultants noted that the voter approved route was problematic through this stretch due to some of the roads being only two lanes and the existing traffic congestion on Barry Road.

Separately, a (subscriber-only) article in this week's Kansas City Business Journal looks again at a river-to-the-plaza starter route concept, comparing it to the beginnings of Denver's transit revolution. Says Scott Reed, a representative of Denver's transit agency: "The most important thing we did was we started with a light-rail line to give people the ability to see it in operation and make up their own minds." The emphasis is, of course, ours.