KC Light Rail

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.