KC Light Rail

The following condensed transit updates are from the MARC Transportation Committee July meeting:

• SmartMoves – Two phases underway: urban corridors (with a bi-state application for a TIGER stimulus grant) and commuter corridors; consultants have been selected for each. Phase 1 deadline of Sept. 12th and the second phase has no deadline at this time.
• Transportation Outlook 2040 – Project solicitation for the long-range transportation plan is in progress. A high speed rail section will be added.
• Unified Government Transit – UG Transit does not have funds to make it through the rest of the year (service cuts may occur in October); next year will also be difficult for funding.
• KCATA – Service cuts implemented June 28; additional cuts may be needed.
• Johnson County Transit – First phase of the Metcalf/Shawnee Mission Parkway BRT study (also a SmartMoves corridor) is near completion and phase 2 will start soon; action from the Kansas legislature is required in order to run the service in this corridor and the northern terminus has been determined to be the Plaza (instead of downtown, the terminus for most JO services today). Fifty-five new JO bus stop signs will be installed in downtown Kansas City (where none exist today) via an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the KCATA.

The next meeting will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 5 at MARC offices, 600 Broadway, in downtown Kansas City.

The Star served up an update earlier this week on the Troost bus rapid transit project (Green Line), ghettoized in the weekly "Neighborhoods" print section (which is practically MIA online).

Kansas City's second "BRT Lite" (regular buses, no off-board ticketing or level boarding, limited lane dedication and signal priority, super low cost) route will augment the existing #25 fixed route service that nets the highest ridership in the city. The project is fairly straightforward, save for the unfortunate coincidence of having to cross Parks Department property at Brush Creek; now that funding has been secured for the replacement of that bridge, construction on the line can proceed.

Peak headways will match the current #25 and Main Street MAX (Yellow Line), but travel times compared to #25 will improve due to the limited number of stops. The two MAX routes will overlap at some stops inside the downtown loop (12th & Grand, for example), so the LED signage on the front will indicate to which route a bus is assigned; unfortunately, the KCATA did not correct the situation where the Main Street MAX line does not directly serve the 10th & Main transit center. Service is expected to begin in Fall 2010.

On July 16, KCATA proposed a different kind of light rail for Kansas City: a 2.5-mile modern streetcar line serving as a downtown circulator between River Market and Crown Center.

First, some basic facts about the proposal:

• Prior light rail studies indicate the "RCP" (River Market > Crown Center > Plaza) corridor is the best opportunity to reintroduce fixed rail transit in KC.
• Capital costs (approximately $150 million) could be funded 100% by a TIGER grant program that's part of the ARRA.
• Operating costs (approximately $2-2.5 million annually) could come from new revenue sources adjacent to the route that would not require a city-wide public vote, likely through approval of a Transportation Development District.
• The Greater Downtown Area Plan, while still in progress, recommends reintroduction of a downtown urban circulator.
• The line would operate in mixed traffic, remove no on-street parking, and require no property acquisition for right of way.
• The Downtown Council has indicated they may support the proposal.
• Modern streetcar vehicles are now made in the US.
• The proposal is not a complete rehash of the 14-mile plan voters rejected in November 2008, which was designed to bring commuters to downtown from the north, south, and east (although consultants noted earlier this year that only the RCP portion would have had a good shot at federal funding through existing programs).

Now, the tough part:

• TIGER grants are competitive and are capped at $300 million per request and for each state; St. Louis and others will compete for all or part of that amount.
• Every city, transit agency, railroad, MPO, and state DOT in the US can apply with separate proposals for the $1.5 billion that's available nationwide.
• Other Kansas City proposals from MARC, the Port Authority, Public Works (one for bike/ped/trails, another for roads), and the Kansas City Terminal Railway have been presented.
• Funding will be granted at the complete discretion of the US DOT.

The dilemma for city leaders now is how best to package this or a combination of proposals to compete by the Sept. 15 deadline (insanely short by typical federal standards). US DOT has provided criteria and certainly indicated highways won't be the top priority (sorry, MoDOT).

KCATA did not indicate exactly how, or if, the current MAX line would be affected. It's important to note, however, that the MAX takes an overly-complicated route through downtown and could certainly benefit from a good straightening out.

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.

Follow us at http://twitter.com/kclightrail. If you tweet about transit in KC, use the hashtag #kctransit.

KCATA presented a modern streetcar proposal at yesterday's Transportation and Infrastructure committee meeting. T&I is reviewing applications for $1.5 billion in competitive TIGER grants that are part of the federal stimulus package (yes, that's $1.5 billion for the entire US). It's conceivable that the entire capital cost could be covered by TIGER funds. The criteria for requests are fuzzy, and there is no formula distribution as with other transportation dollars.

What's a modern streetcar? Think modern light rail vehicle running in mixed traffic. Why is it better than the MAX? Take a walk along the MAX corridor and see how it's improved since 2005. Rail lines spur economic development, period.

See the Star's coverage here and the PowerPoint presentation here.

On a side note: Seattle's first light rail line opens this weekend. Track progress at Seattle Transit Blog.