KCRag Forum

Most projects can’t get funding with 10-15 percent “profit” (an arbitrary label) and these guys are trying to do it with 7-9% with incentives.  Like they said, it will not happen with 4% and you will get another fried chicken place instead of a high quality, higher density project that will no doub...

aknowledgeableperson wrote:
Bistate I is all that is needed to reply.

Yeah - great comparison. A one-time, short-term funding effort for a destination building, versus a long-term sustained effort that impacts daily transportation and land use.

As I say, good luck w/ your fantasies of JoCo funding rail service in KCMO.

  thus, there seems to be a federal funding catch-22.  if you go for federal funds from the get-go, it takes longer and you might not get any federal funds.  if you start out on your own, your next phase probably doesn't score as well, and thus you're even less likely to get federal funds. (don't y...

Get started?  On what?  Even the people who want rail transit on this forum do not agree on what it should be.  Streetcar.  Light rail.  Cross the river.  Do not cross the river.  End at the Plaza.  Go beyond the Plaza.  Go down Main.  Go down Grand.  East/west spur.  No east/west spur.  If there i...

Maybe, but voting history on this issue gives me pause. Better to present the voters with a big ambitious shiny plan that they can coo over. You mean like 2001?? It's a big leap of faith to assume you can even *get* something to the voters of both states, and you can get agreement on what that will...

What is wrong with the Funk at least attempting to get a regional plan going?  If most, if not all, of the five counties sign on at the start just think of how much money would be flowing into the project.  And if it a regional plan the chances of KCMO approval should be higher. Given the election ...

We have got to find ways to get creative here.  Only have a vote in KCMO south of the river and Jackson county for example.  Or finding a way to use the Chastain money for light rail and simply go to a regional tax to fund the bus system. I just think we are going nowhere with this light rail stuff...

I guess I don't trust Kansas City to pull off a small piece, and do it well enough and above-board enough to persuade the region to cooperate. I'd agree that in the past the City hasn't done much to give you reason to believe. But I also believe that people have a better impression of City Hall now...

Settling for "less"? Less what? Less money? How is that a bad thing? Where does this perception come from, that BRT is inherently inferior? Just because the USA tends to implement it foolishly doesn't mean it is inherently foolish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rede_Integrada_de_Transporte...

I think this starter line or any other starter line would fail to pass with the voters of the whole city.  Why would people north of the river, south kc, and east kc vote to approve a city wide sales tax that would benefit a very small part of the city without the starter plan being part of a city-...

My plan: Proceed like we are doing.  This whole process takes time, look at other cities, 15 or more years after a plan is approved before it becomes operational.  I think it is safe to say that mass public transit systems in other cities are supported regionally instead of just the city itself.  S...

The point was that many people want the line to go through CC via Grand, not Main St.  You forgot the point that the voter approved plan takes the line down Broadway. Yes, there is money but that money has other uses that many others feel that are way more important than a starter streetcar line.  ...

Kevin, If I can pry you off the fast streetcar technology to a self-propelled rail vehicle, that cost per mile drops even further.  A plug-in hybrid drive technology could easily be applied to small streetcars.  The same drive system that is being tested in the Dodge Sprinter the ATA runs on its Me...

And I am sure that the light rail lines were studied for many years before the voters approved them in the other cities also.  Or, I guess, that on the last day to put the issue on the ballot the governing body came up with the idea and presto. Know where a starter line should go?  I doubt it.  Let...

Look at the process and the time line for other cities for their light rail lines.  If we have a light rail sytem in place by 2020 we will probably be on average for the other cities from the time of approval to time of actual running.  Why does it take so long?  The best answer among many is there...

What the hell is the bitching about the 18 month study? They are taking all the necessary steps to secure federal funding, and thats all. It gets us in line.  If the pace is not fast enough, bitch at the feds!!!~ They don't even begin to receive funds from the tax until 2009! We're going to have li...

An all or nothing shot in front of the voters in November of '07 is a huge gamble. do you mean to say November 08? If so, I completely agree. It's suicide to wait until 2 years after the voters approved the Chastain initiative, and present a do or die scenario. It's also a presidential election, wh...

I do not see why this would take 2.5 years and $60,000 for 18 months ....what is that, one person working quarter time on the project over that period?    I think that's just MARC's portion. ATA's I'm sure is much, much higher than that. At any rate, that's quite a disappointing set of quotes, if a...

There seems to be an almost religious zeal when it comes to US in this thread, and a willful ignorance of the facts. Highlander is exactly correct - the functionality of the station has been destroyed with 2 Pershing Square and Science City. In addition, the KCT railways presents a very real and exp...

This is the first time I have seen this stated in the paper: http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/104870.html The article basically states what has already been discussed here.  I hate to see the vote delayed until 2008.  Hopefully, that means they want the time to work out the details of the plan s...