I love trains.

[StL_Dan]

Especially when they don't impede my progress driving around town.



Council gets look at railroad plan

Kevin Wright
kwright@olathedailynews.com

Project consultants unveiled a scale-model Tuesday of what the elevated eastside railroad tracks would look like when the project is complete.
Representatives of TransSystems Corporation, the consultant for the project, and Ochsner Hare & Hare, planning consultants and landscaping architects, presented the model and project plans to the City Council during a study session at City Hall.

The consultants and engineers came up with the final design after having meetings with downtown entities, the city and the public.
The overall design of the wall could incorporate a classic design of brick facades, arches, pylons, stone and structural enhancements that fit with a Santa Fe Trail type theme. However, the latter will not involve paintings or statutes or a pure western motif, but involve some rustic elements in design, said Steven Y. Schmidt with TransSystems.
The wall could incorporate a greenwall design that would involve shrubbery and other vegetation.
Although the plans are ready to submit to the Kansas Department of Transportation for approval, the council must chose between an elevated track that is more aesthetically pleasing or one that has aesthetic attributes, but is more cost effective.
This could eliminate some of the aforementioned features from the overall design.

If the city chooses to use an upgraded aesthetic treatment on the elevated tracks, the project will cost $30,175,360. If the city stays with its current plan, which is a reduction in aesthetic enhancements, the project will come in at about $28.7 million, a difference of about $2.4 million.
Yet, the overall cost is higher than what was budgeted for the project even at the lower end of the scale. The council budgeted $24 million in the Capital Improvement Plan, but right-of-way acquisition and the addition of a railroad service road has driven up the cost, City Engineer Rick Biery said.

The city will fund part of the project through a $16.8 million grant it received from the Kansas Department of Transportation. The city will fund the remaining costs through general obligation bonds.
This assumes that Burlington Northern Santa Fe will contribute the labor forces to construct the railroad tracks for the wall that will cross over Ridgeview Road and Santa Fe, Loula and Park streets. If the city were able to negotiate with BNSF to contract the labor with a contractor, it could save an additional $600,000.

Councilmembers had varying opinions about the plans, and they wanted more time to review the options before giving final recommendations.
Councilmember Kathleen Huttmann wanted to keep all the aesthetic elements because the wall would last for decades to come. She said the city has waited years for this project to happen and the project should be constructed in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and complements the overall atmosphere and landscape of the city.

Yet, some of councilmembers didn't want the project to get too costly or
become too outlandish. "What I don't want this to be is the Great Wall of Olathe," Mayor Michael Copeland said.

The city hopes to break ground on the project next year with a completion date sometime in 2005.

[QueSi2Opie]

I think this project has to do more with safety than anything else. These trains fly through Olathe near homes and children playing...especially between Dennis Avenue and Harold Street in central Olathe.

[StL_Dan]

I think this project has to do more with safety than anything else. These trains fly through Olathe near homes and children playing...especially between Dennis Avenue and Harold Street in central Olathe.

It also has a LOT to do with traffic flow, especially for emergency vehicles....namely police cars.

RE: safety....have you ever walked along the far west part of the walking path at Frisco Park. All that separates you from the train is about 15 yards of sloped gravel. It's unreal when you're walking your 2 yr old along there and a train goes by at 45 mph.

There is also a little house on Park St that cannot be more than 30 feet from the tracks. I could never get a decent nights rest in a house south of Santa Fe along Mahaffie, Loula or Park.