Well, here goes, this is my idea of a master planned long range transit overhaul for the KC area. Let me know what you think and please discuss this. I plan on sending this on to mayor Funkhouser and others and see what kind of feedback I get.
This could all be funded with a permanent ½ or 1 cent sales tax across the region. But we all know that won’t be easy so here are some ways to get it going and build it out.
Priority light rail line. This is a starter line that is much more than a starter line. It will serve the massive commuting population along I-70 to the east, the eastside of KCMO, the stadium complex and the entire RiverCrownPlaza urban core and get all the way beyond Briarcliff in the Northland to the Platte County line. This line can be funded with a Jackson and Clay county tax (nearly 1 million people) and could include major upgrades to express bus service and the construction of park and rides for express bus routes to Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Liberty, Gladstone, SKC and Grandview. This should be our first step to “catch up” and will be the only real way to get a public vote and federal/state funding. A Clay/Jackson tax should be no more than the total tax to be levied across the area. So to build out the system, no county should have to be taxed twice. If Clay and Jackson pass this bi-county system, they should not have to be asked to put into a regional or bistate tax unless this is a short term tax or they only have to pass ¼ cent while the rest of the metro has to pass a ½ or ¾ cent tax. You have to keep this fair or the system will never be expanded.
This “starter line” is a light rail route that will use existing rail right of way east of I-470 and new light rail from the I-470 via Hwy40, Blue Parkway, Volker and Main Street. This line will go a long way in redeveloping the entire Highway 40, and Blue Parkway corridors. It will be the most expensive of any transit line built in KC, but it will be the most important and needs to be done right. It can be expanded easily to the east along the rail right of way.
There will be a major park and ride / transfer facility at what is now the far SE parking lot of the Truman Sports Complex where buses will feed into the light rail line and the future Lee’s Summit light rail extension along the existing right of way to the southeast.
Other extensions to light rail would include Platte County to KCI (existing or new terminal) via 169 and Waukomis where there is already some transit right of way so most of the line could be in its own right of way to keep the speeds up. The line would serve the booming Tiffany Springs corridor and Platte County commuters.
The extension to the south could be built along the trolley track trail and then pick up the existing rail right of way in the Bendix area an head into SKC and Grandview. In the interim , BRT and or street cars could be used in parts of this corridor such as the Plaza to Waldo area.
BRT lines with more advanced technology and vehicles would be built along State Ave and US-24 as well as Metcalf, Shawnee Mission Parkway, North Oak, Troost/State Line and along I-35 to Liberty.
Street car line connectors could be built to connect major neighborhoods. I propose a UMKC-Westport via plaza route and Westside to Eastside route and something in the downtown loop for an east-west connection. These are not that expensive to build and would add a lot of value to the areas they are built in.
Commuter rail, and if possible light rail, could be built along I-35 in Johnson County to upgrade the proposed shoulder BRT line for the I-35 corridor.
All light rail or commuter rail would require new track to be built. Parking structures/lots and bike facilities would be built at all major stations and transfer facilities, the general fixed route bus system would be tripled in size and frequency.
This would also abolish the JO and ATA and create a new Mid America TRANSIT (MAT) government. The system would continue to use the existing Jo and ATA bus barns and offices, but new facilities would be built in the northland and eastern Jackson county so all buses don’t have to drive clear to the existing barns.
I’m going to throw out 1.5 billion for the “starter” line which would include expanded buses and BRT in Clay and Jackson only. For the entire MO side built out, I would guess 2-3 billion and for the bistate area, who knows...
This is my “dream” plan. If I were planning for KC’s transit system for next 50-100 years, this is what it would look like and it could be upgraded as needed, (BRT to LRT etc).
This is what we should be shooting for and it can be done. Ask Denver and many other towns.
