KCRag Forum

JBmidtown wrote:Seating. The 71 is always packed. That route definitely needs bigger buses. And, because it's so fun to beat this dead horse, bus shelters couldn't hurt for that corridor.

i hate to break it to you but MAX buses are only ~2 feet longer than a regular #71 bus. you might get one or two more seats.

to reduce crowding you'd need articulated buses or higher frequency (there is no funding for either, as articulated buses would require a new KCATA bus barn).

in this case, upgrading to MAX amenities usually produces a ridership gain. if current buses are overcrowded and frequency is not increased, it could make the situation worse.

That's a bummer.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/governme ... 35559.html

Transit officials will meet with the transit administration in Washington this week, and if the discussions are positive, as Jarrold expects, the agency will apply later this month for a $30 million federal small-starts grant for the Prospect MAX.

The city and KCATA would provide a local match of about $15 million over several years, and the agency also hopes to get about $8 million in federal surface transportation funds, Jarrold said.

City Manager Troy Schulte says if the federal grant is approved, the city would then ask voters to approve issuing bonds to pay the city's share.

“At some point we could come back and say, 'We need a $15 or $18 million match specifically for Prospect corridor,' and would that be something we could put on a ballot?” Schulte said.

Schulte says that point would likely be two years or more from now, but by then planning would be complete so the city would be able to show the voters exactly how the bond money would be spent

http://kcur.org/post/prospect-avenue-bu ... oves-ahead

KCATA board of commissioners is expected to approve a $650K contract today with HNTB for the project development phase of prospect MAX.

prospect MAX was named in the president's FY 2017 budget for $30 million under the 'small starts' program. now we just need local funding...

two stations downtown to be used by prospect MAX will be built in the next year -- petticoat/main and 12th/grand. major tie-in to city work at linwood shopping center. the project is also a key component of the city's federal smart cities grant application (winner to be announced in march).

KCMO/KCATA will receive technical assistance in developing transit-oriented development along the prospect MAX line: http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2016/ ... -projects/

appropriation will force the project to seek funding in multiple federal budgets. some will come from 2017 and then probably at least one more cycle. one a project gets some, it will definitely get the rest.

city manager confirms (again) local match for prospect MAX will be paid for with the GO bond package.

DaveKCMO wrote:city manager confirms (again) local match for prospect MAX will be paid for with the GO bond package.

prospect MAX funding is listed in the exhibit that was attached to the non-binding resolution for the GO bond. now if we can get get an appropriation from congress...

DaveKCMO wrote:

DaveKCMO wrote:city manager confirms (again) local match for prospect MAX will be paid for with the GO bond package.

prospect MAX funding is listed in the exhibit that was attached to the non-binding resolution for the GO bond. now if we can get get an appropriation from congress...

What's the plan B for the Prospect MAX if the GO bond vote fails?

i'm not aware of one.

DaveKCMO wrote:i'm not aware of one.

Well I hope transit activists are getting the word out to vote in April.

The GO bonds passed. What's the word on Prospect MAX?

I would love to the the city work to creatively align the goals of Prospect Max with whatever the East Side Development tax is supposed to be doing. What's the best way to do that, TOD policy? There seems to be a pretty large disconnect between east side advocates and understanding that population loss and sprawl-by-adandonment are crippling problems for East KC and Northeast.

The grocery store project is a good example of focusing on a clear need and making it happen. It's the kind of project that hopefully will spur neighborhood reinvestment because it provides nearby food accessible to all using many modes and jobs too. I would also call it a benchmark of a quality neighborhood.

As we know the east side doesn't have a lack of community interest in improvement, it has had a lack of focus with coordinating money to encourage that focus. Hopefully this tax can come with a clear focus on what it wants to fund and it sticks to those items. Not throwing money at just anyone would be a failure.

Temporary construction jobs are temporary. Roads need repair. Chasing the jobs that disappeared is a folly. I would like to see a large portion go to a local entrepreneur grant fund. A local wanting to buy a building or lot, renovate it or build on it and open a business employing people should be at the top of the list.

I don't buy this money going to MAX for this reason, but I do think it's smart to score higher funding requests for projects on high frequency transit corridors, areas with good walking accessibility, places senior citizens can get to on their own and such. And Prospect with MAX would fit that bill.

Aligning goals is a necessity.

JBmidtown wrote:The GO bonds passed. What's the word on Prospect MAX?

we got the word out on question 1.

the next step is ensuring the federal grant is delivered. the project was named in obama's last budget, but has yet to receive it's funding agreement (requires a congressional appropriation).

flyingember wrote:The grocery store project is a good example of focusing on a clear need and making it happen. It's the kind of project that hopefully will spur neighborhood reinvestment because it provides nearby food accessible to all using many modes and jobs too. I would also call it a benchmark of a quality neighborhood.

As we know the east side doesn't have a lack of community interest in improvement, it has had a lack of focus with coordinating money to encourage that focus. Hopefully this tax can come with a clear focus on what it wants to fund and it sticks to those items. Not throwing money at just anyone would be a failure.

Temporary construction jobs are temporary. Roads need repair. Chasing the jobs that disappeared is a folly. I would like to see a large portion go to a local entrepreneur grant fund. A local wanting to buy a building or lot, renovate it or build on it and open a business employing people should be at the top of the list.

I don't buy this money going to MAX for this reason, but I do think it's smart to score higher funding requests for projects on high frequency transit corridors, areas with good walking accessibility, places senior citizens can get to on their own and such. And Prospect with MAX would fit that bill.

Aligning goals is a necessity.

If I recall, one of the goals of the Linwood Shopping Center grocery store redevelopment project includes an effort to redevelop vacant residential lots around the store as well as buy and rehab many of the older houses--the vast majority of which are rental houses, and convert them into owner-occupied homes. That area has an astonishingly high percentage of rental houses. I think it's over 80 percent.