Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Transportation topics in KC

How will you vote on Chastain's LRT proposal?

I will vote Yes!
83
56%
I will vote No!
39
26%
I don't vote!
8
5%
I don't live in KCMO
18
12%
 
Total votes: 148

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Highlander
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by Highlander »

flyingember wrote:I still don't think it passes, but if it does repealing this plan could be A LOT harder than in 2006. And any changes would just increase the chance of a lawsuit, like not taking the bus tax for the train instead of making an effort to replace the tax in the 8 years the city would have to do so.

Chastain would be a big winner that led the city to build more rail than anyone else has in decades and do it with a citywide election. He would have to be inane to fight against this. He would be the big winner that did what the city couldn't.
I do not think it passes either but why take a chance on clouding the issue. I'd vote no if I could.

That said, Chastain sued last time when the city ignored the vote and lost. Maybe Jesus could turn water into wine but I don't think Chastain can. It's not a realistic proposal and it won't be able to be built as planned. How is the council going to do anything with the proposed line that isn't going to piss off some part of its constituency? Cut out the KCI part and half the people who voted for it will scream foul.

I would not trust Chastain. He's an egomaniac that would surely appreciate his moment of fame but then he'd go right back to being the same Chastain we know so well insisting the system be built exactly as proposed (regardless of the impossibility) and threaten to sue if not. He's too deeply involved in his agenda to back off; make Union Station a transit hub, destroy Science City, Penn Valley Park fetish, airport connection etc.... He even tried to derail the streetcar. He doesn't have KC's best interest in mind.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by normalthings »

In the event this is passed and built, would it be free to ride? Or is that yet to be determined
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by flyingember »

ldai_phs wrote:In the event this is passed and built, would it be free to ride? Or is that yet to be determined
TBD

If I were guessing, it will cost to ride.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by DaveKCMO »

after having spent some time with the council this week, i can tell you for sure they do NOT want chastain's plan to pass. have been told a committee is forming to do a light anti campaign to ensure it fails hard. pretty sure the $26 million loss to KCATA will make a great headline, since that would decimate paratransit (disabled) service.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by chingon »

DaveKCMO wrote: have been told a committee is forming to do a light anti campaign to ensure it fails hard
There's not a consultant in town (especially the one they will use) who is good enough to both damage the chastain plan and NOT taint the streetcar expansion plan by association.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by flyingember »

chingon wrote:
DaveKCMO wrote: have been told a committee is forming to do a light anti campaign to ensure it fails hard
There's not a consultant in town (especially the one they will use) who is good enough to both damage the chastain plan and NOT taint the streetcar expansion plan by association.
I agree. The KCATA and city probably shouldn't be involved with either position on this ballot item.

The Chastain plan includes bus service so it's not an apples to oranges comparison. It's more like taking money from KCATA and making a fruit salad. A lot of people would love to redo bus service in KC without the union being involved. (See Johnson County implementing Jo years ago and Indebus more recently as real world in this area) If the KCATA comes out against the plan there are groups that will see the new bus service included and their opposition to it and (rightly or wrongly) connect the dots to the opposition not having anything to do with the train but being about the Union bus jobs. We already know the far-right anti-union population will be voting in very high numbers in November.

Then look at how you would use the city actively being against a smaller tax paid for by more people that could build to UMKC when it comes time for the streetcar election. I don't disagree with the TDD funding plan but if the city has been involved with not getting more rail and everyone pays less it could be said the city is trying to get midtown to pay more than it's fair share.

That sounds like the same argument that killed the 2014 vote but even stronger. If the 2014 vote saw mostly property owners vote, an effort to get renters not interested in paying more in rent and not getting any benefit from higher property rates could kill the TDD.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by JLowe2018 »

Chastain was in town for just a few days to make his latest pitch but said he’ll be back several times before November. He said he didn’t know whether he would raise any money or mount a formal campaign, although he plans to have a website ready in about 10 days.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics ... rylink=cpy
Has anyone on here heard of any days that Chastain will be in town to promote his plan?

Also has anyone seen the website mentioned? Since this article was posted on the 1st of this month it should be up by now.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by DaveKCMO »

JLowe2018 wrote:Also has anyone seen the website mentioned?
found it!

Image
flyingember
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by flyingember »

Clay County has a sample ballot up.


QUESTION NO. 3
(Light Rail Sales Taxes)

Shall the City of Kansas City enact the following three sales taxes:

(a) a new 1/8¢ sales tax for 25 years beginning April 1, 2017, pursuant to sections 94.600 through 94.655, Revised Statutes of Missouri, the transportation sales tax; and

(b) a shifting of the current 3/8¢ sales tax currently devoted to the KCATA, for 25 years beginning April 1, 2024, pursuant to sections 94.600 through 94.655, Revised Statutes of Missouri, the transportation sales tax; and

(c) a new 1/4¢ sales tax for 25 years beginning April 1, 2017, pursuant to sections 94.575 through 94.577, Revised Statutes of Missouri, the capital improvements sales tax,

with the proceeds of said taxes and any other additional funds, which may include federal matching funds, to be used for the purpose of funding, or funding as much of as is possible, the construction, operation and maintenance of a citywide light rail transit system (rapid electric trains operating in their own right-of-way separated from traffic) to include a north/south line operating from Kansas City International Airport to the Cerner Campus at Bannister with scheduled stops at Twin Creeks, Vivion Road, North Kansas City, Downtown, Union Station, the Plaza, Brookside, and the Kansas City Zoo; and including an east/west line operating from Union Station to the Jackson County Sports Complex (utilizing Linwood Boulevard and the Rock Island Rail right-of-way) with scheduled stops at Troost Avenue and Prospect Avenue (to connect to the city’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system), and also including a fleet of electric mini-buses (to transport passengers to and from light rail stations) with all station stops at or near designated locations and with the light rail system utilizing, where possible, city parkland, medians of city boulevards, and existing rail right-of-ways, and including necessary bridges and other infrastructure?

YES
NO
mykn

Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by mykn »

I'm curious, how would there be a branch on Linwood to the stadiums if the closest stop is at Union Station or the Plaza?
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by flyingember »

mykn wrote:I'm curious, how would there be a branch on Linwood to the stadiums if the closest stop is at Union Station or the Plaza?
My guess "to include" means additional stops can be added. The idea is by designating stops in these areas the train must go by that spot and stop there and not much more. By not saying exactly how to get from A to B the city could find the most affordable route to fulfill those goals.

If you follow the northland routing there's no stops between Twin Creeks and Gladstone. That's 50 blocks without a stop mentioned. I seriously doubt that will be the case. But what it does is say a line must go from Twin Creeks to Vivion to NKC. If the city decides to bypass Gladstone and go via Waukomis to Englewood, say it's 20% cheaper, the text would allow that.
Last edited by flyingember on Thu Sep 15, 2016 2:22 pm, edited 3 times in total.
mykn

Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by mykn »

flyingember wrote:
mykn wrote:I'm curious, how would there be a branch on Linwood to the stadiums if the closest stop is at Union Station or the Plaza?
My guess "to include" means additional stops can be added. The idea is by designating stops in these areas the train must go by that spot and stop there and not much more. By not saying exactly how to get from A to B the city could find the most affordable route to fulfill those goals.

If you follow the northland routing there's no stops between Twin Creeks and Gladstone. That's 50 blocks without a stop mentioned. I seriously doubt that will be the case. But what it does is say a line must go from Twin Creeks to Vivion to NKC. If the city decides to bypass Gladstone and go via Waukomis to Englewood, say it's 20% cheaper, the text would allow that.

Makes more sense, it would be insane to skip all of Midtown (or, I guess much of NKC).
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by JLowe2018 »

Coverage from the open house Clay Chastain hosted yesterday at Plaza Library:

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... s-tax.html
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/ar ... 25097.html

Here's a letter to the Star written by Chastain promoting his plan:
http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/reade ... 31872.html
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by herrfrank »

My 80-something father attended the session by Clay Chastain at the Plaza library yesterday. The KC _Star_ article states people listened "with interest." Dad replied that, at most, 10 people attended and that the most interesting thing about it was that the reporter still knows Gregg shorthand, observed during the longwinded presentation.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by JLowe2018 »

Another bizjournal article was posted today. It's for subscribers only but I'll post one highlight from it below.

This passage below answers the question: "Why is Clay Chastain pushing Kansas City light rail when he doesn't even live here?"
After 20-plus years of pushing light-rail plans here, however, Chastain knows he can't escape the focus on him. So though he doesn't like to get personal in his crusade for a modern, world-class transit system, he said, he knows he must address the persistent question: Why is Clay Chastain pushing Kansas City light rail when he doesn't even live here?

A resident of Bedford, Va., the former Kansas City resident said he plans to return to Kansas City. But due to a custody agreement, he won't be able to do so for eight more years, when his daughter turns 18, he said.

"We want to move back to Kansas City when she's 18," Chastain said, "and we want it to be green and prosperous and have light rail."

If voters approve Question No. 3, he said, the 40-mile citywide light-rail plan he has proposed should be completed in seven or eight years.
Link to article: http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... ation.html
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by flyingember »

"Due to a custody agreement." That's the kind of statement you want to hear.

Way to improve your image Clay...

I also question that he knows how to do green. Apparently he wants 9 stops in 39 miles and make 98% of people transfer from a bus to the train and again from the train to a bus. Making it hard to ride the train isn't how you get people out of their car.

I fully expect if this passes and the council builds it they'll fully ignore his only 9 stops thing and build more than that.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by shinatoo »

flyingember wrote:"Due to a custody agreement." That's the kind of statement you want to hear.
I hope you never reach a point in your life when you have to deal with something as difficult and devastating as a divorce and a custody battle. And if you do, I hope you can do what's best for your child by not making them travel across the country just to spend time with you.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by DaveKCMO »

herrfrank wrote:My 80-something father attended the session by Clay Chastain at the Plaza library yesterday. The KC _Star_ article states people listened "with interest." Dad replied that, at most, 10 people attended and that the most interesting thing about it was that the reporter still knows Gregg shorthand, observed during the longwinded presentation.
that'd be lynn. she's the last of a dying breed: just the facts and files 10 stories a day (or so it seems).
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by flyingember »

shinatoo wrote:
flyingember wrote:"Due to a custody agreement." That's the kind of statement you want to hear.
I hope you never reach a point in your life when you have to deal with something as difficult and devastating as a divorce and a custody battle. And if you do, I hope you can do what's best for your child by not making them travel across the country just to spend time with you.
His history makes me question your assessment with him. Go back some. He ran for mayor this last time around and the time before that. Was he going to abandon his kid for the job for 4+ years? With this new information we can identify he had this whole "I don't really live where my kid does" thing he pushed for years.

At this point it's just a bad excuse and he dragged his own kid into it. He basically blamed his situation on them. A parent doesn't do that. I accept it's possible he changed his mind about his kid since a year ago or the custody deal changed, we of course don't know, but how he's handling it is poorly done.

Most people don't change, especially as an adult. It can happen, but he's back yet again with a train plan after saying he would never return with one again.

I like that he's passionate about transit. But his plans always seem half thought out (the city changes helped a ton). This statement seems like it fits into that mold. Could be true, stupid to say in an interview.
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Re: Clay Chastain coming back with light rail

Post by DaveKCMO »

watch clay, um, defend his latest plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ektngqxc0og
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