Official: KCMO Light Rail

[KCMax]

Interesting call from Richard Tolbert.

Also good to hear this will not be repealed by the council. Sounds like we have a ton of bureacratic red-tape ahead of us, especially to get those federal funds.

[DaveKCMO]

amazing what a week of public pressure will do!

[KCMax]

The calls are overwhelmingly positive for light rail - even one caller wanting it in Kansas. Nice!

[ShowMeKC]

Good god, I am listening to the Up to Date episode... I agree with a lot in it, however I still agree with nothing that Chastain says... I hope he NEVER comes back to Kansas City.
Chastain's attitude is basically "ha, all of you who have other ideas are screwed because they approved my idea and there is no changing it, my idea is the best! And it's going to happen my way because it isn't illegal or impossible! And if they don't approve it, they should be fired or kicked out of office!"
Screw you Chastain, and stay out of our great city.

[KCMax]

"ha, all of you who have other ideas are screwed ... my idea is the best! And it's going to happen my way because it isn't illegal or impossible! And if they don't approve it, they should be fired or kicked out of office!"

Where have I heard this before?

[Tosspot]

Chastain probably worded his proposal the way he did to prevent the city or other mitigating forces from pulling a hatchet job on the most effective components of the rail plan.

[ShowMeKC]

No, he could have said:
A light rail line running from KCI to the Zoo, with stops including P&L District, River Market, Crossroads, Crown Center, Midtown, Westport, Plaza, etc...
But instead he screwed all of us with an exact route. The guy just screwed all of Kansas City, and the citizens are too blind to see it. Unfortunately, we are going to have to fix this in 20-30 years.

My generation gets screwed once again, just like the stadiums. We now have to be the ones to fix these problems.

[anniewarbucks]

Please cool it guys. Don't let this become a schoolyard fight. yea I know there are flaws in the initial light rail route but if they get this thing up and running first to see how it will operate then tweek it with new branches and more penetration into the suburbs of KC K/MO. We will see how efficient it is and we will not want to give it up.

[ddw334umkc]

I'd like to see how these electric buses will annex the rail line.

[anniewarbucks]

I have seen these buses on Beyond Tommorrow on the Science Channel. They have at the stops a coil embedded in the pavement that recharges the battery in the bus. these would probably be powered by the same system that powers the Lionel rail for the light rail as I am thinking that the buses will interface with the trains. The fast charge at these stations enable the buses to travel the entire circuit on a single charge.

[DaveKCMO]

our man wayne's assessment, from his "insight" newsletter:

By approving light rail, the voters have made it clear they want more options in transportation in Kansas City. However, the approved plan is unrealistic. Mayor Kay Barnes and I are dedicated to moving forward and pursuing a viable light rail plan. The City Council will decide in January what further action to take or whether the next City Council should consider the issue.

[DaveKCMO]

and from becky nace's campaign "blog":

Light Rail-  In the absence of leadership at City hall, voters took action and demanded that we move forward on building a light rail line.  I heard you loud and clear and I will commit to working towards that end.  I will establish a commission tasked with expediting the process and finding solutions to funding issues.  I have a funding plan that I feel will compliment the plan the voters passed last Tuesday. We need to address the loss of funding for our bus system as this decreases their funding by 40% and will impact public transportation for a decade if no replacement funding source is established prior to the current tax sun setting. I want to congratulate Clay Chastain on passing a light rail initiative after three attempts. I promise to name a station after you Clay.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I am not really enamoured with any of these candidates but if any of them makes getting the light rail done the conerstone of their campaign they will get my vote. 

[ShowMeKC]

Most important priorities (IMO) for Mayoral Candidates:

1- Downtown/Urban Core Revitalization
2- Light Rail
3- Infrastructure
4- Crime

[DaveKCMO]

off-topic, but don't forget our failing schools... a few candidates (eddy, nace, brooks) specifically brought this item up during the forum this week, even though there was no question directly addressing it.

[lock+load]

off-topic, but don't forget our failing schools... a few candidates (eddy, nace, brooks) specifically brought this item up during the forum this week, even though there was no question directly addressing it.

Eliminate some school bus routes and send the kids to school on light rail!

[Highlander]

off-topic, but don't forget our failing schools... a few candidates (eddy, nace, brooks) specifically brought this item up during the forum this week, even though there was no question directly addressing it.

Frankly I think this should be regarded as the most important issue facing KC.  Solving this glaring issue gets the ball rolling on all the others.  Fix the schools and the permanent downtown population grows rapidly (most young professionals will move out of DT when they starting having kids).  Light rail becomes imperitive rather than being seen as a nice-to-have but unnecassary perk and business will cease to be pulled inexorbably towards the burbs.  Sadly, I think too many have simply resigned themselves to the educational status quo in KC.

[chrizow]

not to be a pessimist here, but name one truly "good" urban school district in the united states.  there are good individual schools in all cities, including kcmo, but urban school districts are uniformly terrible.

this fact, however, is no excuse for leaders not to address the problem.

[DaveKCMO]

did anyone else notice this tidbit in the article about the I-29/front street interchange redo?

Cauthen said Thursday that the nearly $1 billion light rail network approved by Kansas City voters earlier this month had to cross the Missouri River somewhere to link Kansas City International Airport with the area around the Kansas City Zoo.

Cauthen suggested that the rebuilding of I-29 and the Paseo Bridge in coming years might offer the perfect opportunity to piggyback rail onto the bridge.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/16032270.htm

[DaveKCMO]

part 1: zoo to union station (approx. 8 mi.). includes only specified stops (with suggested stop names) and alignment per the ballot language -- other stops would obviously be needed between zoo and umkc and between westport and union station. i've listed amenities and major employers, bus routes eliminated by the spine connecting shuttles, and other connecting modal options. feel free to comment relative to the official route. from what i've read so far, electric shuttles have a 10-mile range between charging points (one point at the light rail connection, the other at the end point). * indicates JO routes that currently serve the city (primarily crown center, downtown, plaza) that would be re-routed to compliment the spine with express connections only at union station and the plaza (integration with smartmoves) and all existing local stops in johnson county.

stop: swope park/63rd.
alignment: starlight road, between railroad tracks and zoo drive.
amenities: zoo, starlight, public golf, research medical center.
modal options: shuttle eliminates #163, commuter rail stop (grandview, belton, harrisonville), I-435, park-n-ride

starlight road (westbound at swope park mall):



swope parkway (northbound at meyer):



swope parkway (northbound at 63rd):



63rd street (westbound at agnes):



63rd street (westbound at US-71):



63rd street (westbound at troost):



troost (northbound at 61st):



troost (northbound at 53rd):



troost (northbound at 50th):



stop: UMKC/50th
alignment: 50th street, between troost and rockhill
amenities: UMKC, rockhurst, stowers, toy and miniature museum, linda hall library
modal options: shuttle eliminates #155, connects with new troost BRT (#25)



50th street (northbound at rockhill):



rockhill (northbound at volker):



rockhill (northbound at brush creek):



cleaver II (westbound at rockhill):



stop: nelson
alignment: cleaver II (median), between rockhill and oak
amenities: nelson-atkins, kemper museum, KCAI, theis park, southmoreland park
modal options: shuttle eliminates #47



stop: plaza/47th
alignment: broadway (jc nichols), between 47th and 46th terrace
amenities: plaza, hotels, library, tennis club, mill creek park, loose park, st. luke's
modal options: shuttle eliminates #51, taxi stand (existing), the JO*



broadway (northbound at 43rd):



stop: westport/39th
alignment: broadway, between westport and 40th
amenities: bars, restaurants, hotels, shops, library
modal options: shuttle eliminates #39, taxi stand (new, along broadway)



broadway (northbound at valentine):



kessler drive (northbound at liberty memorial):



kessler drive (northbound at pershing):



stop: union station
alignment: passes through the west side of the carriage house at grade with the station
amenities: crown center, IRS, penn valley park, washington square, liberty memorial, freighthouse, crossroads
modal options: park-n-ride (existing), taxi stand (existing), amtrak, commuter rail hub (new), MAX, the JO*, gondola (liberty memorial, PVP), inter-city bus (greyhound, el conejo, jefferson -- new location), express ticketing to KCI (new).

at the union station stop (southbound):



new elevated connection to union station (southbound from broadway):



new elevated connection to broadway (northbound from terminal tracks):



enjoy!