OFFICIAL: Troost MAX

[DaveKCMO]

I'll tell you why.  For the money.  The MO Downtown Economic Stimulus Act (MODESA) provides state tax incentives for "Downtown Revitalization."  The loophole is it's up to a local authority to determine what the boundaries of a downtown are.

smartypants! that's the reason, it's so crystal clear now that it's been said.

[ShowMeKC]

I totally forgot about MODESA.

[markf]

smartypants! that's the reason, it's so crystal clear now that it's been said.

No need to bring my pants into this. 

[mean]

That there are no guidelines for determining your downtown's size, perhaps scaled to urban population size or metro population size or, well, anything, is just one more reminder that we are governed largely by fools.

[dangerboy]

Modesa does have some guidelines for defining CBD for its purposes. 

The district can't be more than 10% of the city's geographic area, so technically our CBD can be up to 30 square miles - probably enough to include the Plaza.

There are also criteria for the age of the buildings, proximity to the traditional downtown of the city, history of mixed uses, etc.

As we saw with the Lee's Summit CityWalk proposal the state was willing to stand up and say "no" when a city pushed the definition of downtown too far.

[bahua]

No need to bring my pants into this. 

That line of thought has gotten me in trouble before. Some concierges just have no sense of humor.

[enough]

back to topic, i really hope the troost BRT is extended to downtown or at least crown center/union station in its initial phase.

i think we can be confident that troost brt will go at least as far "downtown" as 11th and grand.

[KCMax]

Feds grant early funding for Troost bus upgrade

Kansas City picked up $6.3 million a year early for a high-tech bus route serving the city’s busiest transit corridor along Troost Avenue.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and U.S. Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri announced funding for the $30.7 million bus project. The new funding gives the city about two-thirds of the money it needs for the rapid bus line.

The new Troost service would function just like the Metro Area Express, or MAX, which runs from the Country Club Plaza to downtown. The rush-hour bus service makes limited stops, running in a designated lane.

Like the MAX, the new line should cut the time of a bus commute by 25 percent....

The proposed rapid bus line for Troost probably would cover eight or nine miles along the current Troost route, which extends 13 miles from downtown south to Bannister Mall.

Planners are still trying to figure how to align the rapid bus route, particularly from Hospital Hill to downtown.

Metro bus officials have said they hoped to start the Troost rapid bus line in 2009 or early 2010, but plans were complicated by the voter-approved light-rail plan, which would divert tax money from the bus system. It’s not known how Friday’s development will affect the timetable.

[bahua]

transit corridor = street

[chingon]

plans were complicated by the voter-approved light-rail plan, which would divert tax money from the bus system.

An Orwellian turn of phrase.

[Stockton]

Planners are still trying to figure how to align the rapid bus route, particularly from Hospital Hill to downtown.

Anybody have thoughts on this?

[WinchesterMysteryHouse]

Thougts: invest now!

[DaveKCMO]

Anybody have thoughts on this?

yes, but there is a dizzying array of options. it really comes down to what you want to focus on. if you want to simply parrot the existing ridership, use the existing #25 route (which is actually my first choice).

- i assume the main point of contention is not whether to stay directly connected to hospital hill, but where to go after that... back to troost like #25 does today? or down holmes/charlotte to connect with east village? if you do the latter, you lose a direct connection with the greyhound bus terminal (although not critical if you move greyhound to union station). would you continue along holmes/charlotte into columbus park (which currently has no direct service)? does the #25 local bus, which i assume carries on, to some degree, carry hospital hill instead?
- another question is whether to terminate at 3rd/grand, but i don't see that as very critical -- who would ride all the way there to connect with MAX? is there really a park-n-ride need? why not keep the existing route in the loop and give quality hill some BRT love?
- i would guess that there is also a lot of hand-wringing over the name/theme of the route. do you simply call it MAX2 and use the same/different design with different/same colors? do you start a route color system (MAX = blue line, Troost = red/orange line)?

...and i really, really, really, really hope that someone at the ATA is doing their best to make the city allow full signal control and dedicated lanes, if only during the rush hour.

[bahua]

...and i really, really, really, really hope that someone at the ATA is doing their best to make the city allow full signal control and dedicated lanes, if only during the rush hour.

Unless this is done, I don't see the point.

[mean]

But eastsiders need a prettier bus!

[staubio]

This is what I'd like to see:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?om=1&ie= ... 65482&z=13

There are a couple of factors that makes me support the connection to 3rd and Grand and to Hospital Hill

-the hospital connection allows people to walk over from Crown Center to catch the Troost. Not many people probably do this, but I have several times.
-jogging over to Paseo continues to parallel the other MAX line on the east side of downtown. This gives Independence Ave a connection without having to transfer in the loop
-3rd and Main allows connection with existing MAX, brings in the Park and Ride and, admittedly, it is in my neighborhood so I can use it.
-Service through Columbus Park demystifies this growing neighborhood and gives it a worthwhile transit option. It is very disconnected now.
-BRT connection, finally, to 18th and Vine.

[DaveKCMO]

This is what I'd like to see:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?om=1&ie= ... 65482&z=13

There are a couple of factors that makes me support the connection to 3rd and Grand and to Hospital Hill

-the hospital connection allows people to walk over from Crown Center to catch the Troost. Not many people probably do this, but I have several times.
-jogging over to Paseo continues to parallel the other MAX line on the east side of downtown. This gives Independence Ave a connection without having to transfer in the loop
-3rd and Main allows connection with existing MAX, brings in the Park and Ride and, admittedly, it is in my neighborhood so I can use it.
-Service through Columbus Park demystifies this growing neighborhood and gives it a worthwhile transit option. It is very disconnected now.
-BRT connection, finally, to 18th and Vine.

i like the 18th/vine and #24 connections. will the BRT line go all the way south to bannister?

i'm still wondering who would use the park-n-ride for this line. most park-n-ride people are arriving from the north, right? or at least they're trying to avoid the congestion of the central corridor (traffic, special events), for which there is none along the troost route. it does, however, make the system tidy.

[tat2kc]

If the Wizards stadium goes to Bannister, then having the BRT line end there, with a park and ride/stadium stop, then it might encourage more folks to attend the games.  Also, people might attend the game and then ride the BRT into the city core to do something at the P&L district.

[DaveKCMO]

aren't the wizards looking at bannister mall? not the bannister federal complex? troost is a long way from the mall. they'd have to add a connector to a bannister/troost terminus.

[tat2kc]

well yea, thats true.  It would be nice if it could travel that far east, but I didn't think about how far that was.