KCRag Forum

Posted: **Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:39 pm**

herrfrank wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:13 pm Well BNSF wants to re-route the Chief. Maybe Sharice Davids could get on that with Buttgieg (the new Transportation Sec'y) in exchange for a starter commuter line agreement.

Foamers would FREAK if Amtrak agreed to re-routing away from the historic "Topeka and Santa Fe" route. Although I would bet that the Amarillo/ Clovis mainline would save at least six hours net travel time. Plus you get a KC-Wichita city pair. Passengers would miss the Raton Pass and they'd have to reverse connect in Alb'que to Lamy.

Honestly, seems like it would be a net positive for not only the region, but the entirety of the route if it was rerouted, Topeka could easily be served by trains to Denver in the future

Posted: **Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:28 pm**

Adding rail along I-35 would do nothing for job access since there is bus service in the corridor today (and TBH the land use right next to I-35 is not particularly supportive of transit of any type, but that shouldn't stop us from traditional non-rail service). But since it was brought up, I'll point to the last proper study of the BNSF line for commuter rail, which was abandoned by the Johnson County over the high cost (which I can no longer locate online -- but it was like $250 million for a few thousand trips a day, and to other points made it was unlikely the railroad would have played along).

Here's the study for the other corridors: https://www.marc.org/Transportation/Pla ... ment1.aspx

Posted: **Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:49 pm**

herrfrank wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:13 pm Well BNSF wants to re-route the Chief. Maybe Sharice Davids could get on that with Buttgieg (the new Transportation Sec'y) in exchange for a starter commuter line agreement.

Foamers would FREAK if Amtrak agreed to re-routing away from the historic "Topeka and Santa Fe" route. Although I would bet that the Amarillo/ Clovis mainline would save at least six hours net travel time. Plus you get a KC-Wichita city pair. Passengers would miss the Raton Pass and they'd have to reverse connect in Alb'que to Lamy.

Dont you also loose the sizable BSA market if you reroute?

Posted: **Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:43 pm**

The Board of Commissioners "Committee of the Whole" advanced a plan that would pilot a 50% increase in service -- including traditional fixed route bus and micro transit. New routes, more frequency, zero fare for buses (not micro), and weekend service. It will be on next week's BOCC agenda for approval.

https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/OnBase ... tion=false

Posted: **Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:47 pm**

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:43 pm The Board of Commissioners "Committee of the Whole" advanced a plan that would pilot a 50% increase in service -- including traditional fixed route bus and micro transit. New routes, more frequency, zero fare for buses (not micro), and weekend service. It will be on next week's BOCC agenda for approval.

https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/OnBase ... tion=false

My wife started working at the Parisi location in downtown OP back in may, and she had mentioned how she’s noticed a lot of people mentioning utilizing transit in that area a lot more than elsewhere. Urban areas of JoCo are hungry for more transit, they just don’t realize it until they utilize it

Posted: **Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:55 pm**

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:43 pm The Board of Commissioners "Committee of the Whole" advanced a plan that would pilot a 50% increase in service -- including traditional fixed route bus and micro transit. New routes, more frequency, zero fare for buses (not micro), and weekend service. It will be on next week's BOCC agenda for approval.

https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/OnBase ... tion=false

I don't know where this sudden urge for transit in Johnson County came from, but man I am loving what I am seeing.

Really hope to see this service implemented, would be a massive boost to transit in Johnson County and finally provide great connections to KCMO / KCK and to jobs in the County.

Posted: **Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:05 pm**

If you live there, please let your commissioner know that.

Posted: **Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:30 pm**

SilentSpades24 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:55 pm
DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:43 pm The Board of Commissioners "Committee of the Whole" advanced a plan that would pilot a 50% increase in service -- including traditional fixed route bus and micro transit. New routes, more frequency, zero fare for buses (not micro), and weekend service. It will be on next week's BOCC agenda for approval.

https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/OnBase ... tion=false
I don't know where this sudden urge for transit in Johnson County came from, but man I am loving what I am seeing.

Really hope to see this service implemented, would be a massive boost to transit in Johnson County and finally provide great connections to KCMO / KCK and to jobs in the County.

Just spitballing here, but it could be that over the last few years seeing how far KCMO is going with transit and how popular it's been, they might be thinking they want a piece of that action as well and not want to get totally left behind.

Posted: **Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:45 pm**

They're flush with Covid act cash right now. Once a regional tax gets floated, we will see how support pans out.

Posted: **Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:37 pm**

alejandro46 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:45 pm They're flush with Covid act cash right now. Once a regional tax gets floated, we will see how support pans out.

And the precursor to that discussion will start with the results of next week's election.

Posted: **Sun Oct 31, 2021 9:30 am**

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:30 pm
SilentSpades24 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:55 pm
DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:43 pm The Board of Commissioners "Committee of the Whole" advanced a plan that would pilot a 50% increase in service -- including traditional fixed route bus and micro transit. New routes, more frequency, zero fare for buses (not micro), and weekend service. It will be on next week's BOCC agenda for approval.

https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/OnBase ... tion=false
I don't know where this sudden urge for transit in Johnson County came from, but man I am loving what I am seeing.

Really hope to see this service implemented, would be a massive boost to transit in Johnson County and finally provide great connections to KCMO / KCK and to jobs in the County.
Just spitballing here, but it could be that over the last few years seeing how far KCMO is going with transit and how popular it's been, they might be thinking they want a piece of that action as well and not want to get totally left behind.

The idea that making teeny tiny baby steps toward returning to where we were 100 years ago threatens to leave anyone behind... it's just amusing is all.

Posted: **Thu Nov 04, 2021 10:30 am**

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:43 pm The Board of Commissioners "Committee of the Whole" advanced a plan that would pilot a 50% increase in service -- including traditional fixed route bus and micro transit. New routes, more frequency, zero fare for buses (not micro), and weekend service. It will be on next week's BOCC agenda for approval.

https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/OnBase ... tion=false

Plan approved.

Posted: **Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:07 am**

new Saturday service. That's a nice improvement.

Posted: **Thu Nov 04, 2021 7:02 pm**

flyingember wrote: ↑Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:07 am new Saturday service. That's a nice improvement.

And Micro Transit will extend to Sunday and connect better to KCATA-operated services along the state line. KCATA will extend route 63 to Mission Transit Center so people don't have to go the Plaza or Downtown first to travel outside of the county.

Posted: **Fri Nov 05, 2021 12:26 am**

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Thu Nov 04, 2021 7:02 pm
flyingember wrote: ↑Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:07 am new Saturday service. That's a nice improvement.
And Micro Transit will extend to Sunday and connect better to KCATA-operated services along the state line. KCATA will extend route 63 to Mission Transit Center so people don't have to go the Plaza or Downtown first to travel outside of the county.

Sweet! It is great to see transit become slightly workable for once in Johnson County.

Also, I see 403 is being shifted to serve KU Med Center in place of 107 (at least from Mission Xfer). Will be great to have transit access along that stretch without long walks!!!

Posted: **Fri Nov 05, 2021 10:49 am**

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:28 pm Adding rail along I-35 would do nothing for job access since there is bus service in the corridor today (and TBH the land use right next to I-35 is not particularly supportive of transit of any type, but that shouldn't stop us from traditional non-rail service). But since it was brought up, I'll point to the last proper study of the BNSF line for commuter rail, which was abandoned by the Johnson County over the high cost (which I can no longer locate online -- but it was like $250 million for a few thousand trips a day, and to other points made it was unlikely the railroad would have played along).

Here's the study for the other corridors: https://www.marc.org/Transportation/Pla ... ment1.aspx

Do nothing for job access? It's literally the most populated corridor in the city, something like 300,000 people live along I-35 in joco, I guess people don't realize all those 2-3 story apartments along the highway add up to a TON of people.

I made this map a few years ago but the website is no longer free so I can't run it for just the I-35 corridor: but the 35 corridor in joco has double the population of the downtown to plaza corridor. I made this map to show how you could get 50% of KC's urban area population within walking/biking distance to a rail network with just 4 lines leaving downtown. That joco line was a huge chunk of that population as the downtown/plaza area only had 130,000 people.

Posted: **Fri Nov 05, 2021 11:14 am**

dnweava wrote: ↑Fri Nov 05, 2021 10:49 am Do nothing for job access?

That's right. Replacing one mode (commuter bus) with another (commuter rail) does nothing for job access. Job access calculations are mode agnostic.

Posted: **Fri Nov 05, 2021 11:43 am**

The bus system is based 100% on where they can get funding for, and then they fund where the politics demand transportation.

1. NKC has tens of thousands of jobs, so it's not jobs that defines where we improve transit service. There's tens of thousands of jobs without better than every 60 minute service.

2. it's not density
NKC has it's entire residential area in about 0.6 square miles today
When they grow to 7500 people in the next few years that will be 12,500 per square mile density within the residential zone
downtown has about 27,000 people in 6 square miles. It's dramatically less dense than NKC.

3. I doubt it's income since NKC is low income like the east size. That town is 80% rentals right now.

Look at how NKC is looking at leapfrogging Max service and going straight to the streetcar.

Replacing one service will help jobs access because it will implement a one seat ride to the Plaza, something not provided by the bus today.

Job access calculations shouldn't be mode agnostic because we aren't designing the systems the same way. If you run in dedicated row at 45mph that's different than following city streets or sitting in traffic with brief periods on the shoulder.

They need to be specific to the mode and how we design the system.

Posted: **Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:55 pm**

So what's the story behind the report on FOX4 tonight that Johnson County wants to take back control of it's bus service?

Posted: **Wed Apr 20, 2022 7:52 am**

SilentSpades24 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:55 pm So what's the story behind the report on FOX4 tonight that Johnson County wants to take back control of it's bus service?

Here's the press release:

BOCC to discuss taking over day to day management of Johnson County Transit Service

(JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS – April 19, 2022) The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners is expected to discuss the next step in the county’s partnership with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority during the Agenda Review portion of the board meeting Thursday, April 21, 2022.

The BOCC entered an interlocal agreement with KCATA on December 17, 2014, to manage the county’s transit services. Over the following seven years, the partnership between the two organizations produced a seamless, regionally coordinated transit system and fostered new transit innovations, including on-demand paratransit and micro transit. This new chapter involves Johnson County taking back day to day management of the transit service. Should the BOCC vote to adopt this change it will take effective August 1, 2022, with transit service falling under the Public Works Department.

Johnson County Transit will remain part of the regional RideKC brand and will continue to partner with KCATA in transit planning and coordination. Any changes adopted will not impact customer experience with RideKC in Johnson County. Last November, the BOCC authorized $15.2 million in new transit pilot programs, which represents a significant increase in transit investment in the county.

The BOCC is expected to vote on this agenda item Thursday, April 28, 2022, during its meeting at 9:30 a.m.

In short, they're growing and it makes sense to have their own staff again.

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