KCRag Forum

Wasn't this awarded? Am I reading this wrong?

https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/ ... ustainable

Rep. Cleaver Announces $5.6 Million RAISE Grant for Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor Project
August 10, 2022
Press Release
(Kansas City, MO) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) announced the Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded the Mid-America Regional Council a $5,600,000 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) Grant for the Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor project. Utilizing federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, The Bi-State Sustainable Reinvestment Corridor is a regional project that will connect three major cities in two states and two counties by implementing a 24-mile zero-emission regional transit route, including improved access to housing, health care, employment, and education for citizens in each city and surrounding area. The project was announced by Rep. Cleaver in February.

The $5.6 million in federal funding will be used to fund planning activities for the east-west high-capacity transit corridor from Village West in Wyandotte County, Kansas through downtown Kansas City, Missouri to Independence, Missouri. The funding will help update transportation plans, complete project development and environmental documentation for zero-emission transportation elements, and complete advanced conceptual engineering design for one or more high-capacity transit routes.

Oh that's pretty recent... 5.6M for planning activities hmmm.

A major question with this corridor is co-mingling of UG and KCMO operating assistance. It isn't really done today, only on the margins. The next challenge will be actually reducing the travel time for such a long distance while maintaining access along the way. Great project, though!

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:25 pm A major question with this corridor is co-mingling of UG and KCMO operating assistance. It isn't really done today, only on the margins. The next challenge will be actually reducing the travel time for such a long distance while maintaining access along the way. Great project, though!

Dave is this brt or streetcar or LRT or what is the idea?

I would have to imagine another BRT-lite route like MAX. Anything more would exceed my low expectations.

FlippantCitizen wrote: ↑Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:23 pm I would have to imagine another BRT-lite route like MAX. Anything more would exceed my low expectations.

Yes the funding is awarded.

Clever said electric busses but apparently made some mention of light rail (waives hand at federal funding fairy) but probably highly to be electric busses of some kind.

A higher frequency EW bus route would be great for all these areas who have many potential transit riders especially in KCK and Independence ave.

Again, like we discussed on the East - West Transit study, we should also contemplate max lines to have the flexibility for rail upgrades in the future.

Frank White III stated NFL Draft meetings are ongoing and World Cup discussions have included Hard Rail ideas for funding from the FTA.

- KCATA Board Meeting

That would be pretty amazing.

Union Station to Arrowhead or Airport?

I can never keep up with all the different names for types of trains…..what is “hard rail”?

TheLastGentleman wrote: ↑Sat Oct 22, 2022 12:14 am I can never keep up with all the different names for types of trains…..what is “hard rail”?

I’m don’t it’s a thing per day. No recording to go back and look at. I’m excited regardless of the type of rail.

Heavy Rail
Light Rail
Commuter Rail

There's literally no time to build it in time with federal funds and no local funding source to build or operate in time for WC, and it would be a massive distraction from the larger effort to get people from all over the region to that area with buses (which was in the actual bid AFAIK).

The city's diversion of transit sales tax revenue to an unrelated street light project doesn't help.

All that said, the east/west streetcar needs to be built and advocates area ready to back whatever plan comes out of the study.

I wish people would get THIS excited and eager about getting improved bus service, or heck even service back to pre-COVID standards.

Brb with my new metal band, “HARD RAIL”

I’m not an expert. But I agree I don’t think it’s possible or the best idea to try and do streetcar to TSC, but I’m all for “trying” to and then if we we end up with temporary busses and enough funding and enthusiasm to run rail in the next couple years I’d not be mad.

alejandro46 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 9:32 pm I’m not an expert. But I agree I don’t think it’s possible or the best idea to try and do streetcar to TSC, but I’m all for “trying” to and then if we we end up with temporary busses and enough funding and enthusiasm to run rail in the next couple years I’d not be mad.

This is the way.

Can we just do one to KU med and worry about the other (longer) part later?

UMKC Roo wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 12:08 am Can we just do one to KU med and worry about the other (longer) part later?

No. What would KU Med have to do with the World Cup? Wrong direction.

SilentSpades24 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 7:43 pm I wish people would get THIS excited and eager about getting improved bus service, or heck even service back to pre-COVID standards.

Yeah. KC honestly has no business building any additional rail till they get the bus system back to respectable again. I still don't get the push for rail to the TSC. Especially along the routes being discussed. If you are going to build rail, do it right. Otherwise, just bring back the park and ride bus system the stadiums had in the 90's. With 200 buses used for the Chiefs Express alone, they moved way WAY more people more than any trolley on 39th ever will.

Then again, KCATA was able to run hundreds of buses to the stadium and maintain a much larger bus system than it has now at the same time. Does KCMO even have the 300-400 buses it once had anymore? Seems like it's down to way under 200 buses on the streets just from my gut feeling when in town.

It's like Main Street. Spend hundreds of millions of dollars and tear up Main Street for years all for a curb running mixed traffic line? If you are going to be that invasive, build it center running so it can function more like light rail in the future. Like usual though, it's better than nothing.

GRID wrote: ↑Wed Oct 26, 2022 12:29 am

SilentSpades24 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 7:43 pm I wish people would get THIS excited and eager about getting improved bus service, or heck even service back to pre-COVID standards.

Yeah. KC honestly has no business building any additional rail till they get the bus system back to respectable again. I still don't get the push for rail to the TSC. Especially along the routes being discussed. If you are going to build rail, do it right. Otherwise, just bring back the park and ride bus system the stadiums had in the 90's. With 200 buses used for the Chiefs Express alone, they moved way WAY more people more than any trolley on 39th ever will.

Then again, KCATA was able to run hundreds of buses to the stadium and maintain a much larger bus system than it has now at the same time. Does KCMO even have the 300-400 buses it once had anymore? Seems like it's down to way under 200 buses on the streets just from my gut feeling when in town.

It's like Main Street. Spend hundreds of millions of dollars and tear up Main Street for years all for a curb running mixed traffic line? If you are going to be that invasive, build it center running so it can function more like light rail in the future. Like usual though, it's better than nothing.

I’m not saying I don’t appreciate your criticism, but you strike me as the type to bitch if your ice cream was cold, or if they hanged you with a new rope.

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 26, 2022 11:37 am

GRID wrote: ↑Wed Oct 26, 2022 12:29 am

SilentSpades24 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 7:43 pm I wish people would get THIS excited and eager about getting improved bus service, or heck even service back to pre-COVID standards.

Yeah. KC honestly has no business building any additional rail till they get the bus system back to respectable again. I still don't get the push for rail to the TSC. Especially along the routes being discussed. If you are going to build rail, do it right. Otherwise, just bring back the park and ride bus system the stadiums had in the 90's. With 200 buses used for the Chiefs Express alone, they moved way WAY more people more than any trolley on 39th ever will.

Then again, KCATA was able to run hundreds of buses to the stadium and maintain a much larger bus system than it has now at the same time. Does KCMO even have the 300-400 buses it once had anymore? Seems like it's down to way under 200 buses on the streets just from my gut feeling when in town.

It's like Main Street. Spend hundreds of millions of dollars and tear up Main Street for years all for a curb running mixed traffic line? If you are going to be that invasive, build it center running so it can function more like light rail in the future. Like usual though, it's better than nothing.

I’m not saying I don’t appreciate your criticism, but you strike me as the type to bitch if your ice cream was cold, or if they hanged you with a new rope.

lol, I bitch about things that should be bitched about. I think the streetcar is great, although not a fan of how it design will limit its ability to evolve into a true transit spine.

However, letting your bus system become so underfunded is just ridiculous. KC has been talking about doing something regional now for so long that what's the point of even discussing it anymore? The bus system is the backbone of nearly every city's transit system and KC's bus system is just not where it should be. I see more buses in ten minutes in Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland than I do all day in Downtown KC.

As somebody that grew up riding metro buses in KC, I used to complain way back then when buses came every 10 minutes on most of the routes I used. I mean I could walk out to Blue Ridge and just catch a bus to the city (many of them express) and not even think about the schedule. Now a shorty bus comes every 30-60 minutes.

So yeah after all these years, very little has been done except nicer stops on Troost etc. Troost, Prospect etc always had frequent bus service so the MAX routes are really not that different than what it used to be.

Why does it take decades for a metro area to fund a regional transit system?