Brief List of Transit Proposals

Over the last year, a variety of light-rail or streetcar concepts have been proposed for downtown Kansas City and beyond. Here are some that remain in the news:

 

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

KCATA and Kansas City, Mo., are working to create a light-rail transit plan that reflects the desires of voters, responds to the community, is technically feasible and financially responsible, and coordinates with a bus system and regional transit planning. KCATA and the city have launched a Alternatives Analysis (AA) as part of a request for federal funding. The AA will review a wide range of issues, from funding to alignments to ridership.

 

Visit the KCATA's light-rail Web site ››

 

Scoping Information Booklet (KCATA)

Citizen Task Force Recommendations on an Alternative Light Rail Plan (KCATA)
Technical Evaluation of 2006 Voter-Approved Plan (KCATA)

 

The Kansas City Star

On December 11, 2007, reporters Jeffrey Spivak and Michael Mansur released The Star's proposed light rail-plan. It runs 9.75 miles from the Northland to the Country Club Plaza, with a branch east along Linwood Blvd. With a projected cost of $341 million, the plan proposes a 1/4-cent city sales tax increase rather than waiting on potential federal funding.

 

Light Rail Special Report Section (The Kansas City Star)

 

The Urban Society of Kansas City, which previously issued its own 5.5-mile "fast streetcar" proposal, endorses The Star's plan.

 

Mayor Mark Funkhouser (Kansas City, Mo.)

Also in December, 2007, the Kansas City, Mo., mayor announced his concept for a comprehensive regional light-rail system. It would be governed by 24 elected officials from Missouri and Kansas, with an equal amount of rail miles on each side of the state line. It would be funded by a regional 1/2-cent sales tax, amounting to $138 million annually, which could be bonded to $3.5 billion for system construction and operations. With an approximate 33% federal match, the total cost is $4.5 billion.

 

Download mp3 audio file of radio interview
(KCUR 89.3 FM | Up to Date with Steve Kraske, December 5, 2007)  

 

Clay Chastain (original proposal)

This transit activist, who now lives in Virginia, got a $1 billion plus ballot measure passed in Kansas City, Mo., in November 2006. His proposed route ran from Kansas City International Airport to Swope Park, and included gondolas in Penn Valley Park, to be paid for by renewal of the 3/8-cent tax that presently supports the bus system, plus federal funds.

The Kansas City Council, upon review of consultant reports that were critical of the plan's feasibility, repealed the ballot measure in early November 2007. On November 26, 2007, Chastain told the city that he would accept changes to the route, so long as it included Union Station. He scrapped the gondola proposal and agreed to building the system in phases, but he still wants new light rail technology, not streetcars. He is thinking of bringing a lawsuit against the city. 

 

See an image of Chastain's proposed route (Light Rail Now)

 

Lloyd Frank

In 2005, this local consulting engineer proposed a subway line — about 15 miles in length — to run from the River Market to I-435, south of the Bannister Mall area. He estimates the cost between $770 million and $880 million, or $60-70 million per mile. The Kansas City Star ran a story about the proposal on its front page in December 2007.

 

Light rail, meet heavy rail (The Kansas City Star, December 9, 2007)

The city will apparently consider the possibility of a subway in choosing a proposal for voters in 2008.

 

BNIM Architects

Winner of a transit-oriented design contest sponsored by the Kansas City Design Center and RTA in May 2007, BNIM Architects recommended a Main St./Grand Blvd. route from the Country Club Plaza to Harlem, a neighborhood on the north bank of the Missouri River. It would offer six miles of street frontage available for potential development.

 

Download the BNIM plan (pdf, 14.9MB) (Kansas City Design Center)