Presentation to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission
November 14, 2007
Margie Richcreek, Chair
Regional Transit Alliance of Kansas City
Good afternoon, commissioners and colleagues, I am Margie Richcreek, chair of the Regional Transit Alliance of Kansas City. Thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of our more than 5,000 members and supporters who would like to know that the word “transit” is as important to you all as it is to us.
That number of transit advocates triples when we consider our sister organization, Citizens for Modern Transit in St. Louis. Actually, there are transit advocates throughout Missouri who are concerned — and watchful — that public transit become a higher priority in your policies and funding. We are eager to vote yes for transit. In fact, recent polling in St. Louis showed that voters there believe expanding MetroLink is a better strategy than expanding highways to relieve congestion.
This is a significant day for Kansas City, with your announcement of a design/build contractor for kcICON, the Paseo Bridge project.
As you look beyond current projects and into the future — a new federal transportation program in 2010 and expanded funding for transportation here in Missouri next year — it is essential that public transit be a significant part of any future program.
We know your consideration of transit has been improving, but still we have to acknowledge that transit is woefully underfunded in Missouri. Current state funding is only one third what it was in 1996. Yet, transit serves more than 14 million riders per year in Kansas City — more than 50 thousand a day. Transit ridership is growing due to economic pressures, concern about climate change, and rising gas prices — predicted to be $4 a gallon before long.
We are seeing a heightened interest in transit here in Kansas City. You may recall that Kansas City voters approved a citizen initiative for light rail just a year ago. Last week the City Council repealed the result of that election — not because the Council opposes light rail, but because the voter approved plan cannot be built. Repealing that plan is the best way to move toward a workable light rail plan. We of the RTA advocated that action by the Council and applaud them for making that decision. The Council has vowed to put a workable light rail plan on the ballot in 2008, and we will be working hard to see it pass — even though it will require an additional sales tax of 1/4 or 3/8 cent.
In 2006, the Missouri General Assembly enabled six counties in our region to ask their residents to approve a sales tax of up to 1/2 cent to fund a regional transit system. Although the Kansas City light rail issue has taken center stage, the Regional Transit Alliance continues to support a regional investment fund for a regional public transit system.
Still, it only makes sense for us to seek funding from diverse sources. Some say transit is a local responsibility, but if it’s a state function to build and maintain enough highway capacity to let people drive to work without undue delay, then it’s a state function to support urban transit systems that also help get people to work.
We can’t sit still for what Director Rahn has described as a state department of transportation that’s funded like a department of highways. There must be a way to increase investment in transit, along with railroads and ports and the other modes.
We know that you are looking for additional funding for highways, and that a sales tax is being considered as a major source of that money. We also know that any such proposal has to go to the voters. We want you to know that we can work with you on that, but only if it includes a very substantial increase in state support for transit and other non-highway modes. What would we consider a very substantial increase? About 20 percent of the total package.
In closing, we would like to express our appreciation for the strong working relationship that MoDOT has with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority and other transit providers, and with MARC and the other metropolitan and regional planning organizations across the state.
And we ask for three things:
First, we ask you to take to heart what David Warm said to you yesterday — that your planning should put the emphasis on strategic objectives — a strong economy, access to opportunities, quality of life, energy independence, and environmental integrity — rather than just projects.
Second, we ask you to include public transit in the plan to handle traffic during construction of the new Paseo Bridge. You are using some very innovative techniques in financing and contracting for this project, and we want you to be just as innovative in your approach to handling traffic.
Finally, we ask you to support — in fact, we ask you to insist that — whatever transportation funding proposal comes out of next year’s legislative process include a very substantial increase in state funding for transit and the other non-highway modes.