AS I SEE IT | The time has come for light rail
By MARGIE RICHCREEK
Special to The Kansas City Star
November 19, 2007
The Regional Transit Alliance has advocated for increased public transit investment in Kansas City for the past six years. Today an important success is within our region’s grasp, due in great part to the efforts of a courageous few.
Clay Chastain’s victory last November came after numerous unsuccessful light-rail ballot attempts. Chastain refused to surrender to the apathy that has surrounded this issue. He is the only community activist able to put public transit on Kansas City’s front burner, and now it is almost impossible to go to any meeting without the discussion turning to the Sprint Center or light rail. Chastain should remain active in crafting a workable version of his proposal.
The City Council, and especially Councilman Ed Ford, have been pursuing implementation of the election result for nearly a year, and the 10-3 City Council vote to repeal it Nov. 8 was not taken lightly. This took political courage and leadership. The council recognized that the Chastain plan was “fatally flawed” and that the community would not tolerate undue delay in rectifying those flaws.
The council is moving forward on a feasible light-rail and public transit plan, with the April 2009 “sunset” of the 3/8 -cent sales tax on the horizon.
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority reacted quickly, selecting a professional team to analyze the Chastain plan thoroughly. An analysis team will produce in five or six months the planning and design recommendations that typically take two to three years.
On Tuesday, the City Council will review the basic framework and cost estimates for the phase one light-rail line. Thanks to the ATA team’s hard work, the City Council will be able to place the new proposal before the voters in February, April, August or November of 2008.
The Citizen Light Rail Task Force is a 36-person committee, appointed by the mayor and the transportation authority to act as a sounding board for the analysis. This group is expeditiously evaluating alternative routes, technologies, costs and other factors to gain a community consensus on how this large transportation investment can best be made.
The three co-chairs presented their preliminary findings to the City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee prior to the repeal vote. The task force’s final recommendation is anticipated before the end of this month.
The Regional Transit Alliance salutes these individuals, because without their diligent and courageous efforts, Kansas City would be without light rail or a viable bus system. Now, the possibility exists for both.
A new phase one light-rail will unlock the imagination of the rest of our region, on both sides of the state line. Once phase one is in place, other communities in the Kansas City region will build transit connections, so we can realize the transit network that the Regional Transit Alliance has so ardently sought to promote.
Margie Richcreek is chairwoman of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance. She lives in Lake Waukomis.
http://www.kansascity.com/273/story/366876.html