Jul

3

Independence has its priorities in order

July 3, 2007 |

The Examiner reports that after much hand-wringing the city of Independence has decided to cut bus service. Two of the city’s six bus routes will be reduced to only running every two hours. The cut backs are the result of a $100,000 gap. Since the city does not have a dedicated transit tax like Kansas City, it must find money in the general budget every year.

Meanwhile, The Examiner also reports that plans for an arena are progressing. The city is going to spend $50 million in public money to build a minor-league hockey arena.

So, the city can afford $50 million for an arena, but not $100,000 for buses. Ironically, one of the reduced bus lines serves the site of that new arena. Some Independence residents will find it much harder to reach the arena that they are paying for. It seems that Independence has a priority problem, not a money problem.


Comments

5 Comments so far

  1. Craig on July 4, 2007 12:22 pm

    Huh, no comments? Perhaps because that’s because the idea of spending $50,000,000 on a minor-league hockey arena while cutting back on public transport is so mind-numbingly dumbfounding that no comment is possible.

  2. john on July 4, 2007 1:47 pm

    But the arena will be so much shinier than the bus line.

  3. Tim on July 5, 2007 8:44 am

    The way to comment on this is to make sure you do not ever spend a dime in Independence. Vote with your wallet.

  4. KC Light Rail » Independence transit woes on July 5, 2007 10:48 am

    [...] posted a recap this week about some obvious problems with the way the city of Independence ranks transit in [...]

  5. Xavier Onassis on July 6, 2007 9:42 am

    What Independence really needs is Gondolas. Lots and lots of shiny Gondolas.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind