It’s an idea that Kansas City may want to consider as we grapple with an enormous backlog of infrastructure repairs and dwindling transit funding.  We already have something similar in Missouri, Transportation Development Districts (TDDs), where part of development’s sales or property taxes go to pay for transportation infrastructure like roads and parking garages.  Existing TDDs include the Country Club Plaza, Zona Rosa, and 18th & Vine.  St. Louis is already exploring the idea of a city-wide TDD to pay for transit, so let’s ask our City Council to start thinking outside the box as well.

Residents who commute to the Johnson County office parks from southern and southeastern Missouri suburbs will be seriously screwed.  Sadly the region’s fragmented and funding-starved bus systems offers no suburb-to-suburb options for folks who are dependent on their cars for getting to work.

Unfortunately the event web site doesn’t mention transit service to one of the city’s biggest public events.  However, the KCATA is doubling MAX service for the event, so it’s easy to avoid the traffic and parking hassles.

\m/

KC Light Rail rightly questions the public policy wisdom of subsidizing the venture with taxpayers’ money when the City has cut its transit funding by almost 20% in recent years.  As result, the KCATA is not able to adequately serve the night shift workers employed in the bars and restaurants along the KC Strip route. With such cuts to an already anemic transit system, there is no hope of the City providing the ATA with the resources for a proper night bus network to meet the demand that this trolley service addresses.  Not to mention the foresight to link land use planning with transportation planning in a way that would encourage such connectivity.

On the bright side, this is a good problem to have.  10 years ago  Westport and the Plaza were the only game in town. Union Hill, The Crossroads, etc. were only just emerging as entertainment destinations.   Now we have several distinct nightlife areas and a growing need for better transportation between them. Transit doesn’t run late enough or frequently enough for most, and taxis are an urban habit that most Kansas Citians have yet to learn.  For now, KC partiers can only dream about hopping between Westport and Waldo as easily as Chicago partiers can move between Lincoln Park and Wicker Park.

Parade web site

• Google Map of parade route, parking locations, and bike routes (zoom in to see bus stops and get transit directions)
• More parking info at Westport web site.
• Bus re-routes for parade day.

Competition will be fierce. Our suburban neighbors in Overland Park are also applying. Further afield are St. Louis, Springfield, Lawrence, and Topeka. KC does have the advantage of being at the crossroads of several national network carriers and having one of the globe’s forty private network access points. Google’s network would also be a natural compliment to the City’s Green Impact Zone, the initiative to focus green technology investments in a disadvantaged area on the East Side.

Check out the GoogleKC bid site at googlekcmo.com.

The I-70/I-435 intersection is getting completely rebuilt. Eventually there will be six full lanes under I-435, reducing one of the metro’s biggest freeway bottlenecks.

Several bridges are being rebuilt between the Loop and Van Brunt. Eastbound I-70 will be down to two lanes for most of the year, making the evening rush hour really bad.

MoDOT has all the details.  Now is a good time to get acquainted with bus routes from Eastern Jackson County, including the #170 Blue Springs Express and the #24 Independence Express.

On the sprawl side, the infamous Tomahawke Ridge leapfrog development will likely pass the KCMO City Council’s Planning & Zoning Committee and go onto the full City Council.  That meeting happens on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

On the sustainability side, the Mid-America Regional Council unveils a new long-range transportation plan that calls for a shift in land use.  The plan encourages new development adjacent to existing development and within reach of existing infrastructure.  It’s meant to let suburbs grow more efficiently and help urban reas redevelopment more successfully, all while better supporting transportation options like public transit, bicycling, and walking.

Let’s Go KC: Learn about the new land use and transportation plans proposed for Greater Kansas City

MARC: Transportation 2040

Many Kansas City Councilmembers have been very vocal about sustainability, and this week the Tomahawk Ridge issue will demonstrate whether or not they have the courage to practice what they preach.

The Daily Beast: America’s 75 worst commutes.

Fortunately MoDOT is rebuilding the entire I-70 and I-435 interchange, with six full lanes on I-70. Unfortunately there is still no real progress on regional public transit to increase express buses or add commuter rail in the I-70 corridor.

Given funding constraints and typical weather patterns, the city’s plowing program is designed to handle 1-3 inches of snow followed by rising temperatures.

• Staff has been cut in half since 1988, while the number of streets has grown.
• Use of private contractors to supplement residential plowing was eliminated in the 2009-2010 budget cuts.
• Insufficient funds to maintain and replace vehicles caused several breakdowns and took plows off the road.
• The city has fewer vehicles and staff per mile of street than most cities.
• The city can only afford to plow residential streets for 12 hours per day, not 24 hours like they do on main streets.

So fixing the problem requires more money and more people. Some other strategies could include:

• Provide funds to hire more people and replace old equipment.
• Return to use of private contractors to supplement residential plowing.
• Provide funds for 24 hour residential plowing.
• Prioritize hospitals, schools, bus routes, hills, and known trouble spots.
• Fund the purchase of GPS system for tracking and coordinating plows.

This discussion will be repeated with the entire City Council at 1:30 p.m. Watch on Channel 2 or online at www.kcmo.org/kccg.