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There’s been far too much news for comfort on the transit front lately. All the hot air emanating from the mayor’s office has produced a fog of confusion that the whole transit process just might get lost in.
It was bad enough when it was just Mark Funkhouser trying to scare up support for his sketchy regional light-rail plan. This week, for instance, the Funk announced yet another meeting with other Missouri-side mayors at which jaw-flapping will ensue, but don’t expect much else.
Then along comes Clay Chastain to express his support for his own multicounty, multimodal, megadollar plan that differs from the mayor’s in all but one facet.
They both have little or no chance of getting on the ballot on November, let alone winning voter approval, considering the economy…
and the lack of detail...
and the lack of communitywide consensus...
and a new study showing that KC’s roads are among the least congested in the country…
and, mother mercy. Let it be.
But no. Chastain announced his own forum on regional light rail that will take place a few weeks after the mayor’s. So if you miss one, you can attend the other, or attend both and waste twice as much time.
Look, I’m in favor of a regional transit system as much as the next big-government liberal. But I’d sort of like to see light rail up and running in my lifetime, which doesn’t give us a whole lot of wiggle room.
I haven’t exactly taken the best care of myself. However, before they plant me six feet under in, with luck, 20 years, it is conceivable that a Kansas City light-rail system could be operational.
But only if wiser heads at City Hall wrest the issue from the flighty Funkhouser and concentrate on building the starter line that former Mayor Emanuel Cleaver demeaned as froufrou back in the days of dollar-a-gallon gas.
Hey, Rev! We’ve got tourists downtown now. They want the froufrou and a chance to save at the pump.
Funkhouser and Chastain are correct in thinking that, ultimately, we need a regional transit system. But as the mayor of Independence said the other day, “the worst thing we can do is come in too early” with a regional plan.
This is a conservative town. The locals don’t appreciate it when officials seem in a hurry to have them spend money on public projects. Johnson County’s rejection of that soccer complex a couple of years ago is a prime example of what happens when projects are rushed through.
Luckily, transportation planners — and many regular folks — have kept their heads since the City Council vowed it would deliver a light-rail plan in time for the November general election.
The Area Transportation Authority has conducted more than 20 public meetings in recent months — two this week alone. The goal was to see what kind of system the public wanted.
Despite all the confusion generated by Funkhouser, Chastain and others, people have been buying into the idea of a 12-mile starter line and offering suggestions on its route.
“To the public’s credit, they have been very focused on the starter line,” ATA General Manager Mark Huffer told me.
If they have any common sense, Funkhouser’s colleagues will be just as focused when Huffer and Co. deliver their plan to the council next month.
Otherwise, KC will do with this opportunity what it’s done with so many others:
Blow it.
Meanwhile, go car-free
While you’re waiting for a chance to ride light rail, here’s another way to save on fuel while burning some of your own. Walk, ride a bike or take the bus — or some combination of the three.
Saturday marks the start of the Kansas City Car-Free Challenge, one of many events in KC’s annual Bike to Work Week.
Eat a free breakfast on the Trolley Trail, learn the safest ways to get around town on pedal power, win prizes. For lots more info, visit www.kcbike.info/bikeweek.
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