By Jeff Fox
jeff.fox@examiner.net
In putting together plans for a commuter rail system that Jackson County officials have begun unveiling, TranSystems Senior Vice President Jim Terry kept the focus on getting people to and from work.
“So the population of this region could look up and say, ‘You know, I could use that,’” Terry said.
Jackson County officials also point out that the lines envisioned nicely connect major concentrations of employment across the Kansas City area.
“What’s this region going to do to compete 15 years from now?” Terry said. “That’s a real question.”
So Terry, who has worked on this project for years – at no cost to the county – has devised a plan with mostly existing tracks using Union Station as a hub with spokes to Independence, Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit in Eastern Jackson County as well as Kansas City International Airport, Liberty, Grandview and the Legends shopping and entertainment area. County officials hope to get $1 billion in federal stimulus money to put the pieces together and get the system going within two years.
And commuters are the top priority.
“Step one: It’s to get people to jobs,” Terry said.
Still, officials point to any number of other benefits. For example, the system would take people – residents and visitors alike – to “events centers” such as attractions in downtown Kansas City as well as games, concerts and shows at the soon-to-open Independence Events Center.
Officials also point to the possibilities for local economic development. They say the experience of other cities is that businesses see a rail line as permanent, in contrast to bus lines, and that means businesses – whether it’s a Starbucks or a manufacturing plant – will tend to cluster along rail lines.
Here’s an example: Terry suggests a stop at the old Kmart in Blue Springs. There’s ample parking. Maybe someone puts in a coffee shop for commuters. Maybe that makes redeveloping that whole strip center at Missouri 7 and U.S. 40 easier.
For his part, Blue Springs Mayor Carson Ross says he likes the rail plan, “but I’ve got to have a stop downtown. ... because that’s what’s going to revitalize downtown.”
Another example would be at Noland Road and Partridge in Independence. The Kansas City Southern tracks pass under Noland and under the Union Pacific tracks there, and an elevator where the Perkins restaurant once stood would take riders down to the tracks.
“Maybe it’s Independence’s Union Station,” Mayor Don Reimal suggested.
With a stop there, perhaps the old Tippin’s next door could be redeveloped.
“That makes that building worth something,” Terry said.
Reimal also said the commuter train system could be a shot in the arm for the Little Blue Valley, where the city has looked for long-term residential growth. That will put more rush-hour traffic on 23rd Street and U.S. 24, “but we’ve got to be able to alleviate that to get people to move out there,” he said,
Even the area around Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums, which has never taken off economically as planners had hoped decades ago, could see gains.
“You’ve got the same opportunities here that you have at the Legends,” Terry said.
More broadly, Terry and County Executive Mike Sanders make the argument that transportation is a key consideration – along with schools and taxes – when businesses decide where to locate or expand. They say Denver has seen remarkable growth along its rail line.
Terry says this is about how economically competitive Kansas City will be 15 years or so into the future, and he specifically points to cities such as Omaha and Oklahoma City.
“They are moving faster than we are,” he said.
The area would figure to see other benefits too.
For one, less rush-hour traffic would improve air quality. The Kansas City area has been on the verge of having air dirty enough that the federal government will order corrective measures, which in some other cities have been expensive.
A train would be an alternative to crowded Interstate 70. Area planners, for example, have said the morning drive from Blue Springs to downtown Kansas City will continue to get about a minute longer every year for the forseeable future.
Other potential benefits:
n The system could also move 10,000 Chiefs and Royals fans in and out of the Truman Sports Complex, for about $4, on game day. Terry goes so far as to suggest you could walk down the hill south of Arrowhead, hop aboard a train and be home in Lee’s Summit in less time than a car could get out of the parking lot after a game.
n Union Station has been a regional worry for years. Even the bi-state effort years ago to bring in Science City hasn’t resolved its chronic financial problems.
“What we need is to put 20,000 people a day through Union Station, and the problem goes away,” Terry said.
n The plan helps out with hopes to extend the Katy Trail, perhaps someday even as far as St. Joseph. The cross-state biking and hiking trail runs from St. Charles to Clinton, and plans are under way to go from Windsor – not far from Clinton – west and then northwest through to Pleasant Hill and eventually Lee’s Summit to the Sports Complex.
That old Rock Island line from Pleasant Hill to the Sports Complex is now owned by the Union Pacific and has been unused for decades. Rail lines generally have a 100-foot right of way, and officials say those corridors can easily accommodate both rails and trails, with room for fences to separate them for safety.
