Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders says his $1.03 billion commuter rail proposal is a uniquely Kansas City solution for Kansas City’s unique situation.
“It has the potential to transform the greater Kansas City area in the span of two years,” he says.
Our fair metro is often described as the second busiest rail hub in the country. That means we have lots of trains using lots of tracks – but there are also many miles of unused or underused tracks.
Jim Terry, who worked for the Union Pacific for 32 years and has been a principal at TransSystems in Kansas City for the last eight years, has been trying to economically put those unused pieces together for years. The result of that effort – free for the county, an estimated $1 million in work done pro bono – is Kansas City Regional Rapid Rail. It would center on Union Station and have half a dozen lines, including ones to Independence, Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit.
Sanders has been lining up local leaders in support of the plan for months and has rolled it out publicly in recent days. He’s hoping for federal economic stimulus funds to build it.
Transformational? Could be. Let’s take a look at The Examiner’s Top 10 quality-of-life and other benefits.
10 Develop the valley.
Independence Mayor Don Reimal makes this point: When the Little Blue River Valley is fully developed – a city study once projected 20,000 new residents – that will put a lot of commuters on 23rd Street and U.S. 24. Something needs to be done, he says, to get some of that traffic of the roads and make the valley an attractive choice. It also would make sense someday to extend the Independence line to Lake City, proponents say.
9 Let your old college roommate take the train from the airport.
Planners say you could go from Blue Springs to Kansas City City International Airport in about 40 minutes for about $3. “And I’m going to let you off at the front door,” says Terry. Who doesn’t like that? Let’s compare with the current setup: Mary’s plane lands at 10, so you leave at 9, drive, park, find Mary, find her bags, schlep everything to the car, and drive back to the house. There’s two hours of your life you’ll never get back. Repeat the process in reverse a couple of days later. Or you could just tell Mary you’ll meet her at the station – in Blue Springs. That’s what they do in other big cities.
8 The Katy.
The Katy Trail is one of the state’s treasures, more than 200 miles of bike-and-hike trails from Clinton, Mo., to St. Charles. It’s a great way to see and experience the state. They’re at last working on running up from Warsaw to the doorstep of Kansas City, and then they want to go up through Lee’s Summit to the Liberty Memorial and even St. Joseph. This plan would really help, officials say. The railroads have 100-foot rights of way, and carving out 15 feet to one side – with a stout fence between trails and rails – is logical, safe and relatively easy.
7 Another Chili’s!
Remember all that development that was going to happen around the Truman Sports Complex when they planned it – in the ’60s? Look at Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis. They have stadiums and arenas surrounded by restaurants, bars, shops – even whole downtowns. What do we have? Three hotels, a Denny’s, a couple of gas stations and a car plant that’s been dead for a generation, but that could change. “You’ve got the same opportunity here that you have at the Legends,” Terry said.
6 Branson?
Yeah, Branson. Or Tulsa, Lawrence or Omaha. Planners point out that the rails are there and largely underused. This system could someday hook up with those rail links. Hop aboard, and you’re yukking it up with Yakov Smirnoff in no time.You can already go from Independence to St. Louis on Amtrak, and, to be fair, it’s been doing a much better job of running on time. Once there, you can take the St. Louis light rail system. The Kansas City planners dismiss light rail as not nearly as cool or utilitarian as this heavy-rail system. So that’s something else to brag about in the Kansas City versus St. Louis thing, if you’re into that.
5 Fight the blight.
Look at three proposed stops: the old Kmart in Blue Springs, the former Perkins – now leveled – at Noland and Partridge in Independence, and the dead carwash on 23rd Street near Crysler. Add some daily foot traffic, and maybe a coffee shop suddenly makes sense. The Kansas City Regional Rapid Rail lines in many places run through some of the more run-down, decommercialized parts of town. The experience of other cities suggests that can be turned around.
4 Tie in some buses.
Independence officials have in the past talked about bus service within the shopping and entertainment area of southeast Independence – basically Centerpoint Medical Center to Costco to Bass Pro to Target. You could park somewhere out there and do all of your Christmas shopping, riding from store to store instead of driving and parking and driving and parking. The commuter rail system, which has a proposed stop at 39th Street and Little Blue Parkway, is designed to tie into bus or streetcar systems just like that. Downtown Kansas City would have the same thing. Ditto for the Legends, Zona Rosa, elsewhere.
3 Last call!
Suppose you and significant other want a night on the town in the Power & Light District – with a cocktail. Suppose you want a beer and a brat at the ballgame. How many times do you pass on the booze because, alas, someone has to drive? (Besides, have you seen what they charge for parking at Power & Light – not to mention the taxpayer-owned acres of asphalt at the stadiums?) Ride the train. Enjoy a cold one as the Chiefs drive for the winning touchdown over the Broncos. (Wait, that’s part of a different plan.)
2 Lofty goals.
Blue Springs Mayor Carson Ross is emphatic: He really likes the plan, and he really wants a stop downtown. Why? Lofts. People living in lofts – and enjoying ready access to cultural attractions across the metro – are a key part of the city’s plans to revitalize downtown. Come to think of it, one proposed stop in Independence is just a couple of blocks downhill from the Square and its lofts. And Grain Valley, anyone?
1 The 9-to-5.
OK, we’ll go with the proponents on this one. The No. 1 focus isn’t tourists or the Plaza. It’s getting up and going to work. It’s getting cars off our increasingly crowded highways, which eases nerves and dirties the air a little less. Besides, you can put that 20 to 30 minutes each way, each day to good use. You could read a book. Or listen to tapes and learn French. You could text a friend, put on lipstick, flip through iPod options and sip coffee all at once – kind of like driving, minus that pesky steering wheel.
What do you think? E-mail me at jeff.fox@examiner.net. Also, answer our poll question on the rail plan at examiner.net.
