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Light rail could go to voters again in 2008
By: Gene Hanson
The light rail issue could go to the ballot again in November 2008, but who will actually place it on the ballot is still up for discussion.
Northland Kansas City Councilman Ed Ford, who chairs the newly formed Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the city council, told the Northland Chamber of Commerce Light Rail Task Force on Wednesday, May 23, that he and his committee were leaning toward a November 2008 ballot that would bring the largest number of voters to the polls.
But a volunteer group, the Urban Society, is formulating its own plan and has indicated that if the city does not place the issue on the ballot, it may do so through an initiative petition drive.
But either way, a fight with the architect of the current plan, Clay Chastain, looms.
“It depends on who you want Chastain to fight, City Hall or a citizens group,” said Mark Huffer, general manager of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. “We could have an issue of one citizens group fighting another.”
Huffer said the Urban Society is an active group that is primarily interested in issues in the urban core. The group has been asked to make a presentation of its plan to the task force at its June 27 meeting.
Huffer said if light rail were to go to the ballot in 2008, an alternative analysis of light rail, a required study to qualify for federal funding, would be substantially complete by that time, and could be used to bolster the ballot issue.
“It will provide us with preliminary engineering information and tell us whether we can seek federal funding for the first phase of construction of the system,” he said. “We expect to award a contract for a consultant to conduct the analysis in June.”
The task force also passed a resolution endorsing the concept of light rail but not at the expense of the city's bus system now in place.
The ballot issue called for a part of the sales tax that supports the transportation authority to be diverted to light rail in 2009, which would force the transportation authority to cut back on service.
“Light rail should not be built on the back of the bus system,” said Light Rail Task Force member Dick Davis. The bus system has to be preserved because it will complement light rail.”
Business Editor Gene Hanson can be reached at 389-6638, or at ghanson@npgco.com.
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Northland Kansas City Councilman Ed Ford, who chairs the newly formed Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the city council, told the Northland Chamber of Commerce Light Rail Task Force on Wednesday, May 23, that he and his committee were leaning toward a November 2008 ballot that would bring the largest number of voters to the polls.
But a volunteer group, the Urban Society, is formulating its own plan and has indicated that if the city does not place the issue on the ballot, it may do so through an initiative petition drive.
But either way, a fight with the architect of the current plan, Clay Chastain, looms.
“It depends on who you want Chastain to fight, City Hall or a citizens group,” said Mark Huffer, general manager of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. “We could have an issue of one citizens group fighting another.”
Huffer said the Urban Society is an active group that is primarily interested in issues in the urban core. The group has been asked to make a presentation of its plan to the task force at its June 27 meeting.
Huffer said if light rail were to go to the ballot in 2008, an alternative analysis of light rail, a required study to qualify for federal funding, would be substantially complete by that time, and could be used to bolster the ballot issue.
“It will provide us with preliminary engineering information and tell us whether we can seek federal funding for the first phase of construction of the system,” he said. “We expect to award a contract for a consultant to conduct the analysis in June.”
The task force also passed a resolution endorsing the concept of light rail but not at the expense of the city's bus system now in place.
The ballot issue called for a part of the sales tax that supports the transportation authority to be diverted to light rail in 2009, which would force the transportation authority to cut back on service.
“Light rail should not be built on the back of the bus system,” said Light Rail Task Force member Dick Davis. The bus system has to be preserved because it will complement light rail.”
Business Editor Gene Hanson can be reached at 389-6638, or at ghanson@npgco.com.