GETTING STARTED: The Light Rail Citizens’ Task Force supports a starter line from the Country Club Plaza to Vivion Road and North Oak Trafficway in the Northland, with an eastern line to Prospect Avenue.
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City moves forward with light rail plans
By: Kelli Bamforth, Staff writer
kellibamforth@sunpublications.com
To receive federal funding for light rail, Kansas City will need to reach consensus on the starter line and overall goal of the project, Holland and Knight lawyer Jeff Boothe told the Kansas City Council last week.
During a business session, Boothe updated the council on the funding process in the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program. The average length of the process is 10 years but promises 50 percent federal funding, Boothe said.
“While the program is competitive, it rewards communities that are persistent and engage in good project planning,” Boothe said.
Kansas City is engaged in an alternatives analysis, which includes decisions on the light rail project’s mode and alignment. The analysis phase is locally funded, takes up to two years and includes public input. Holland and Knight is facilitating the analysis; the firm also represents Kansas City in Washington, D.C.
FTA approval is required to move to subsequent stages in the process. Following the analysis, the city could move into preliminary engineering, final design and finally, full funding grant agreement when monies are guaranteed by the FTA.
During preliminary engineering, a two- to three-year process, the city would make final decisions regarding the project’s scope, complete an environmental impact statement and finalize a financial plan. Final design and construction would take another three to seven years.
The city has not yet made the decision to pursue federal funding, but Boothe said the council must decide before beginning the process.
Councilman Ed Ford, 2nd District at-large, said he would introduce a series of ordinances at Thursday’s council meeting to adopt the Light Rail Citizens’ Task Force recommendations.
The task force supports a starter line from the Country Club Plaza to Vivion Road and North Oak Trafficway in the Northland, with an eastern line to Prospect Avenue.
The group also supports a three-eighth-cent sales tax for 25 years to help fund the project. Ford helped introduce an ordinance calling for an April 8 election on the sales tax renewal for 15 years.
Though consensus is necessary for Kansas City to be competitive in the process, not all council members are supportive of task force recommendations.
“I’ve been critical of the initial plans because they seem to serve more affluent families than the ones who really need mass transit,” 6th District Councilman John Sharp said. “Do those sort of social justice issues have an effect in the FTA process? Do we get extra points for serving underserved areas?”
Sharp has said he supports a small, H-shaped route running east and south.
Boothe said the FTA looks at the number of low-income, no-vehicle households served by the project.
“It is part of the project analysis,” he said. “The key is ridership and goals of the project. It’s a local decision to determine priorities and what you want the project to do.
“If the Kansas City region fails to speak with one voice, it reduces the prospects of having success in the New Starts program.”
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During a business session, Boothe updated the council on the funding process in the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program. The average length of the process is 10 years but promises 50 percent federal funding, Boothe said.
“While the program is competitive, it rewards communities that are persistent and engage in good project planning,” Boothe said.
Kansas City is engaged in an alternatives analysis, which includes decisions on the light rail project’s mode and alignment. The analysis phase is locally funded, takes up to two years and includes public input. Holland and Knight is facilitating the analysis; the firm also represents Kansas City in Washington, D.C.
FTA approval is required to move to subsequent stages in the process. Following the analysis, the city could move into preliminary engineering, final design and finally, full funding grant agreement when monies are guaranteed by the FTA.
During preliminary engineering, a two- to three-year process, the city would make final decisions regarding the project’s scope, complete an environmental impact statement and finalize a financial plan. Final design and construction would take another three to seven years.
The city has not yet made the decision to pursue federal funding, but Boothe said the council must decide before beginning the process.
Councilman Ed Ford, 2nd District at-large, said he would introduce a series of ordinances at Thursday’s council meeting to adopt the Light Rail Citizens’ Task Force recommendations.
The task force supports a starter line from the Country Club Plaza to Vivion Road and North Oak Trafficway in the Northland, with an eastern line to Prospect Avenue.
The group also supports a three-eighth-cent sales tax for 25 years to help fund the project. Ford helped introduce an ordinance calling for an April 8 election on the sales tax renewal for 15 years.
Though consensus is necessary for Kansas City to be competitive in the process, not all council members are supportive of task force recommendations.
“I’ve been critical of the initial plans because they seem to serve more affluent families than the ones who really need mass transit,” 6th District Councilman John Sharp said. “Do those sort of social justice issues have an effect in the FTA process? Do we get extra points for serving underserved areas?”
Sharp has said he supports a small, H-shaped route running east and south.
Boothe said the FTA looks at the number of low-income, no-vehicle households served by the project.
“It is part of the project analysis,” he said. “The key is ridership and goals of the project. It’s a local decision to determine priorities and what you want the project to do.
“If the Kansas City region fails to speak with one voice, it reduces the prospects of having success in the New Starts program.”