Light rail moving ‘fast’

By Gene Hanson

Some Kansas Citians might think that progress toward a light rail system for the city has been sluggish, but things are actually moving fast, according to Kenneth Kinney, national director of transit planning for HNTB, the company the city has hired to conduct the required alternative analysis for the proposed system.

“We are actually moving fast,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 26. “We are at a point that we can assume we will be on track for $300 million in federal funds to match with local funding for the project.”

He said that did not guarantee that Kansas City would get the funding, but continuing discussion with the Federal Transit Authority, or FTA, at the federal and local levels and completing the alternative analysis would put the city in a good position to be funded.

He said the alternative analysis had entered into phase two, which includes a federal environmental impact statement, or EIS. The statement calls for another round of public meetings throughout the city.

In the Northland, they will be held on Tuesdays, March 25, April 15 and 22, May 6 and Sunday, Aug. 17. Times and locations will be announced later. The hearings will discuss such matters as alignment, streets to be used for light rail, station locations and economic development opportunities.

Once the public meetings are completed, the draft of the environmental impact statement will be completed and undergo a formal review. By spring of 2009, a Locally Preferred Alternative will be approved.

The final statement will be submitted to the FTA in the spring of 2009.

Kinney said by that time, Kansas City would be well positioned to be included in the next round of the competitive Federal New Starts Funding that will be authorized from 2010 though 2015.

The city will pursue a new plan for light rail despite a lawsuit filed that challenges the city council’s decision to rescind the light rail proposal approved by more than 72,000 voters.

“We want to build a starter line that makes sense,” said Northland City Councilman Ed Ford, who chairs the council’s transportation and infrastructure committee. “The council is committed to bring light rail to Kansas City. It can help revitalize our local economy and bring more jobs.”

Light rail now has a Web site at www.kansascitylightrail.org.

The council is expected to place a three-eighths-cent sales tax on the November ballot to fund the system. If approved, it would sunset in 25 years.

Voters will also be asked to approve a renewal of the three-eighths-cent sales for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority that will expire in April 2009.

Business Editor Gene Hanson can be reached at 389-6638 or at ghanson@npgco.com.