Let’s Go KC

The Missouri General Assembly has sent a capital improvements bill to the Governor and it includes $5 million for improving Missouri’s Kansas City to St. Louis Amtrak service.  If a $5 million federal match is secured then the money will be used to build two new sidings along the route. These sidings will allow long coal trains to pull over so passenger trains can pass by.

Also, Amtrak is currenly running a special on Missouri service. Through June 15 if you take a friend you can get 50% off the second ticket.

For just one week, how many car trips can you replace with walking, bicycling, or public transit?  Almost half of all trips we take during the day are five miles or less, the perfect distant for bicycling. Many of our errands are less than two miles from home, close enough to walk.

The Car-Free Challenge runs May 10th through May 16th. Sign-up online and log your miles during the week to be eligible for great prizes.

Can you go car-free just once during the week?  How about a whole day?  Or even the whole week?

Let’s Go KC just received word from Tom Shrout at Citizens for Modern Transportation that the Senate/House Conference Committee has agreed to the $8 million request to continue the current four trains per day between Kansas City and St. Louis. The request for $5 million for upgrades to reduce congestion will come up later in a separate bill.

Thanks to everyone who contacted their legislators on this issue. Please stay tuned for news on the important project to reduce delays and improve reliability of the Missouri Amtrak service.

Learn to you use your bicycle for transportation, for getting to work, or for running errands. Deb Ridgway, KCMO’s new Bike/Ped Coordinator will teach a class this weekend to help you learn about what to wear, how plan a route, etc.

Saturday, May 3rd at Family Bicycles in Waldo. Find out more

40% of trips that people take in urban areas are only 2 miles or less.  These short trips to the store or library can easily be switched from the automobile to the bicycle.

Plans are progressing to expand the popular MAX bus rapid transit system to a new line on Troost Avenue. There are two open houses this week.  Stop by either one at your convenience to learn more and provide your feedback.

More on the April open houses.

Prairie Village, KS is planning for improving and enhancing 75th Street. One of the things that residents are asking for is a better environment for pedestrians, including slowing traffic and adding space the between sidewalks and the street.

• KC Star: Prairie Village listens to ideas for 75th Street.
• Village Vision 75 planning project.

Continue reading ‘Prairie Village to enhance 75th Street’ »

Please write a note to your legislators supporting the preservation and expansion of passenger rail in Missouri.

Amtrak service across Missouri is notoriously slow and unreliable. It has the dubious distinction as the only Amtrak route to be losing riders as the rest of the country sees a surge in passenger rail.  The Missouri Department of Transportation is asking the General Assembly for $10 million to speed up the trains and reduce delays.  The ultimate goal is to go from two trains a day do six, with express trains making the trip in four hours.

Unfortunately the General Assembly is going in the other direction, and considering a move to slash funding and leave us with only one train a day. With the twin problems of rising gas prices and climate change, we need to be expanding transportation options, not reducing choices.

Please write a note to your legislators supporting the preservation and expansion of passenger rail in Missouri.

More information:

• MoDOT rail improvement proposal, October 2007
  
• Southeast Missourian: MoDOT says more money for Amtrak would boost ridership
• MoDOT passenger rail info and schedules
• Midwest High Speed rail

The popular Google Transit service now includes Kansas City in the list of cities where you can get door-to-door directions for public transit.  Just put in your starting and ending address, and the service tells which bus to catch and when/where to catch it. This new partnership with Google and the KCATA covers Metro bus routes in KCMO, KCK, and the Missouri suburbs.  If you would like to see Johnson County’s bus service join the system, then contact The Jo and ask them.

The new service officially debuts on Tuesday, Earth Day, with an event at the offices of the Downtown Council. While the regular Google Maps does not yet have the transit option available, you can still try it now going directly the Google Transit web site: www.google.com/transit

KCK is very interested in providing better transit service. A big gap in the existing bus system is connectivity between northeastern KCK and the booming Village West area.  So the city is now studying a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along State Avenue, which would similar to the MAX bus on Main Street in KCMO.

The proposed line would connect Downtown KCMO, Downtown KCK, the Indian Springs transit hub, KCK Community College, and Village West. They haven’t decided how to pay for it, but KCK Mayor Joe Reardon has been talking with KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhouser about the possibility of joining a regional transit funding system.

State Avenue BRT would fit in very nicely with other regional plans. KCMO will soon start construction on a second MAX line on Troost Avenue and is planning for a third on North Oak. Johnson County is even thinking about BRT on Metcalf Avenue and I-35. In a few years the region will have built a decent chunk of the SmartMoves transit plan, even without regional funding or light rail.

Continue reading ‘MAX bus for KCK’ »

Please take a few minutes to participate in two very important letter writing campaigns asking MoDOT to include non-motorized transportation on upcoming projects.

1. Paseo Bridge
Ask MoDOT to include bicycle and pedestrian path on the new bridge, especially if you can’t attend the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday. Send an email now.

2. Route 45
Again, please ask MoDOT to include sidewalks and bicycle facilities when they widen this critical route through Parkville. Send an email now.

Learn more about the Paseo Bridge and about the Route 45 project.