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.

Taking transit cues from Kansas City, Wyandotte County is positioning itself to be the first community to build a rapid bus line outside downtown.

Consultants are recommending a MAX-like bus service for the State Avenue corridor between downtown Kansas City and the flourishing Village West retail complex in western Wyandotte County.

The goal, in part, is to move people from transit-dependent areas near Kansas City, Kan., to one of the metro area’s hottest retail centers, where there are thousands of jobs.

“I think it certainly sounds like a good plan, and it’s certainly needed,” Wyandotte County resident Beverly Johnson said Tuesday after listening to the consultants’ report.

As it now stands, it takes a bus about an hour to get from downtown Kansas City to Village West, and about 45 minutes from downtown Kansas City, Kan. Transit planners hope that a rapid bus line could cut travel times by at least 12 minutes and possibly as much as 20 minutes.

The transit service proposed for the State Avenue corridor is similar to the Metro Area Express, or MAX, service that runs between downtown and the Country Club Plaza. The $21 million MAX service, which makes limited stops along Main Street, was credited with increasing ridership in the corridor by more than 30 percent in its first year.

The service proposed for State Avenue would run generally in mixed traffic, but like the MAX line, could run in its own lane during rush hour. It would make limited stops, sometimes ¼ or ½ mile apart, and have the ability to hold a traffic signal green as it approaches an intersection.

The consultant’s proposal would cost about $26 million to build with about $3 million a year in operating costs. Funding, however, is not currently available.

The consultants did not recommend running the rapid bus line in a lane physically separated from traffic. That kind of service, they said, would cost more than $100 million to build and $3.5 million a year to operate.

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, officials are designing a second bus rapid transit line on Troost Avenue. That service is not expected to start until 2009 or 2010, officials have said.

The Wyandotte County study ruled out light rail in the short term because it would cost so much — an estimated $500 million — and would not attract enough riders.

Planners said there is not enough population density to generate sufficient ridership for rail.

The study also ruled out running express buses on Interstate 70, because it would only serve riders trying to get from one end of the corridor to the other, missing some in the middle.

Morris Holmes, a Wyandotte County resident, urged planners to take a bold approach and build a rapid bus line with its own separated lane. He said something special like that was needed to attract riders.

“If you put the same thing in place, we’ll have the same lackluster system,” he said.