So far most efforts to dig out from the 2009 Christmas blizzard have focused on clearing streets for cars, trucks, and buses.  Most pedestrians are left to fend for themselves to navigate icy and snow-covered sidewalks.  Many end up walking in the street, often the only clear path available. Snow thrown aside by plows have left tall piles block many bus stops, again forcing people into the street to wait for the bus.

Many business districts like Downtown, the Plaza, and Brookside use private contractors to clear their sidewalks, but in residential areas it’s the property owners who are responsible for clearing their sidewalks.  The City has an ordinance on the books requiring sidewalks to be cleared, but doesn’t really have any personal to enforce it.

A pedestrian walking in West 39th Street at Pennsylvania Avenue.

Plowed snow blocking access to the Plaza MAX station on J.C. Nichols Parkway.

Lee’s Summit recently completed an updated Transit Demand Analysis (PDF) to determine what needs exist in the community, and what types of service are feasible.  Recommendations center around bolster the current express service to Downtown Kansas City and expanding the MetroFlex service that transports seniors and the disabled within the city.

The analysis found strong community demand for improved transit service in Lee’s Summit.  This fact should encourage city leaders to take a more active role in planning for a regional bus and rail system in the Missouri suburbs.  Lee’s Summit already has a leading role in planning for a combined rail and trail corridor on the old Rock Island Line, and is working with neighbors to secure funds to purchase it.

Identified transit needs in Lee’s Summit:

Commutes to Downtown KCMO
The current #152X Raytown/Lee’s Summit route was expanded in 2008. Additional needs include new express routes from the western and eastern parts of the city, plus a mid-day service to improve the flexibility and convenience of the service.

Commutes within Lee’s Summit
There is no fixed-route service for residents who work within the community.  Dispersed housing and employment centers will be a huge challenge for addressing this need.

Senior and disabled service
Population growth and dispersal are increasing the need for more service over a larger area. As of January 2010 the #252 MetroFlex service will increase hours and cover a larger territory of Lee’s Summit, providing better access to medical care, shopping, etc.

Reverse Commutes
Service into Lee’s Summit from other cities is difficult since the #152 express only stops at a park-and-ride lot, and there is no intra-city service to transfer people to their workplaces.

Commutes to other suburbs
Demand is growing for service to Johnson County, especially the College Boulevard corridor.

Additional data:

70% of Lee’s Summit residents work outside of the city, yet the southeast suburbs have the least amount of transit service in the metro area.

Lee’s Summit only spends 30% of the federal transit money available to it, even though a quirk of its Census designation means that the city’s local match is much less than other metro suburbs. This means modest local investments could have a huge impact.

3% of people who work in Downtown KC use the #152X bus.  5% would be a realistic goal in the near term.

A new analysis of data from the federal economic stimulus reveals that investment in public transit has produced almost twice as many jobs as the investment in highways.  Every $1 billion spent on roads and highways resulted in about 8,700 months of work.  For transit, it was over 16,000 months of work for the same investment.

Locally, jobs-rich transit projects are getting very little of the available money. In Missouri, 11% of the stimulus went to transit.  In Kansas it’s only 8% for transit. To be fair to MoDOT and KDOT, much of the funding distribution was determined by federal formulas and not state discretion.

The main criteria for the transportation stimulus was 1) speed of construction and 2) number of jobs created/retained. This new report shows that any future stimulus program should make a bigger investment in transit in order to maximize its job creation and retention benefits.  It also indicates that state and local governments could better stimulate their economies by increasing local investments in transit systems.

Analysis Finds that Funding Public Transit Creates More Jobs Than Funding Highway Projects
by Center for Neighborhood Technology, Public Interest Research Group, and Smart Growth America.

MoDOT ARRA projects (PDF)

KDOT ARRA information

MoDOT and the Union Pacific Railroad recently opened a new rail siding in the town of California, just west of Jefferson City.  The new track allows long freight trains to move off the main so Amtrak passenger trains can pass.  It’s one of many projects to reduce delays, improve speeds, and lay the foundation for future high speed service between KC and St. Louis.

Ongoing efforts to improve Amtrak service across Missouri just resulted in 100% on time performance during the busy Thanksgiving week.

The River Runner morning trains depart KC and St. Louis at 7:30 a.m. and arrive at 1:10 p.m. in the opposite city. The evening trains leave each city at 4:30 p.m. and arrive at  9:40 p.m.

Johnson County Transit is experimenting with a new weekend service to the Country Club Plaza for shopping and viewing the Plaza lights.  The new Route 901 runs every 20 minutes on Friday nights and Saturday/Sunday afternoons and evenings.  The service starts at the NE JoCo offices at Martway and Lamar in Mission, and the fare is a cheap $1. The pilot project runs through December 27th.

It will be interesting to see how The JO’s foray into evening/weekend service works. Hopefully it leads to expanded service in the future.

JO Route 901 info, map, and timetable.

Taking the bus is a great way to avoid the traffic jams and garage queues at the Country Club Plaza lighting ceremony.  The KCATA will be running extra MAX service, every 15 minutes, between 4:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Park-and-ride lots are located at 3rd and Grand in the River Market and 74th and Wornall in Waldo. MAX will be diverted from its regular Plaza station, and stopping at 47th and Main Streets instead.

Other buses also serve the Plaza, but will be running on reduced holiday schedules.  The #51-Broadway bus runs once an hour from the park-and-ride lot at Ward Parkway mall, 89th and State Line Road, or the 10th and Main Transit Center.  The #57-South Oak runs once per hour from 3rd and Grand.

See the KCATA rider bulletin for more information.

Independence is beginning to update its long ranger master plan, which was last updated in 1993.  The update will guide the city’s development through 2030.  Right now the city is surveying people on their opinions about land use and transportation.  If you are interested in making Independence more livable by giving residents better transportation choices, fill out the two surveys and consider these points….

Independence Comprehensive Plan and citizen surveys.

Transportation key points:

• Improved transit service that connects residents with jobs, schools, and shopping – both inside Independence and with the rest of the metro area.
• Participation in regional transit initiatives for commuter rail and bus rapid transit.
• Dedicated transit funding that provides for a stable system free of the current yearly funding debates.
• Sidewalks on both sides of every street for pedestrian access and safety.
• Bicycle routes that service a transportation purpose by connecting housing with employment, schools, and shops, e.g. on-street bike lanes or on-street trails specifically designed for transportation.
• Adopt a Complete Streets policy stating that roads should be designed for all users – motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, the elderly, the disabled, and children.
• Encourage a street grid that connects adjacent neighborhoods in order to improve access and slow traffic.

Land use key points:

• Prioritize redevelopment of existing areas over development of farmland and greenfield sites.
• Discourage leap-frog development that is built away from existing development and existing infrastructure.
• Cluster homes and businesses in more compact areas to project open space, reduce stormwater runoff, and make neighborhoods more walkable.

Take the surveys now

The Pitch has results of last week’s KCPD crosswalk enforcement event.  The vast majority of tickets went to motorists who didn’t yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, however a few pedestrians were ticketed for jaywalking or crossing against a traffic light. Police Chief Jim Corwin also talks about it on his blog.

Out of the blue, the KCMO Police Department has started enforcing crosswalk laws with a week-long sting operation in Downtown and Midtown. Police are ticketing motorists who don’t yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, as well as pedestrians who jaywalk or cross against a traffic light.

It’s great to see the KCPD finally take on this work. Over the last three years the Share the Road Safety Task Force has conducted sting operations in Kansas City and several suburbs, but the KCPD has not participated.  Instead, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department has assisted with sting operations in Midtown, Brookside, and around UMKC.  Kudos to the KCPD for joining the cause of safety for all roadway users.

KC Star: KC police step up enforcement of crosswalk rules.

West 31st on Signall Hill

Broadway at 43rd

A new report on pedestrian safety in the United States ranks the Kansas City metro area above average for pedestrian danger.  We ranked 20th and of 52 large metro areas with a Pedestrian Danger Index of 77.6, compared to a national average of 52.

The report, Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods), ranks America’s major metropolitan areas and states according to a Pedestrian Danger Index that assesses how safe they are for walking. An update of the 2004 Mean Streets report, Dangerous by Design was released by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership.

On the state-wide level, Missouri scored slightly more dangerous than average, with a danger index of 57 out of 52.  Meanwhile, Kansas ranked much safer, with a score of 27.6.

Dangerous By Design
(PDF, 3.7 MB, right-click to download instead of open)

Missouri fact sheet (PDF)

Kansas fact sheet (PDF)