Transit studies, transit studies everywhere!
In 2008, 30 elected officials in Missouri renewed dedication to the public transit issue. They participated in forums and committee meetings studying how to expand transit in the region. Now officials from three Missouri counties are cooperating with the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) to conduct a commuter corridor study for the region. At the same time two Kansas counties are working toward public transit improvements using bus rapid transit (BRT) technology.
Regionally three transit studies are in process.
MARC is conducting two transit corridors studies that will determine if the concepts are worthy of implementation, and Johnson County Transit is doing an implementation study.
STUDY 1: The Urban Corridors Study considers four routes into Kansas City, Missouri using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), like the MAX. Work on the Overland Park Vision Metcalf plan (Metcalf and Shawnee Mission Parkway) and the Wyandotte County plan, on State Avenue, are underway. Both of these routes connect to KCATA’s MAX BRT service on Main and the new MAX line under construction on Troost. Two additional routes being considered are on North Oak Trafficway in the Northland and from downtown to Independence.
STUDY 2: The Commuter Corridors Study will study the rail proposal Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders unveiled recently. Will it work and can it be justified? There are six train routes from the suburbs converging at the rail facilities north of Union Station. The concept includes routes in Jackson, Clay, Platte and Wyandotte counties.
This study is not the exhaustive analysis required by the Federal Transit Administration to compete for federal funding. Previously, commuter rail did poorly on these evaluations. Of course this is a very different proposal, and ridership forecasts have not been determined yet.
If rail isn’t viable in one or more of the commuter corridors, then other alternatives will be evaluated. This Commuter Corridor Study may recommend rail, a combination of rail and BRT, or an all-BRT/express bus system.
The Regional Transit Alliance will contribute to this process, evaluate the recommendations of the studies based on our Criteria for Regional Transit and promote a robust regional transit network to make public transit a viable and attractive transportation option for all the region's citizens.
STUDY 3: Johnson County Transit is doing an Implementation Phasing Study to decide how to implement BRT on I-35 from Johnson County into downtown Kansas City. A corridor study was done several years ago and commuter rail was eliminated in favor of BRT for the near future.
These three studies cover 11 transit corridors and have the potential to radically change the transit landscape in this region. That is exciting to contemplate.
Kitty McCoy, Chair, Regional Transit Alliance
