borderless transit / borderless region

Streetcar TDD formation ballots due August 1

All ballots for the special mail-in election to extend the streetcar through Midtown to UMKC must be received at the 16th Circuit Court by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1.

Mail-in ballots in Missouri must be notarized. The Jackson County Clerk offers free notary services on the second floor of the Courthouse. Voters may return their ballots in person at the Circuit Court Administrator’s office on the third floor.

More information about the special election is at https://kcrta.org/streetcar/


KCRTA opposes Question 1 on August 8 ballot

The Board of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance opposes Question 1 on the August 8 ballot in Kansas City, Missouri.

While seeming just to require a citywide vote for streetcar expansion, the ballot language actually contains a provision to penalize “all City officers, agents, and employees” $1,000 per day for engaging in any planning or preparation for streetcar or fixed rail of any kind.

This subversive threat to freedom of speech should be voted down. Creating such an impediment to the expansion of Kansas City’s transit network after the overwhelming success of the Downtown Streetcar makes no sense. While a citywide election may have merit, gagging public employees and elected officials with the threat of fines may be unconstitutional and expose the city to potential litigation. We encourage the voters of Kansas City to reject Question 1.

The sample August 8 ballot is available here.


Streetcar TDD formation ballots to be mailed June 20

Mail-in ballots for the special Transportation Development District formation election will be mailed to qualified voters on Tuesday, June 20. Approximately 6,000 ballots will be printed, based on early estimates from the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court is administering the special election, per the TDD statute.

An image of the envelope qualified voters will receive is below.

Qualified voters will receive ballots if:

  • They are registered to vote inside the proposed streetcar TDD boundary (Missouri River to 53rd Street, State Line to Campbell Street), and
  • The Circuit Court received a completed ballot application by the May 23 deadline.

Once voters receive their TDD formation ballots in June, they have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1 to return them. In accordance with Missouri law, all mail-in ballots must be notarized. Ballots are notarized free of charge by any Public Notary.

Text of the ballot language is here and is for informational purposes only. Voters must use the official ballot they receive in the mail.

For more information, see the Circuit Court’s website (http://16thcircuit.org/streetcar) or https://kcrta.org/streetcar/.

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Streetcar mail-in ballot application deadline is May 23

The May 23 deadline is quickly approaching for voters inside the proposed Transportation Development District to request a mail-in ballot to form the new streetcar funding district.

Completed ballot applications must be received by 5 p.m. that day. It is suggested that applications sent at this late date be faxed or delivered by hand to the Circuit Court’s office. See https://www.16thcircuit.org/streetcar for instructions and a downloadable ballot application.

If you know anyone with a mobility issue or without internet access, please contact the Circuit Court at 816-881-6671 for an accommodation.

Additional information about the proposed streetcar extension to Midtown/UMKC is available at https://kcrta.org/streetcar.


Streetcar mail-in ballot application is now live

A mail-in election is being conducted to fund an extension of the KC Streetcar from Union Station to the vicinity of the University of Kansas City – Volker Campus. The election will form a new Transportation Development District that will replace the existing downtown streetcar TDD.

Download the mail-in ballot application and follow the instructions: https://www.16thcircuit.org/streetcar

Check the new TDD map to ensure you reside inside the Proposed District Boundary (see legend).

Mail-in ballot applications are due 5 p.m. on May 23, 2017. Ballots will be mailed to qualified voters on June 20, 2017.

A Public Notice for the election also appears in today’s (April 5) Kansas City Star.

Questions? Email chairman@kcrta.org.


KCRTA endorses Question 1 on April 4 ballot

Prospect MAX station

On April 4, voters in Kansas City, Missouri, will vote on three General Obligation bond questions to fund basic infrastructure projects over 20 years. The Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance encourages a yes vote on Question 1, which will fund a progressive sidewalk repair and construction program and the local match for Prospect MAX.

Prospect MAX represents the third iteration of Kansas City’s innovative bus rapid transit system. Main Street was upgraded in 2005 and Troost Avenue in 2011, both to much fanfare and increased ridership. After a failed attempt to include Prospect MAX in the 2014 streetcar expansion program, it’s time for KC voters to commit financially to this high ridership — but economically stressed — corridor. The promise of new technology and a more intense focus on transit-oriented development makes Prospect a true evolution of the MAX brand.

Question 1 will also provide up to $150 million in funding for sidewalk repair and construction throughout the city. A high quality sidewalk network provides critical access to the existing transit network. There are also many neighborhoods that have little to no sidewalk infrastructure, making transit service a challenge. We prefer not to have a cap on the amount of sidewalk spending, but spending on arterial road reconstruction should also provide a smoother ride for the RideKC fleet.

KCRTA encourages a YES vote on KCMO Question 1 on April 4.


Application window extended for streetcar mail-in election

kcstreetcar_plaza

The window for applying to vote in the UMKC/Midtown streetcar mail-in election has been extended three weeks, due to the number of active voters expected to participate in the process.

Registered voters who reside inside the Transportation Development District boundary may apply for a ballot as early as 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. The deadline to apply for a ballot is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2017.

Per state statute, voters must provide proof of voter registration that indicates they reside inside the proposed TDD boundary.

The new TDD — which would eventually replace the downtown streetcar TDD — is approximately bound by the Missouri River on the north, Campbell Street on the east, State Line on the west, and 53rd Street on the south. The southern boundary mostly follows city streets, so please check this map to confirm your location.

The full proposed schedule of elections is here. More information about the proposed streetcar extension is at https://kcrta.org/streetcar/.


KCAI voices support for Midtown/UMKC streetcar extension

The Board of Trustees of the Kansas City Art Institute have voiced their support for the proposed streetcar extension south through Midtown to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Volker Campus.

Read the full letter here.

Elections for the new Transportation Development District are scheduled for 2017. See the full schedule here.

kcstreetcar_plaza


Vote NO on KCMO Question 3

This fall, Kansas City voters are being asked again to pay for Clay Chastain’s fantasy light rail plan (KCMO Question 3 — see the sample ballot at kceb.org). The cost to implement this plan will certainly exceed the revenue generated by the plan’s three new sales taxes. Worse still, this plan purposely robs $26 million a year from our underfunded bus system that thousands depend on daily.

Such is the folly of Clay Chastain.

Building light rail through low density areas on the way to KCI, the Truman Sports Complex, and the new Cerner campus sound great on paper. However, this plan’s profound lack of improving regional transit-access-to-jobs makes this multibillion dollar plan fantasy inconsequential relative to addressing that problem.

Every transit professional in the region will tell you the most acute jobs access problem is in southern Johnson County.

This is a significant omission in Chastain’s repeated attempts at pursuing his KCMO-only light rail fantasy. We have a regional transportation plan called SmartMoves that we’ve been investing in route-by-route, albeit slowly. Clay Chastain continues to ignores the objectives of that adopted regional plan.

We must focus the region on connecting people to job density and building greater population density in our urban core. Streetcar, for example, was specifically focused on the latter and by all measures is succeeding.

Aside from ignoring the region’s top job access gap, Chastain’s fantasy plan contains flaws that make implementation impossible.

Chastain’s plan assumes construction costs of $45 million per mile, yet we know the streetcar cost $50 million per mile. Light rail is more costly than streetcar to construct — often approaching $100 million or more, not including river crossings.

To help fund construction, Chastain assumes $1 billion in Federal dollars, which would be one of the largest single project awards ever. It is unlikely the city would get such an award for a light rail line that runs through low density areas to the north and south, a lesson we learned in 2008.

The local match would come entirely from sales tax revenues. A portion of which would be captured by redirecting a tax that supports our bus system. In Chastain’s own words, his plan “would probably cause disruption for local bus service.”

Other assumptions which compound the difficulty of implementation:

  • Assuming the Parks Department would allow use of parks for light rail right-of-way;
  • Assuming light rail would run on the Trolley Track Trail, a citizen work group already weighed in on this in 2014, preferring a mixed alignment for rail going south through Brookside;
  • Assuming North Kansas City and MoDOT would agree to not only using the Heart of America Bridge, but restricting car traffic when light rail vehicles are passing;
  • Assuming a zone-based pricing system that increases cost of the trip based on the number of zones traveled. This is contrary to the current RideKC fare policy.

Clay Chastain’s latest light rail fantasy plan is riddled with problems. It’s unlikely any entity would execute the plan, and certainly not for this price tag. The voters of Kansas City should send Chastain a clear message with another resounding defeat. He’s promised once again that this is the end, right?

Matt Kauffman
Chair
Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance


Judge orders Midtown/UMKC streetcar election to proceed

Read coverage here. The judge’s full order is here. Information about the streetcar extension through Midtown to UMKC is at https://kcrta.org/streetcar/.