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It’s time to call for a summit on transportation
EDITORIAL
We understand that Kansas City metropolitan mayors and surrounding county officials have been meeting with Mayor Mark Funkhouser about the potential for regional mass transit, and a decision must be made soon on whether a referendum for a Kansas City-only starter line or a more ambitious proposal should be put on the November ballot.
Whatever goes on the ballot, it could still be decades before there would be a regional mass transit system in place that would also serve Liberty and the eastern side of Clay County.
While it is important that Liberty continues to play a role in the ongoing debate and discussions about this important regional issue, it’s time for Mayor Bob Steinkamp to call for an Eastern Clay County summit to deal with pressing local transportation issues.
As the largest city on this side of the county and as the only city in Eastern Clay County to put its money on the table for buses, Steinkamp should lead this effort.
We’d like to see Steinkamp call together mayors from Excelsior Springs, Kearney, Missouri City, Pleasant Valley, Glenaire and Claycomo, and Clay County commissioners to brainstorm and offer suggestions on what can be done to help their constituents deal with these growing transportation problems.
With the price of gasoline at nearly $4 a gallon, people are having a hard time coping with this extra expense and scrambling for ways to conserve or looking for alternative transportation. Many all over the Kansas City area are cramming on to buses to take them to their jobs. While the arguments over light rail grab headlines and attention, there’s standing room only on many area commuter buses.
Liberty is currently subsidizing two express buses — one a 40-passenger bus and the other a 25-passenger bus — that leave Liberty at staggered times early in the morning and return from Kansas City in the evening.
It is estimated that about 60 percent of those riding the Liberty buses are Liberty residents. The rest are from Kansas City on the west side of Interstate 35, Kearney, Excelsior Springs, rural Clay County and elsewhere on the eastern side of the county.
The riders pay $3 for a one-way trip or $6 for a round trip fare. Monthly passes for $85 are also available.
The problem is that Liberty is paying $37,447 to subsidize the bus service to the tune of about $3 a rider. According to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, it would cost an estimated $9,500 to exchange the smaller Liberty bus for a larger bus to accommodate all the new riders.
It is time for the surrounding cities to step up and pay that extra amount, but that is not going to happen until they are asked. But first surveys must be taken to determine what percent of riders are coming from what areas. If 10 percent of the riders boarding the Liberty buses are from Kearney, for instance, then perhaps Kearney could kick in some money for its residents. The same is true of Excelsior Springs or other areas.
The ATA is expected to add a bus route from Kansas City’s Shoal Creek Valley area west of Liberty in January that could help alleviate overcrowding on the Liberty routes. Liberty officials are also contemplating asking voters to approve an increase in the current quarter-cent transportation sales tax to a half-cent. The extra money generated could be used to expand bus transportation as well as pay for street improvements.
With plenty of infrastructure issues looming, Liberty taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize neighboring cities’ transportation costs. Start calling, Mayor Steinkamp.
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We understand that Kansas City metropolitan mayors and surrounding county officials have been meeting with Mayor Mark Funkhouser about the potential for regional mass transit, and a decision must be made soon on whether a referendum for a Kansas City-only starter line or a more ambitious proposal should be put on the November ballot.
Whatever goes on the ballot, it could still be decades before there would be a regional mass transit system in place that would also serve Liberty and the eastern side of Clay County.
While it is important that Liberty continues to play a role in the ongoing debate and discussions about this important regional issue, it’s time for Mayor Bob Steinkamp to call for an Eastern Clay County summit to deal with pressing local transportation issues.
As the largest city on this side of the county and as the only city in Eastern Clay County to put its money on the table for buses, Steinkamp should lead this effort.
We’d like to see Steinkamp call together mayors from Excelsior Springs, Kearney, Missouri City, Pleasant Valley, Glenaire and Claycomo, and Clay County commissioners to brainstorm and offer suggestions on what can be done to help their constituents deal with these growing transportation problems.
With the price of gasoline at nearly $4 a gallon, people are having a hard time coping with this extra expense and scrambling for ways to conserve or looking for alternative transportation. Many all over the Kansas City area are cramming on to buses to take them to their jobs. While the arguments over light rail grab headlines and attention, there’s standing room only on many area commuter buses.
Liberty is currently subsidizing two express buses — one a 40-passenger bus and the other a 25-passenger bus — that leave Liberty at staggered times early in the morning and return from Kansas City in the evening.
It is estimated that about 60 percent of those riding the Liberty buses are Liberty residents. The rest are from Kansas City on the west side of Interstate 35, Kearney, Excelsior Springs, rural Clay County and elsewhere on the eastern side of the county.
The riders pay $3 for a one-way trip or $6 for a round trip fare. Monthly passes for $85 are also available.
The problem is that Liberty is paying $37,447 to subsidize the bus service to the tune of about $3 a rider. According to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, it would cost an estimated $9,500 to exchange the smaller Liberty bus for a larger bus to accommodate all the new riders.
It is time for the surrounding cities to step up and pay that extra amount, but that is not going to happen until they are asked. But first surveys must be taken to determine what percent of riders are coming from what areas. If 10 percent of the riders boarding the Liberty buses are from Kearney, for instance, then perhaps Kearney could kick in some money for its residents. The same is true of Excelsior Springs or other areas.
The ATA is expected to add a bus route from Kansas City’s Shoal Creek Valley area west of Liberty in January that could help alleviate overcrowding on the Liberty routes. Liberty officials are also contemplating asking voters to approve an increase in the current quarter-cent transportation sales tax to a half-cent. The extra money generated could be used to expand bus transportation as well as pay for street improvements.
With plenty of infrastructure issues looming, Liberty taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize neighboring cities’ transportation costs. Start calling, Mayor Steinkamp.