I know a little bit about why this region is still so divided by an imaginary state line, but what intrigues me is how long this rivalry has persisted. The Civil War has been over for a hundred and forty-three years, and the race riots were over by 1970. It is time for everyone to get over a war our great-grandparents don't even remember and admit that we are all a part of one big metropolitan area - and it is time to start acting like it.
Rather than complain about it, I have an idea about how to integrate the two states. Regional light rail is the answer, but not necessarily the design of Clay Chastain, or any of the politicians.
Most light rail systems are meant to take people in and out of large population centers, which Kansas City somewhat lacks (by comparison, the population of New York City is eighteen times bigger than Kansas City in a space three times as small). So to fully utilize the transit system for what it is worth, it needs to service population centers, or large crowds.
My proposal is to connect the city through multiple lines, all meeting downtown in a central station. The first line needs to run out to the airport. It is an inconvenience for travelers to take the shuttle or a cab just to get downtown.
The second line runs east-west along I-70, from the stadium complex to the racetrack. These venues are huge draws, bringing as many as a hundred thousand people at a time. Now imagine you could go to a Chiefs game and not have to pay twenty dollars to park a half-mile away.
The next line has to run along I-35 from Overland Park to Liberty. Like it or not, the suburbs are a huge part of our region and lots of people from these areas commute downtown on a daily basis.
The last line goes south, through midtown, Westport, the Plaza, the Zoo/ Starlight Theatre, and finishing at the yet-to-be-built soccer stadium, where Bannister Mall now stands.
To supplement the bus lines that used to run downtown, you now run the buses to and from the light rail stations, which could service more passengers in a wider area. If you live in an area that the rail line doesn't run through, you take a ten minute bus ride and you are on a rail line. The entire region would have to consolidate its bus systems into one body (this means you, The Jo).
Think of the day you could have in Kansas City without driving. Picture this: Your cousin comes to town, so you take the train and meet him at the airport. You take him downtown for lunch in any one of the new thriving restaurants and then to the College Basketball Hall of Fame, which is attached to the Sprint Center. Then a quick stop by Grandma's house in Liberty - because he has to say hello to the relatives when he's in town - then it's off to a Royals game, where tickets are only seven dollars (after everybody leaves in the sixth, you can sit right behind home plate).
Following the game, you head into Westport to take in some blues at Blaney's and get nice and toasty. Checkpoints be damned, we're taking the train home! The time spent behind the wheel of a car would be zero, and a day pass for transport would be all you bought (five dollars max).
This sounds fun and good, but studies from the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) estimate that a light rail would reduce the amount of traffic by one-third of one percent, which is nowhere near justifying the cost of a light rail system. This proposal would bankrupt the area.
The cost of the cheapest light rail system built in the last five years was $33 million per mile. My proposal would cost almost $5 billion. Ridership wouldn't come close to covering the cost. The population is too spread out.
Yet, wouldn't it be nice if everybody could come together as one city and commit to a regional transportation plan? It could be the start of something bigger that might eventually lead to the end of the ridiculous "Border War."
Tell us what you think. Write Spectrum at editor@mcckc.edu.
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