Kansas City at a Crossroads with Light Rail

It was one of the biggest 'in-your-face' election results in K.C.'s history. It was last November when voters surprised the local pollys and actually APPROVED Clay Chastain's plan for a light rail system.

Most voters (moi included) didn't care for the Chastain version- we just wanted to voice our opinion it was time for Kansas City to become a national-class city with a national-class transportation system. If we waited for the A.T.A. and the politicians - it would probably never get done.

Yet six months later and the discussion continues - not so much as one route has been planned- much less approved.

Former City Council candidate Mark Forsythe - on his Web site 'The Kansas City Post' - has been running a series of stories - with reader commentary - on the various type of commuter rail available. (One might wonder where our local "news" media is on this education process - this would have made one HELL of an on-going 'rating sweeps' subject.)

My inner fear is that the KC government leaders will screw this up like they did the rolling roofs voters approved for the sports stadiums but never built. Then 35 years later when the costs to build the roofs were more than the cost to build BOTH stadiums - the pollys come back to the voters.

The new Kansas City mantra should be "Think Cowtown."

Instead of a BIG new arena (like Dallas' AA) with significantly more seats that Kemper - we build a glass-covered doughtnut with less than a 3,000 seat increase. Oh yes- we're still PAYING for Kemper too.

This city LOVES to run glitzy projects by the voters instead of projects benefitting the whole. We've subsidized our pro sports team to the max- how about a solid- efficient- SPEEDY transportation system?

Sure it's going to be expensive. Nothing worth doing RIGHT comes cheap.

Shall the Kansas City taxpayers continue to subsidize corporations or is it time for us to really get to work on our basic infrastructure - things that will benefit present residents and make this city attractive to future Kansas Citians?

(PS: And my pissy-ant attitude towards our sports teams isn't necessarily because their field performances suck given the Broadway-show-calibre parking/ticket/concession prices charged.)