Kansas City made the right choice by voting no on light rail. Although there are positives to this idea, now is not the time to try it out. Billions of dollars would have been spent when we have a poor economy. It is important to consider the future, but it seems wise for Kansas City to wait.
Even though light rail would have benefited our transportation, it wouldn’t have benefited our economy. The next attempt for this plan should include a detailed route with the airport as a destination. Why waste billions of dollars on a rail that doesn’t even reach our airport?
Madilyn Roberts
Kansas City
Why make the mountain come to Mohammed? We supposedly need a new airport anyway, so why not build it closer to civilization and save the expense of running the rails all the way out to KCI?
Posted by: repete | December 18, 2008 at 03:09 PM
You bring up a very valid point Jayhawk. One only has to go back to this summer to see that commuting costs from Southern Johnson County to dowtown has the potential to be quite staggering. But I also have to wonder if the NIMBY mentality of So Joco would preclude it from ever being incorporated into expansion plans. Maybe along the I-35 corridor I suppose.
Posted by: Casady | December 18, 2008 at 12:22 PM
I voted in favor of light rail for the 2nd or 3rd time in Nov because one day the KC area will regret not having a system. The major reason has been staring us in the face for a long time: the frailty of gasoline supplies. Just think of what another '72-'73 oil embargo would do to the KC area with the ensuing shortages, rationing, and chaos at every gas station. Think of what it would be like living in southern Johnson County and trying to get to work in downtown KC. No one could...
Posted by: JayhawkinMO | December 18, 2008 at 10:46 AM
With the current financial issues facing Kansas City, it will probably be a long time before we can play "keep up with the Joneses", or "keep up with the other mid-size metropolitan areas" as it were.
Posted by: Marctnts | December 18, 2008 at 08:14 AM