[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by kc rush

I was talking about that with my wife a couple of weeks ago. Make Union Station the hub and run the line through downtown, the Plaza, to Arrowhead, KCI, and other major points of interest. Set up park and ride locations in the burbs and also have bus stops in neighborhoods that will take you to the park and ride station.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/10073638.htm

Buses to the MAX


Metro Area Express to offer new stations, rapid transit in KC

By KEVIN COLLISON

Columnist



Anyone interested in checking out what's next for Kansas City mass transit should stop by the Area Transportation Authority's offices at 1200 E. 18th St.

There, across from the authority's front entrance, is a prototype of the new Metro Area Express, or MAX, station. By July, 19 stations are expected to be operating along the route of the area's first bus rapid transit line. It will run from Waldo to the River Market, mostly along Main Street, and connect many of the major destinations in the area the mayor has labeled River Crown Plaza.

Bus rapid transit was the fallback technology embraced by the ATA after voters turned down a billion-dollar light-rail proposal in 2001. The reasoning was that a BRT system could offer similar service at a much lower cost and, if people liked it enough, pave the way for another go at light rail someday.

The key to BRT's success was to convince prospective riders this was not a slow, stop-and-go experience by using a flashier vehicle and by accelerating its timetable by limiting the number of stops, giving it a special lane and pre-empting traffic signals so it could whiz through busy intersections.

A side benefit was to encourage development along the transit route near those strategically located stations.

Because of financial concerns, however, the ATA is struggling to pursue even a light alternative to light rail.

“BRT is the poor man's version of light rail,” said Ron McLinden, a board member of the Regional Transit Alliance, an advocacy organization. “Some people might speculate we're getting the poor man's version of BRT.”

The MAX station doesn't convey a sense of something revolutionary for mass transit.

While the stainless steel and plexiglass enclosure is attractive, it doesn't appear all that different from a standard bus shelter. It's about 20 feet long, enclosed on three sides, features a single wood bench and, at this point, has a semitransparent roof that won't offer much shade.
More eye-catching and forward-looking is the 30-foot pylon next to it. It prominently identifies the stop and the kiosk at its base and displays the MAX route, a map of the adjoining neighborhood and an electronic display that informs riders when the next bus is scheduled to arrive.
However, it appears the ATA has strayed from its original intent of limiting the number of BRT stops and spacing them about one-half mile apart. Between the University of Missouri-Kansas City and 43rd and Main Streets, near St. Luke's Hospital, there are five stops in about one mile.

The route settles into having stations a half-mile apart on Main between 43rd Street and 31st Street, but then the pace slows again with a station at 29th and Main near the new Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and two stops a block apart at Pershing Road and Grand Avenue by Crown Center and Pershing and Main by Union Station.
Once it gets to the Loop, MAX has seven stops as it winds past Bartle Hall, the new arena, City Hall and the federal courthouse before crossing into the River Market, where it ends at Third Street and Grand Boulevard.

McLinden and Kite Singleton, another Transit Alliance board member, think the Loop route adds several minutes and makes it less user-friendly. If MAX stayed on Main, it would still bring people two blocks away from Bartle Hall and the new arena, and also connect with downtown's biggest transit center at 10th and Main.

Mark E. Huffer, ATA general manager, insists that MAX will be able to achieve its goal of transporting a rider from the Plaza to the new arena at 14th Street and Grand in 17 or 18 minutes.

“About all these stops will be where you want to be, and with signal pre-emption and a reserved lane, it will be time-competitive with the automobile,” he said.

MAX buses will run nine to 10 minutes apart during peak times and drop off in the evenings to every 20 minutes, although that can change for special events.

Huffer said the ATA chose the station design because it fit within the sidewalk space available to the authority. The stations will be illuminated.

Singleton thinks the authority bowed to demands from powerful interests who could not accept being skipped by MAX. He thinks MAX could trim its twists when it arrives in the downtown core because the ATA plans to launch a circulator bus that will feed it riders from throughout the Loop.

In other matters, the developer of the Wallstreet Tower condominium project is reporting he is close to lining up enough reservations to begin renovating in earnest the 20-story building at 11th and Walnut Streets. Jason Townsend said that 74 reservations had been signed and that 84 was his goal before proceeding with construction.

A kickoff party last week drew a good crowd, including Mayor Kay Barnes and other city officials.