As a follow-up to the last post, gas prices may save the idea of light rail in this city. After projections of gas over $4.00 per gallon this summer, wouldn't you imagine that almost any light rail plan passes this fall? I'm not sure that it matters whether it is a good plan or a bad plan.
The alternative is a city of people paying $4.25 per gallon saying that transportation alternatives are unwarranted. That might not paint a pretty picture of our collective intelligence to the outside world.
2 comments:
Our collective IQ aside, I'm not sure that any but the most rudimentarty light rail plan will get off the drawing boards this year, if ever, due to KC's rather unique blend of fiscal stupidity and racism.
1) So many things have been put off by previous city administrations (to include the majority of the current City Council membership)that the crows have finally flocked home: re-doing the combined water/sewage system will run 2-3.5 billion, some of which can be offset with bonds, but a lot will fall directly on consumers as increased rates. And it can't be put off - the EPA will see to that.
There are the ever present day-to-day maintenance items, roads (read potholes), parks, fountains, etc etc etc...
Light rail is not cheap - it would take (even with Fed matching funds) more money than the city's current revenue stream. Which would mean bonds etc etc, but the city has recently seen a downgrade in its credit worthiness in part to to the asinine habit of subsidizing andy swinging Dick and his stupid development plan in the form of TIFs...almost all of which -with the exclusion of the HomeDepot center in midtown- have failed. Faile din the sense that they are coming nowhere near to generating the revenue promised inorder to repay the city...
Now add our unspoken racism: there is no way that the monied interests intown are going to allow a light rail system to traverse the city. And unless we build a system that does, the effect will simply be a newer expensive transportaion system that repeats all the worts of our current bus system.
Loving our Hybrid that hubby & I commute together in to work.
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