Don't Breathe!

[Nick Steady]

Where the fuck is our Light Rail?!?


Today's KC-area ozone readings could violate federal standards

Our Changing Climate special section (http://www.kansascity.com/changing_climate/) Area officials are nervously watching the hourly ozone readings today from at least two air quality monitors in the Northland, hoping that they do not violate the federal Clean Air Act.


By the end of today, officials will have an eight-hour average of the levels of ozone from the monitors. If the average amount of ozone during the eight-hour period exceeds certain levels, the area will be in violation.
So far today, the readings are grim.


Sara Croke, president of Weather Or Not, an air quality consulting firm, said that normally ozone will move out of the area overnight. But because of a lack of wind, that did not happen.


“If you step outside, the air is not moving,” she said. “The pollutants are not moving, they are hanging around Kansas City.”


To comply with the law, or get back into attainment, as government officials call it, will most likely cost the area billions of dollars. Industry will have to reduce emissions dramatically, construction projects could be delayed, and businesses trying to relocate here could be turned away because they would add to the pollution, according to the Missouri and Kansas ozone reduction plans. There also could be other restrictions on residents.
Once officials are certain the law has been violated, a contingency plan will immediately kick in to try to reduce the levels of ozone.


Meanwhile area officials are asking people to drive less and not gas up their vehicles or mow their lawns until evening, and to even curtail their barbecuing.


Area bus fares have been cut to 50 cents.


Also people who have respiratory problems, such as asthma, are asked to stay indoors.
| Karen Dillon, kdillon@kcstar.com

[Jack Masta Janda]

yeah... ask me to drive less? Is Mayor Funkhouser coming to pick me up for work today since there is no bus stop in my hood? I have to drive to a bus stop 10 minutes away to even get the $0.50 bus fare. NO THANKS!

[Benito Hussolini]

I just got a buzz from going outside!

[timmyruckus]

yeah.... I have to drive to a bus stop 10 minutes away to even get the $0.50 bus fare. NO THANKS!



kind of one of the problems w/ the lightrail imo. it would only service so much.....i dunno, i haven't really looked that deep into though, so maybe mass angles are covered

[iluvbubbls2]

The Rail here in Dallas is pretty cool. Its limited to where it goes, but pretty much follows a few major highways. It works when the bus systems pick up people and then delivers them to the Rail. It follows 75 and goes from Downtown to North Plano, which in KC would be from downtown to 151st. Then it goes through downtown and then all the way to Fort Worth.

There is a station a block from my place. It comes in handy, but too bad it doesnt run all night. It would be the best for going to and fro bars.

[Cyrus Ramsey]

Theirs a light rail commuter system in Florida called the Tri-Rail that runs all the way from West Palm Beach to Miami (normally an hour and a half drive). But since the stations are all on one line about 4 miles inland, and people live from the coast line to about 20 miles inland (any more and your in the Everglades), it wasn't getting allot of passengers at first. They then set up the lines to coincide with the various three county bus lines. Of course the bus lines in Florida service way more areas then in KC and the buses even in the slowest parts of the lines, run every 45 minutes, with ten minutes being the standard during rush hour. Regardless, you can catch a bus just about anywhere and pay for your Tri-Rail ticket as well as a return all on the first bus. The whole fair cost about $4. So for $4 I could hop on a bus at my old apartment in Boca, take it to the Tri-Rail where the trains run about once an hour, take the train to Miami and transfer back over to another bus or hop on the Miami Metro Rail to get to my destination all for $4 including the return.

That was in 94 before I joined the army, the cost is probably a bit higher now. But regardless it was a perfect example of how a limited service line could incorporate other public transit services into it and fill the need for reliable public transportation. My father used it every day Mon-Fri to get to work in Miami while living only 10 minutes south of West Palm Beach.

A light rail system in KC would have to incorporate the same sort of services to truly benefit those who would need to use it on a daily basis for work. In many areas of the city this is very doable, but in areas like the Northland where the majority of people work downtown, the bus lines would need to be expanded much further.

I am like Amanda in my hood. The nearest place for me to catch a bus is about a ten minute drive south. Their is one bus that comes semi close to my hood, but it only serves a small portion of the Northland meaning I would need to transfer lines twice to get to a bus that could take me downtown. But if I drive to the small bus hub at Antioch Mall I can catch a direct line.

If I am not mistaken the latest light rail plan would include a line that services KCI. That is fantastic to those who live in the Northland on the west side and work downtown, but those of us on the east side would still most likely have to take a bus all the way downtown if one is even in the area to do so.

Regardless of who and where the light rail system serves, it would still be a huge benefit to the city's population. If only 3% the the KC work force use the train to get to work Mon-Fri it would drop our air pollution just enough to squeak by the EPA guidelines. Further expanding of the line in the future could help to reduce the pollution even more. The main thing is make sure the initial line services the most densely populated areas of the city.