NEWS RELEASE
September 22, 2011
Contacts:
Dan Ferguson, Jackson County, Missouri, Public Information Officer, 816/881-3271
Tom Gerend, Mid-America Regional Council, Assistant Transportation Director, 816/701-8303
Open houses scheduled to discuss future mass transit options in Jackson County
In an effort to gain public input on how to best enhance transit service in the Kansas City metropolitan area, the Project Partnership Team for the Jackson County Commuter Corridors Alternatives Analysis (JCCCAA) will host several opportunities for community comment over the course of the next week.
The purpose of each event is to discuss transportation needs along the I-70 and Rock Island corridors and to seek public input on transit options under consideration.
The first opportunity is an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 27, 2011. The open house will take place at the Independence Regional Ennovation Center, 201 North Forest Avenue, Independence, Missouri.
Short presentations will be given at 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. to update the public on the alternatives analysis process, which is a necessary step in applying for and receiving federal transportation dollars to help construct new transit systems.
To complement this formal open house, additional opportunities for comment will be available to the public. The project boards from the open house will be displayed at key locations in the corridors from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Project partnership and consultant team staff will be on hand to answer questions from 5 to 7 p.m. These meetings will take place according to the following schedule.
September 28, 2011
Mid-Continent Library
6131 Raytown Road
Raytown, Missouri
September 29, 2011
Union Station
30 West Pershing Road
Kansas City, Missouri
Last December, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded a competitive grant of $1.8 million to the project partnership team in order to study a regional transit system. The grant funds are being used to conduct this alternatives analysis along the I-70 and Rock Island commuter corridors as well as a recently completed study that identified a preferred route and use of streetcars for a starter line in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
The partnership team includes Jackson County, Missouri, the City of Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) and Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). The partners hired a consultant team led by Parsons Brinckerhoff. Also on the team are Olsson Associates, TranSystems, Taliaferro & Browne, KOA and Shockey Consulting Services.
Future open houses will be held in other Jackson County communities in November 2011, January 2012 and March 2012. Dates, times and locations for those events will be announced as soon as they are available.
For materials and updates on the commuter corridors Alternatives Analysis as well as other regional studies, visit MARC's Smart Moves website at www.kcsmartmoves.org/projects/jacksoncounty.aspx.
Please notify MARC at (816) 474-4240 at least 48 hours in advance if you require special accommodations to attend this meeting (i.e., qualified interpreter, large print, reader, hearing assistance). Visit www.kcata.org to access bus schedules serving meeting locations, or call the Regional Call Center at 816/221-0660 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays.
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