© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

In Joe Reardon, KC Area Transportation Authority Has New, Familiar President

Laura Ziegler
/
KCUR

Joe Reardon, the former mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, will be the new president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the organization announced Wednesday.

Reardon has long been a supporter and facilitator of both public transit and regional cooperation.

He won wide acclaim for winning the country's first Google Fiber network for Kansas City, Kan., and then for collaborating with Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sly James to leverage the high-speed network's benefits for both states.

“Public transportation is the glue that holds communities together,” Reardon said in an ATA press release on Wednesday.

The former mayor said he will focus on creating a more integrated transit system.

In addition, he said he'd focus on addressing the funding challenges that have been one of the biggest obstacles to metro-wide public transportation.

As Kansas City grows and diversifies, journalists need to listen to the people, to your challenges and successes..As engagement and solutions editor, I’ll make sure we’re framing stories based on what we hear from you, and we’ll partner with communities so our stories help us understand and connect to one another. Email me at lauraz@kcur.org.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.