At two public meetings on Wednesday, officials with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority shared the latest work on a broad vision for transit in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
Around 60 downtown residents, business people, and commuters heard about changes to bus routes, efforts to beautify and fortify transit stations, and improved pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Last summer the public told the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority transit downtown is about much more than commuters now.
Chuck Ferguson, Seniro Manager of Planning for The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority says people want transit that goes more places and accommodates more people.
"For example, there is a lack of transit through the Crossroads," Ferguson says. "So one of the routes we proposed (will be) moved over to Broadway. That's Route 51. It would travel north and south on Broadway between 20th and 12th Streets."
Ferguson says the goal is to move people not only in and out of downtown, but also around downtown.
"We want to improve the pedestrian environment, we want to improve the look of transit — nice glass sheltered areas, comfortable and safe. We want to improve the overall connectivity with bikes, pedestrians, and the streetcar downtown. "
Ferguson says $12-15 million in federal and local matching funds will go to improve downtown transit over the next decade.
