transportation

For the last five years, Kansas City has been transforming street infrastructure and redesigning roads through the Vision Zero program. Advocates applaud the progress, but want to see even more money dedicated to underserved neighborhoods.

Missouri residents today have even less say in their transportation needs. Last year, Gov. Mike Kehoe slashed the state’s Transit Operating Investment nearly in half, reducing funding to local public transit agencies.

Around 80% of bus stops across the metro do not have somewhere for riders to sit. Even fewer have a shelter. An interactive map from KCUR shows where to find amenities at each bus stop in the metro, and what the area transit agencies are doing to add more.

Testing is officially underway on the 0.7-mile extension, which will connect the streetcar to Berkley Riverfront and CPKC Stadium, home of the KC Current.

The city is giving the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority an additional $13 million as part of a contract agreed on in August. But the KCATA still plans to cut two bus lines and limit hours on more than a dozen others.

Rider demand is up in many communities, but there’s a gap between what the Nebraska Department of Transportation can fund and the growing needs of transit agencies around the state.

Johnson County commissioners unanimously approved the county's first ever strategic plan for bus, micro transit and paratransit services. It recommends focusing on increasing frequency of buses along a few key routes, reinstating bus fares and rebranding as "Ride JoCo."

About 75% of Kansas City bus stops don't have anywhere to sit while you wait, and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority keeps removing benches despite complaints from riders. Sunrise Movement KC is taking things into their own hands, but their makeshift seats may be removed as quickly as they're assembled.

During the record-setting 43-day government shutdown, Missouri Republican Rep. Sam Graves said he got a lot of calls from air traffic controllers — who had to work without pay, despite already being overworked and understaffed. But another shutdown could just be a few months away.

The Kansas City Council approved traffic restrictions to keep kids safer on the road after a driver hit and killed a child last month. The ordinance prohibits right turns on red in school zones during school hours.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said Wednesday there have been nearly 750 highway fatalities so far this year.

Kansas City has been in the national news a lot lately, including one surprising place: stories about the New York City mayoral election. Many national news outlets, most of them conservative-leaning, have zeroed in on candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposals for free bus fare and government-run grocery stores, and they’re using Kansas City as a negative example of both.