Northeast News
February 24, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — President Barack Obama’s administration is recommending $29.9 million for a new bus rapid transit line on Prospect Avenue, the region’s second busiest transit corridor on Kansas City’s east side.

According to a press release from the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority [KCATA], the recommendation must still be approved by Congress, including the money in the president’s fiscal year 2017 budget. However, the KCATA believes this is a major step toward bringing enhanced bus service to Prospect Avenue, where millions of dollars in new development are already being invested. The money recommended by the president is the single biggest piece of funding for the $54 million project, which also will receive financial support from the city of Kansas City, Mo., as well as the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

The proposed bus rapid transit line on Prospect will be branded just like the bus rapid transit lines operated on Troost Avenue and Main Street, which are known as MAX routes. The planned Prospect MAX route will extend 10 miles from downtown Kansas City to 75th Street and Prospect with connections to the rest of the region. If fully funded, Prospect MAX could begin operating in early 2019.

Last year, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority began its pursuit of federal money for the Prospect Avenue transit project, which will feature 51 bus stations at 26 intersections along the route — every four to six blocks allowing MAX to operate every 10 minutes all day to significantly reducing travel times — with enhanced passenger stations, digital real-time bus arrival signs, new and improved shelters, information kiosks, distinctive MAX buses and traffic signal priority. During that time, KCATA officials traveled to Washington D.C. recently to discuss the Prospect transit project with the Federal Transit Administration. The cost for the Prospect MAX project is estimated to be $54 million and these funds will go toward building necessary infrastructure between 75th Street and downtown, improved passenger amenities, upgrading traffic signals and purchasing MAX buses.

The Prospect Corridor is served by the second busiest route in the region, the 71-Prospect bus, with more than 6,000 passengers on a typical weekday. Prospect MAX will operate along 11th and 12th Streets into the downtown area and connect with the downtown Streetcar line. The goal of the KCATA’s MAX service is not only better transit, but to also help address the economic challenges of the corridor.

More work needs to be done by the KCATA to secure funding for Prospect MAX, but the its early success has been attributable to community support. In the press release, Robbie Makinen, president and chief executive officer of the KCATA, said they are grateful to the president and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx for recognizing what this service could do for Prospect Avenue. Councilman Jermaine Reed, who chaired the Prospect MAX advisory committee, added that a new bus rapid transit line will prove to be a transformative moment for Prospect Avenue.

“Millions of dollars of investment is occurring in the Prospect corridor,” Reed said. “Improved public transportation will both catalyze and capitalize on the area’s revitalization.” In press release, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver said he was pleased to see Kansas City be recommended to receive the funding since it was a project he worked hard to ensure for the city.

The KCATA also announced it will soon begin to hold a series of public forums to give residents an opportunity to voice their opinion about bus service. Everyone who attends a forum will be entered into a drawing for a 31-day bus pass. The forums are scheduled for:

•11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at RideKC bus, 10th and Main Transit Center.

• 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 5, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Volker Campus, Student Union Coffee Stage, 51st and Cherry Streets.

• 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at Keystone United Methodist Church, 406 W. 74th St.

• 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at RideKC bus, 12th Street and Grand Boulevard.

Comments and questions are also welcome through KCATA’s website at www.ridekc.org. Just click on the question/idea button at the bottom of the page. Customers also can voice their opinions on the comment line at 816-346-0300 or send an email to metro@kcata.org.