Don't let environmentalists mislead you, light rail is dirtier than you think

Whenever millions upon millions of taxpayer money is at stake things are bound to get contentious if not downright corrupt.

Light Rail is no exception even if so many "green" d-bags want you to think that supporting public transportation makes you a better person . . . It doesn't.

Anyway, the story here is that The Star recently got played in promoting one of many "alternatives" to Clay Chastain's stupid plan.

A recent article was a simple enough puff piece but the reporter (Kevin Collison) didn't exactly research why the KC Design Center handed an award to BNIM architects. First, here's the "important" part of the story:

The winning entry in a transit-oriented development competition sponsored by the Kansas City Design Center, a nonprofit group that promotes good design and planning. The entry from BNIM Architects, which is assisting Houston with its next light-rail line, was chosen from among five participating teams.

Well, maybe BNIM had a fantastic plan and maybe they didn't. BUT WHAT THE STAR DIDN'T MENTION IS THAT BNIM IS ONE OF THE KC DESIGN CENTER'S BIGGEST BENEFACTORS:



Or at least that's what their webpage says.

This is important because it's clear that companies from all across the nation are doing every thing they can to get their teeth into this deal that could potentially be a windfall. The contest "win" by BNIM could be used to put them ahead of the pack. Although, the prospect of possibly fixing a contest probably isn't a huge sin . . . It doesn't really speak well of their integrity . . . And it's not like I'm Kansas City's moral compass but then again nobody is lobbying to give me millions in public money. (Incidentally, if they did I would figure out some way to have mass transit in KC involve lap dances)

But maybe they didn't fix the contest at all . . . And I'm just jumping to conclusions. I'm sure it was fair . . .

Just to be sure, right now I'm going to hold a contest for Kansas City's best journalist . . . Okay, all the entries are in . . . Guess what . . . I WON!!!! There you have it, TKC is the best site for journalism in Kansas City. Awesome! Do I get a story in The Star now?

And maybe "fix" is a strong word but at the very least an organization giving an award out to one of it's biggest donors in a "Contest" without much disclosure other than a little known webpage is a tad unseemly . . . Hell, even radio stations have clear cut rules about employees, family and close associates winning their on-air contests.

The point here is that this light rail thing is going to bring out an assload of unsavory corporate types that are the antithesis of every green, clean, good hearted and hippie notion that most public transportation advocates want you to believe they're all about . . . But the truth is that these same folks invited all of this corporate intrigue and the inevitable shadow games that will follow as soon as all that transit money is in play.

So, it's clear that Clay Chastain's plan isn't going to work and it's even more apparent that the folks looking to replace his dumb design are nothing but sharks . . . In the end, it's going to be hard for this city to find somewhere else to turn and the only thing that's clear is that simply driving your car and avoiding all of the corruption that's a part of any public works project isn't something that should weigh too heavily on your conscience.