SHOCK!!! JACKSON COUNTY EXECUTIVE MIKE SANDERS STEALS TOY TRAIN STREETCAR THUNDER FROM MAYOR SLY AND CITY COUNCIL WITH TALK OF ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT TAX PLAN!!!



For the moment, we must give a bit of credit to Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders.

To wit . . .

JACKSON COUNTY HAS THREATENED TO TURN THE WEAK TOY TRAIN STREETCAR TAX SCHEME FROM MAYOR SLY AND CITY COUNCIL UPSIDE DOWN WITH AN ALTERNATIVE TAX PLAN!!!

A story obviously leaked to Mike Sanders loyalist DeAnn Smith signals the fist shaking in polite terms.

Check it:

Jackson County to possibly consider sales tax to support streetcar plan

Translation . . .

WITH THE THREAT OF LEGISLATIVE MANEUVERING, JACKSON COUNTY EXECUTIVE MIKE SANDERS CAN THWART MAYOR SLY'S SILLY TAX DISTRICT WITH HIS OWN PLAN!!!

The money line . . .

"People are going to want more," said Kansas City Streetcar Authority Chairman Tom Traybon on Wednesday.

Traybon said the two-mile line, paid in part by a 1-cent sales tax increase within the route, can stand on its own, but countywide support would be even better.

"As a responsibility to the constituents in the transportation district there won't be a piggy-backing of sales tax meaning, if county has a tax, it will replace our tax," he said.

A Jackson County spokesman said the idea is to possibly have one sales tax countywide for a bigger transportation system involving buses, rails and trails and some of that money would go back to the city to support the streetcar.

TKC TRANSLATION . . .

SEE THAT MAYOR SLY?!?! THAT'S JACKSON COUNTY MESSING WITH YOUR SCHEME BY DANGLING THE PROMISE OF MORE CASH TO CLUELESS TOY TRAIN ENTHUSIASTS WHO ONLY HAVE LOYALTY TO A PIPE DREAM!!!

Now, we're also realists and we don't expect this rigged vote to be wasted. But to be sure, Jackson County Exec Mike Sanders clearly wants his part of this "victory" and is flexing a bit of media and political muscle to demonstrate that the County will earn a place in Toy Train development.

It's poetic justice really . . . The Toy Train Streetcar District was established by trickery and the vote was legally gerrymandered to earn an expected outcome. In this environment we can only look forward to more ambitious politicos fighting over $100 worth of taxpayer spoils . . . And this "win at all costs" mentality championed by Mayor Sly might easily thwart so much Toy Train victory celebration.

On the other hand . . . Maybe Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders just has a really good sense of humor and realizes that this news story sends a chill up the spine of every Kansas City Insider who understands the weak the structure of these Kansas City streetcar schemes devised to circumvent the vast majority of the electorate.

Links:

KCUR: Streetcars Off To Fast Start

Mayor Sly's Blog: "Kansas City is on the rise. A new Kansas City hey-day is dawning, and a modern downtown streetcar will be a part of it."

KC Biz Journal: Streetcar ordinances advance to Kansas City Council

Absolutely Incorrect: Downtown KC streetcar is now fully funded

Comments

  1. Proof that the inmates are running the asylum!

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  2. Its like people are starving and the mayor wants to spend all his money on a gourmet cake. But it seems to be a done deal now, the Funk killed off Mast, and this clown gives us a streetcar to nowhere.

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  3. Worldly tourists will now flock to Kansas City to ride the magnificent street car and cancel all plans to visit New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and other lessor and more boring cities.

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  4. This really proves to the country how smart we are here. ROFLMAO

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  5. The young people want it. Even though they don't have a single clue as to what they really want.

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  6. We need more density! (barf)

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  7. The reginal plan has been stumpedd almost non-stop since back in 2009. To act like this is a last minute media stunt, is in itself the same. Either we get mass transit in KC, or we will wake up 20 years from now and wonder gow Oklahom City and Omaha are more attractive than us.

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  8. Really?

    Here is Orange county Fla, where they are sporting 1,200,000 feet of available convention center for any and all events US wide.

    They do not have light rail.

    Here are the findings of a grand jury with respect to light rail.

    -----------------------------------

    The national experience with urban light rail systems' ability to solve traffic congestion, air pollution and related urban problems has been poor. The Grand Jury examined the last 12 urban light rail systems developed in the U.S. The Grand Jury analysis strongly suggests that Orange County will experience that:

    Light rail will have negligible impact on traffic congestion because it attracts few automobile drivers from their cars.
    Demographic trends will make light rail much less effective than predicted by planners.
    Light rail is expensive. The most cost-effective, federally funded systems have required subsidies of $5,000 and more per new ride. New rides are those riders brought out of their cars and into the transit system.
    Light rail is inflexible once in place. The OCTA's bus system routes are adjusted three times a year.
    Light rail cost and ridership forecasts will be erroneous and biased in favor of light rail.
    Light rail will not spur development. Development along light rail corridors is spurred by tax subsidies, not light rail.
    Light rail will not improve commuter travel times, energy conservation and safety.
    There is a promotion of light rail by OCTA in its public Outreach/Center Line documents and briefings, rather than a process of study, analysis and evaluation as to light rail's merits and cost benefit.

    The Grand Jury recommends that:

    The OCTA Directors be made aware of the national experience in light rail over the past 18 years and light rail's documented inability to solve urban transit problems such as traffic congestion and pollution. Along those lines, we further suggest that disinterested experts from academia be invited to provide the historical perspective to the Directors.
    The Directors instruct the OCTA staff to amend Outreach Programs to include data regarding the recent and ongoing national experience regarding the cost-efficiency and efficacy of light rail in failing to solve urban problems of traffic congestion, pollution, etc.
    The OCTA establish and publish in their Outreach literature measurable goals for light rail regarding the amount of traffic congestion reduction, pollution abatement, and cost effectiveness issues which will be used as "build-no build" criteria for the development decision process.

    ----------------------------------

    Here is the link

    http://www.publicpurpose.com/lib-orcorail.htm

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  9. FYI, the proposal is not for "light rail" which costs about $125+ million per mile, but for heavy rail which is about $10-15 mil. 1/10th or less the price. So, throw the right rocks at the proposal, not made up ones. Might as well criticize the plan because the costs of landing on mars is too damn high. About as much relevance.

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  10. Fucking Jackson County! Here we are in the middle of a world wide economic nightmare and these dumb fucks are dreaming up shit to spend money on

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  11. Although Sanders and the gang aren't admitting it to the public yet, they've already discovered that the railroads who actually own the tracks, have ZERO interest in passenger rail and don't intend to make any accomodation for it whatsoever.
    The railroads make their living from freight, so unless the train enthusiasts want to sit on a siding waiting for a three mile long coal train to pass, they might want to curb their enthusiasm just a bit.
    And the transportation planners have just conclued that the only idea that makes any sense, even to them, is a route along I-70 from Oak Grove to downtown KCMO. Considering downtown has only 10% of the jobs in the metro, that means that whatever the taxpayers would spend for this harebrained idea would be for transportation for some small percent of 10%.
    What a deal!

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  12. Headline:

    Reactionary internet suburbanites, scared of losing their precious parking lots erupt on TKC today!

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  13. Build it now or rot later. KC is already 2 decades behind on tranist infrastructure and playing catch-up.

    As the city goes, so goes the metro. At least JaxCo is smart enough to realize it. Too bad Clay, Platte and JoCo are still stuck in 1986.

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