Last Thursday, the KCMO City Council adopted the citywide budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The legislative action followed the work of the finance committee to finalize last-minute budget amendments from various departments and members of the City Council. While the final budget document won’t be published online until next month, we know what it will contain with the amendments.
Thanks to your advocacy, there's good news for multimodal transportation:
- $15 million total for sidewalks and ADA: This also includes funding to update the walkability plan, which hasn’t happened since 2003.
- $4 million for Vision Zero implementation: This is a $3 million increase from last year.
- $44,000 for a Vision Zero Project Manager: The position will assist existing staff in the Public Works Department with efforts to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
- $3.3 million for zero fare transit: This will enable KCATA to offer zero fare transit for another year, but broader questions about funding remain.
- $581,000 for Bike Share: This will continue bike share operations in KCMO and will allow us to do some expansion.
BikeWalkKC couldn’t have done this alone. In addition to our members, we were fortunate to be supported in this effort by Sunrise Movement KC. They were vocal champions for Vision Zero and more funding for transit. While the continuation of zero fare is important, it is clear that more funding is needed to create a transit system that works better for everyone. We will continue to work with Sunrise Movement KC as well as the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance to determine the best path forward on this issue.
The next step: say THANK YOU!
This is also an opportunity to thank our champions on the City Council and among staff for helping to ensure multimodal transportation was a priority in this year’s budget. Especially for staff, taking the time to say thank you isn’t just a kind act for those who do an often thankless job. It’s also a chance to demonstrate support for these priorities and ensure they receive funding next year.
As we often say, advocacy is a contact sport. We can’t just wish for multimodal priorities to be prioritized; we have to show up and speak out for multimodal priorities with the decision makers who hold the purse strings.