Attend the Neighborhood and Community Development committee meeting on Monday September 30 at 5:00pm at City Hall (701 N. 7th Street, KCK 66101) to ask commissioners to preserve transit funding.
Unified Government (UG) leaders are proposing cuts to two fixed routes in KCK to fill an anticipated budget shortfall:
- 18th Street, which runs from Quindaro Boulevard in KCK to Johnson County’s Mission Transit Center
- Leavenworth Road, which runs from the 47th & State Avenue Park & Ride out to the Legends
On Monday, September 30 at 5:00pm, UG Commissioners will meet to discuss the proposed cuts and they need to hear from you. You can help to preserve the routes by taking one of the following actions:
- Attend the meeting: Attend the meeting at City Hall (701 N. 7th Street, KCK 66101) to ask commissioners to preserve transit funding.
- Send in testimony: If you’re not able to attend, send an email to the full commission.
Read on to learn more.
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Like many communities in the Kansas City region, the Unified Government of KCK/Wyandotte County (UG) has struggled to maintain funding for public transportation despite clear demand from people who are not able to drive.
The UG used federal COVID-19 funds to fill a gap in funding during the pandemic and that funding has come to an end. Loss of funding coupled with ongoing revenue challenges is forcing conversations about budget cuts.
UG leaders are now proposing the elimination of two fixed routes in the area:
- 18th Street, which runs from Quindaro Boulevard in KCK to Johnson County’s Mission Transit Center
- Leavenworth Road, which runs from the 47th & State Avenue Park & Ride out to the Legends
The cuts on the routes would further shrink a limited transit system that already struggles to serve the needs of people in KCK and the region more broadly. Through our Transportation for All Coalition, BikeWalkKC has heard stories and insights from individuals and organizations in KCK. They have told us that the transit system already presents a number of challenges for residents and others, including:
- An inability to reliably get to good paying jobs in different parts of Wyandotte County
- Challenges with getting to medical appointments
- Students missing school and extracurricular activities because they lack access to a car and cannot rely on the existing bus system
The UG has difficult cuts to make, but transit services should not be one of them. Here’s how you can ask the UG to preserve transit funding:
- Attend the public meeting – Join other advocates at City Hall on Monday, September 30 at 5pm at City Hall to speak up! Be sure to check out the public engagement guidelines beforehand!
- Email the Commissioners – If you’re not able to attend the meeting, send an email to UG commissioners asking them to keep transit funding in place.
Not sure how to prepare for a public meeting? Check out this blog post with a few key recommendations. If you want to dig in further, check out our Advocacy 102 video which goes deeper into the topic of public meetings and public speaking.