Dia Morris, an alumni of the Community Transportation Academy, speaks with KCMO staff before the final hearing for the proposed 2025 budget.
The KCMO City Council approved the budget for fiscal year 2025 to 2026 late last month, capping off a process that has been more fraught and uncertain than in years past. As BikeWalkKC explained, the city budget has a critical impact on multimodal priorities for the city, funding everything from staff and equipment to key projects.
We urged people to attend meetings and to reach out to their councilmembers during this process, and you listened! People like Dia Morris (an alumni of our Community Transportation Academy) showed up to speak for neighborhood priorities and funding for public transit. Because of people like her and others who attended meetings or emailed the council, BikeWalkKC was able to secure some important wins for multimodal transportation.
Here’s where things stand on the critical budget items we were following:
- Vision Zero: KCMO has set a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by the year 2030, but without more funding, it will be difficult to meet that benchmark. Thanks to your efforts, the City Council doubled Vision Zero funding from $4 million to $8 million! This funding will be used for safety improvements such as speed humps, crosswalks, signage, road diets, and more. While funding will be used in areas across the city, most of the funding will likely be concentrated on portions of the city’s High Injury Network of the most dangerous streets.
- ADA & Sidewalks: Making improvements in line with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines as well as repairing and building more sidewalks was also a priority for BikeWalkKC in this budget. Because of your efforts, the City Council not only allocated $7.5 million for these issues ($5 million for sidewalks, $2.5 million for ADA from the GO Bonds), they also included $14.6 million for sidewalks around elementary schools through the Capital Improvement Sales Tax. Coupled with ongoing efforts from Public Works (such as updating the city’s walkability plan), KCMO is setting itself up to do more to support people who walk and roll in the city.
- Bus Service: The funding situation on transit has become complicated in recent weeks. The City Council adopted the budget with $77.8 million for KCATA, despite the KCATA saying they needed $117.1 million to avoid cutting routes and jobs. The City Council considered legislation to provide about $46 million to KCATA over the next six months, but there are some major caveats (including the suspension of IRIS ride share and the elimination of zero fare). Because of the uncertainty, the KCATA recently voted to begin cutting back on routes and laying off drivers. All of this happened despite the fact that the vast majority of people and groups who attended public meetings and reached out to council did so specifically to urge the council to fully fund transit priorities. Further, these cuts are coming at a critical moment, as KCMO is working with the rest of the region to prepare for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
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The 2025 budget process in KCMO demonstrates the power of everyday people speaking up for priorities they care about. At the same time, it reinforces that advocacy is a marathon and not a sprint.
We want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the budget process by speaking at public meetings, sending emails to City Hall, and helping us spread the word among your friends and neighbors.
BikeWalkKC will continue to monitor the transit funding situation and identify ways for people to get involved. If you’re interested in being a part of those efforts, consider signing up for advocacy alerts on our mailing list!