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Proposal to fund Kansas City's MetroGreen Trail system dropped from legislation
Sunday, January 29, 2006
According to a KCStar article, proposed bi-state funding for the MetroGreen trails system will be dropped from proposed bi-state legislation:
The Mid-America Regional Council is proposing removing regional funding of trails and synchronized traffic lights from a bill allowing voters to decide on a bistate transportation tax.
The legislation, which needs approval in Missouri and Kansas, would allow voters in eight area counties to decide on a sales tax of up to a half cent to pay for the transportation programs. An election in 2007 or 2008 is a possibility. . . .
He said the traffic signals and trail systems get some local funding and there are other ways to fund them, albeit at a slower pace than how they might be funded with a regional tax. Some mayors in the Kansas suburbs weren't enthusiastic about paying more taxes for trails and traffic management when their cities already pour money into those initiatives. "I personally have been opposed to having those items included in the transit package for two years," said Lenexa Mayor Mike Boehm. "To be adding that right now loses the focus of what the transit vote is about."
That view was conveyed to lawmakers in Topeka, where a draft of a bill with the proposed changes has been circulating.
"Our mayors around Johnson County thought that we had the trails already and we've got synchronization of stoplights. Johnson County would get no benefit from that at this point," said Rep. David Huff, a Lenexa Republican.
