KC Star Rail:
As Kansas City lays tracks for its downtown streetcar line, a proposed Jackson County community rail system is still stuck at the station.
In his state of the county address Friday, County Executive Mike Sanders said he remains committed to the project, saying “our only enemy in this endeavor is inaction,” but gave no specifics in the speech.
In a meeting with reporters afterward, Sanders said the project remains without a timetable because of a need for more discussion with the railroads on whose tracks the commuter system would run.
He also put some distance between himself and his earlier proposal for a 1 cent sales tax to fund the system. He said only that should a deal be struck with the railroads, the county has the authority to ask voters for up to a penny increase in the county sales tax for transit.
But for now, he said, any discussion of a financing mechanism is premature.
Last winter, Sanders and the Mid-America Regional Council unveiled a $650 million plan to run commuter trains from Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit and others points in eastern Jackson County to downtown Kansas City.
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