<strong><span class="subhead">Public transportation in KC</span></strong></p><p>It is funny how the great minds of our city government work. We voted in a light rail plan, but city officials, in their wisdom, turned it down. Mayor Funkhouser brought in representatives from Denver who told us to start with a starter line, so he came out with a grand plan for three counties that is going nowhere fast.</p><p>Now we have the Funk&#8217;s plan and a plan from the Area Transportation Authority and another from council member Russ Johnson. (6/22, A-1, &#8220;Keeping track of regional transit is tricky; Multiple ideas for a rail system exist&#8221;). They can&#8217;t decide when would be the best time to have an election.</p><p>I voted for the original light rail plan, but I am worried about approving a plan set up by this city government. They complained about the gondolas in the original plan, but their plans are turning into a three-ring circus.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>David Hooper</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Kansas City</em></p> Isn&#8217;t it ironic that while the buses between Johnson County and downtown are &#8220;standing-room-only&#8221; (6/23, A-1, &#8220;It&#8217;s a traffic jam aboard buses&#8221;), some of the mayors of the county&#8217;s largest cities refuse even to sit down and discuss a regional transit system.</p><p>While Mayor Funkhouser struggles to develop a transportation system with a suburbanite-abandoned tax base, the Johnson County mayors assume that their citizens are too good to ride in anything but their gas-guzzling status symbols.</p><p>With a sensible transportation infrastructure, our national economy would not be suffering at the hands of the oil brokers, and we would not be considering the need to tear up the Arctic Refuge. I worked 25 years around the Gulf of Mexico &#8220;oil patch,&#8221; so I know what oil production does to the environment.</p><p>I hope these arrogant, backward-thinking politicians get swept out of office along with the arrogant, do-nothing administration in Washington.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Richard Voss</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Overland Park</em></p> My wife and I moved to Overland Park in 2001. One of the first things we noticed was the limited public transportation system. We came from Portland, Ore., where light rail and buses networked through the three counties in the metro area.</p><p>That stark contrast sets the context in which I listen to the current debate concerning light rail in Kansas City. Although I don&#8217;t recall the development process in Portland that began in 1978, I&#8217;m sure some expressed doubts about the prudence and feasibility of the proposal.</p><p>You&#8217;d be hard-pressed to find doubters about light rail in Portland today. Four phases have been completed, with Phase 5 under construction. Riders come from all economic levels. Destinations range from work to shopping to entertainment to sporting events. Development flourishes along the light rail lines. Housing units near light rail easily attract tenants.</p><p>The public transportation planning begun 30 years ago made a tremendous impact on the vibrancy of living in Portland. I wonder how vibrant Kansas City will be 30 years from now.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Keith Schwanz</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Overland Park</em></p> I live in Kansas City, Kan., and read a lot about the light rail in Kansas City. Seems like the subject is bounced around a lot but not much is really being done about it.</p><p>I would like to see what would happen if our Unified Government would start developing a light rail plan to benefit our growing city and even include an intercity plan that would connect both cities from Village West to the Kansas City Zoo. Seems both cities could work together, and it would be a win-win plan.