North Kansas City, Mo. – Economic times notwithstanding, the mayors of North Kansas City and Kansas City agree the time is right for a startup of light rail. Both cities will have tax questions on next month's ballot. Asked how much a factor is a lawsuit challenging the issue, Kansas City's Mark Funkhouser says, one a scale of one to ten, it's a zero. Opponents contend the city council illegally sent the measure to the ballot as an emergency issue.
Northtown Mayor Gene Bruns says voters will understand that light-mass-transit is the cheaper way for them to move around. In his words, eighty percent of our landspace is industry. You and I are standing between two steel mills right now so a lot of employees come this way
North Kansas City voters will consider a half cent sales tax, three-eighths of which would be sent the A.T.A. The remainder would finance three stations along the startup route.