But it will take more than that to build solid Northland support, essential to voter approval. We need to see some enthusiasm for mass transit issues north of the river. Show us plans for the future. Tell us how the system takes into account all the growth coming in the next decade. Explain a detailed timetable for linking up to the Kansas City International Airport, the city's world transportation hub.
Perceptions are light rail killers in the Northland.
1 is that this system has been developed by people building themselves a Brookside neighborhood commuter line to downtown, people who don't really care whether the system ever comes north or not. This may not be totally fair and accurate. But it's a perception based on comments made in the past. Light rail proposals have floated around for a few decades, and Northland leaders from the start have had to argue for links to KCI or at least a northern depot. The old Interurban Railroad once linked downtown Kansas City with Excelsior Springs and St. Joseph, plus numerous stops in-between.