The classifieds in this issue include 1 notice, 12 bids & proposals, and 7 job opportunities!

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) celebrated the beginning of 2011 by introducing service on its second MAX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, the Troost MAX Green Line, on New Year’s Day. The new line joins Main Street MAX, also known as the Orange Line, which entered operation five years ago and has seen its ridership double during that time.

The new BRT line will serve the highest ridership corridor in Kansas City, MO, operating every 10 minutes on weekdays and providing fast service to downtown, entertainment districts, job centers, and residential areas.

KCATA General Manager Mark Huffer said the new line is off to a great start, pointing to its use of green technologies including the city’s first park-and-ride lot with pervious concrete paving. “With new elements such as hybrid-electric buses, rain gardens, and public art, Troost MAX will become a national showcase on how to make substantial transit improvements in a cost-effective manner,” he said. “It is also a great example of the type of creativity and innovation this organization embraces.”

Troost MAX features real-time information about the next arrivals and traffic signal priority that keeps buses on schedule by holding a green light or shortening a red light. MAX uses easy-to-identify vehicles and well-lit stops marked with highly visible 18-foot iconic information markers.

For the first time, KCATA has commissioned original public art at three prominent locations along the new BRT line. Artists drew upon community input and local history to create their works: “Catalyst,” a large-scale kinetic sculpture designed to move in relationship to arriving and departing buses; “Unite,” which draws on the image of hands coming together, evoking a joining together or a way to cross a divide; and “Every Day I Have the Blues,” a sculpture in the form of an oversized piano with LED lighting, designed as a tribute to Kansas City’s rich jazz history.

Even though Troost MAX did not carry its first passengers until the beginning of the month, it has already received awards. The Mid-America Regional Council and the Academy for Sustainable Communities honored the line with the 2010 Sustainable Success Stories Award. The pervious concrete park-and-ride received an “Excellence in Concrete Award,” along with 19 other projects in the metropolitan area. Finally, GOOD Magazine named the line “Best Bus Route in America,” based on a nomination from a passenger.

The 75th Street Station on the Troost MAX line features a sculpture designed to resemble an illuminated grand piano

.

« Previous Article

Return to Top | Return to Main

Next Article »