Letters

Trainsplatting

Road scholar: Thank you for Casey Logan’s excellent article on light rail (“Dead in Its Tracks,” July 19). Kansas City needs good roads and bridges, more money for Truman Medical Center, more help for the inner city and help for its pathetic school system. I could go on, but we all get the point.

Light rail, new stadiums, more fountains, etc. — ridiculous! I live in the Northland; guess I don’t see the “grand vision” from way up here.

Margaret Murphy

Kansas City, Missouri

Hyde and seek: I would like to publicly clarify comments made by Casey Logan’s most quoted source, Old Hyde Park president John Gladeau. Mr. Gladeau mentioned a meeting in 1999 involving him, other members of the Old Hyde Park Neighborhood Association and Bob Berkebile of BNIM Architects. Mr. Berkebile has considerable experience on a national level in neighborhood planning. Our neighborhood was trying to conceive a neighborhood plan, and I had arranged for some of us to speak with him with the purpose of getting advice about how to proceed, where we might find pitfalls and where we might find assistance and guidance. There was never any intent for a partnership to exist between OHP and BNIM, and never had Mr. Berkebile mentioned anything about destroying the fabric that makes up Old Hyde Park.

Mr. Gladeau insists that BNIM Architects has no business being involved with the light rail study, based solely on the fact that Mr. Berkebile is one of the principals of BNIM. Historically, BNIM has had much involvement with the civic development of Kansas City, including the Kansas City Zoo and Union Station. If there is anything ethically wrong here (to use Mr. Gladeau’s words), I believe it is Mr. Gladeau and his recollection of the 1999 meeting. I am embarrassed by the actions of my neighborhood president, and would like to apologize for the blatantly incorrect statements made by Mr. Gladeau. Mr. Berkebile donated his time and resources to aide us in our neighborhood plan. It is unfortunate that Mr. Gladeau fails to appreciate this effort and instead manipulates the facts to support his own personal agenda.

Eddy Krygiel

Kansas City, Missouri

Taken for a ride: BNIM Architects’ in-volvement in the light rail plan and apparent interest in the redevelopment of Old Hyde Park is not surprising to me. I once served on a committee in the Old Hyde Park Neighborhood Association to help complete a comprehensive neighborhood plan for the area.

In 1999, the architect employed by BNIM, who invited Old Hyde Park representatives John Gladeau and Lois Daniel to the meeting with Bob Berkebile, volunteered to be on the committee. In July of the same year, the neighborhood held a meeting to vote on whether to support two adjoining construction projects on Gillham Road. Both developers have contingencies to buy parcels of land Berkebile owned in Old Hyde Park. The architect stood before the membership and strongly suggested they vote in favor of both of these projects. One would severely alter a historic home to accommodate a large banquet facility; the other was a group- home expansion. When asked by John Gladeau to explain his affiliation with Berkebile, the architect answered, “Well, yeah, I work for him, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” The members voted to not support either of those projects.

It’s no wonder BNIM involvement in both the Main Street Corridor Plan and the light rail plan would make Old Hyde Park residents suspicious of that firm’s motive.

Lydia Carson

Kansas City, Missouri

Fast track: The Pitch accounted for all the views on light rail but was unfair to architect Bob Berkebile and the city planners. Demonstrating its customary lack of cultural vision, the Chamber of Commerce has opposed the plan, asserting it’s too much money for too few riders. Mr. Berkebile knows that the real justification for light rail is the revitalization of the inner city.

Indeed, light rail has succeeded in other cities on this score. Supporters must hold fast on the advantages of development around the light rail stations or they fall into the chamber’s rhetorical trap. People who live near the proposed routes should take the long view. Gentrified inner- city neighborhoods need an economic anchor, or they may again succumb to decay and crime. Also, time is running out for the metro area as a whole. It is fast becoming a “Los Angeles on the prairie” where people come to make a quick buck before moving on to “cooler” places.

Craig Volland

Kansas City, Kansas

The great train robbery: Thank you for boldly printing the truth about the proposed light rail plan. It has been difficult, to say the least, to obtain information from the city … and we knew why. The city residents are being bamboozled by the power elite. Thank you for making the facts public. It is evident that another Kansas City publication will print only what it is told to print.

Beware the fabricators who dim the light so truth cannot be found. The Pitch should be commended for standing tall, turning bright the light and baring the facts for all to see.

This nation was built on freedom — freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of the press. It is good to see the power elite have not mesmerized the Pitch with smoke and mirrors. Remain the voice of truth, as you are few in number in this city!

Ramona Simmons

Kansas City, Missouri

Railroaded: Casey Logan and the Pitch have done our community a significant service. Light rail planners are the same folks responsible for sidewalks, streets, curbs and other infrastructure, which our neighborhoods need. Makes one wonder …

From the River Market to the Plaza, our part of Kansas City offers an alternative to the bland version of culture imposed by big developers. Light rail is not about transportation; it is about big development. Will the benefactors really be the residents and small-business owners who are the heart of our neighborhoods?

Dave Morris

Kansas City, Missouri

Road and track: It might be nice to have a light rail system. It also can be done without raising taxes.

Rather than pumping millions of tax dollars into laying track, the city could sell an easement for rails down the middle of each street. The corporations who buy the easements would invest private money in placing streetcar routes wherever they think there might be a market for mass transit. Competition will place the services where and when customers want them. The free market will also keep fares lower than the municipal monopoly would.

The next step is essential: The city must quit building streets and highways. For light rail to work, it must be convenient and cheaper than driving. Since only competition among transit companies can drive fares so low, the city must quit subsidizing individual transportation. Virtually without exception, private maintenance of streets has proved less expensive than “free” maintenance from Public Works.

The massive tax reduction resulting from this plan would attract a lot of job-creating businesses to the area.

But a plan that would make light rail work is precisely what the bureaucrats will never do. The power to tax is the power to destroy; the power to subsidize is the power to control. Power and control are precisely what planning commissioners live for. They would never even consider a plan that would put money in your pocket.

Unless we are ready and willing to do what it takes to accomplish it, a viable light rail system will never be more than a pleasant fantasy.

Joel Heller

Kansas City, Kansas

A streetcar named desire: Light rail opponents’ concerns are misguided and could destroy our best chance of building the transit system that Kansas City needs.

Their most powerful objection is that the “transit impact zones” surrounding stations are actually codespeak for a massive “land grab” planned by the KC city government. They believe that Kansas City will use eminent domain to force out homeowners and businesses and give away the property to developers. This “land grab” implies that the city is going to gut their neighborhoods and replace their homes with condos and office towers.

I think a more realistic outcome is this: Through hundreds of separate cases involving input from the city, developers and people in the neighborhood, streets having mostly office buildings will get a few more office buildings, streets having houses and apartments will get a few more houses and apartments, and gradually we’ll see a lot more people walking around in the neighborhood. Achieving this will require ongoing, active participation from all sides.

I’ll remind these folks that FOCUS is on their side. FOCUS, upon which the light rail plan is based, recommends that care be taken to preserve existing homes and businesses within a transit impact zone. If we do things right, the tax incentives could be given not only to developers who build a new apartment or office building, but also to an existing property owner who wants to rehab his home or building.

Come on, Kansas City. This is our best chance yet to get a world-class transit system that treats Kansas City like the city that it truly is. Let’s not blow it by wallowing in Chicken Little NIMBYism.

Neil Johnson

Kansas City, Missouri

Public Art Criticism

The art of the matter: In response to Kendrick Blackwood’s recent article on KCAI’s accreditation report (“Bad Impressions,” June 28), I completely agree with many points, though I was saddened by the poor review.

I graduated from KCAI with a BFA in sculpture in 2000. I transferred there after attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a semester. I couldn’t bear the sterile environment and fast-paced big-city life and came back to my hometown.

Upon arrival in the sculpture department, newcomers were greeted by unwelcoming upperclassmen who were possessive of space and tools. In sculpture, and many other departments, there just is not enough space for the students. What I don’t understand is why we had to argue over space when each student pays $19,010 a year and should be entitled to the same privileges.

The school administration keeps letting go well-liked and influential teachers. The advantages of working with the same instructor, such as the dialogue about the work and the discussion of any progress or regression, were lost in the chaos of constantly changing instructors. I wonder if the administration ever looks into why all these instructors are leaving.

If the school does lose its accreditation, what happens to the degree I put on my resume? Did I really get the education I paid for? Don’t get me wrong, there are many great things about the school: It is located in a beautiful historical area, it gives residents the opportunity to see what art and ideas are being generated at the school and it is small enough to promote community. I would like to thank those who encouraged and critiqued my work. It has made me a better person. I also want to commend those who were not afraid to speak their mind about the school.

Andrea (Bledsoe) Trout

Naples, Italy

Correction: Due to an editor’s error, a line in Mike Ford’s letter last week was incorrect. It should have said, “The thirty or more tribes in Washington State have had to deal with the likes of Slade Gorton, a Republican ‘Indian fighter’ who was, thankfully, beaten in the 2000 elections.”