1. The two-hour assembly attracted people with various interests in transportation issues, and covered a wide range of topics, from the prospect of a Downtown streetcar system to the future of KCI and potential uses for the Missouri River. | 2. Kansas City and the state of Missouri have a tremendous array of assets that, fully integrated and promoted, could make the region a global center of transportation, distribution and logistics.

 


KCI

Forty years after Kansas City opened its then state-of-the-art airport well north of Downtown, major changes are in progress.

As Sherri McIntyre explained, the direction that planners are taking right now is towards centralizing terminal activities. “The ease of use will still be there,” she said, but the consolidation of activities will greatly approve the amenities within the terminal and the movement of planes and people.

The challenge, as McIntyre sees it, “is getting the individual users who think our airport is perfect to see that we’ve got a great plan and this is a great way to go.”

As Michael Collins noted, post-Sept. 11 security demands have made KCI’s cur-rent set-up inefficient. It requires more TSA screeners per capita than just about anywhere. “So yes, it’s easy for me,” he said, “my wife can drop me off, but when you’re here to conduct business or move through, you want a streamlined system.” That is what the city is looking at right now. “There is an opportunity for us to be a nexus again,” said Collins.

McIntyre added that the city is on a five-year plan to replace the existing terminals. The planners know that the city is losing market share as is. “We’ve got to stop that and turn it around,” said McIntyre. “We want to make sure we’re a destination airport that people want to come to.”


Additional Assets

Dick Jarold cautioned his colleagues not to overlook Kansas City’s hard assets when planning the future. “We’ve got a lot going for us here,” he said. “The fact we don’t have congestion, that’s a good thing. The fact we have a great highway network, that’s a good thing. Yes, we need better transit, but I think we’ve got a great story to tell. This is a great place to come locate your business, a great place to live.”

Dan Niec agreed. He argued that one of the greatest opportunities in the region is to connect rail, highways, rivers and the airport “or any combination thereof.” He believes we are “geographically positioned to be a transportation leader of the country” given our two international airports, our impressive freight rail systems, the Missouri River, and our nation-leading interstate mileage.

“We have a lot of assets that we really just need to bring together,” said Niec, “to draw international attention to this region.”

 

Return to Ingram's November 2012