KCATA improves maligned bus stop

This is a contest we’ll happily let someone else win.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has made sure its Kauffman Stadium stop won’t be winning this year's contest for the country’s sorriest stop.

The KCATA partnered with the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority recently to add a shelter and sidewalk at Blue Ridge Cutoff and 41st Terrace near Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums.

The sports complex authority added the sidewalk and the concrete base for the shelter since it was already building a sidewalk from Kauffman Stadium to Blue Ridge Cutoff to provide a continuous path from the stop to both stadiums.

The KCATA installed the shelter and the sign at the stop, which was moved about 500 feet north near the Missouri Welcome Center at 4010 Blue Ridge Cutoff.

The KCATA's new bus shelter near the Truman
Sports Complex.

“Thanks to this partnership, fans and employees headed to both stadiums will have a safer, more dignified experience riding the bus,” said Robbie Makinen, the KCATA’s president and chief executive officer.  “The upgraded stop signals to stadium workers and guests that they are welcome.”

KCATA President and CEO
Robbie Makinen visits the new
bus shelter Wednesday morning.

Last year, the RideKC stop at Kauffman Stadium came within several hundred votes of being named the country’s worst stop by Streetsblog, a national website that promotes walking, biking, and transit. We lost - or is it really won? - to a stop in Silver Spring, Md. just outside of Washington.

Not this year.

Our improvements answer critics who complained that the stop was hard to find and difficult to access because of a lack of sidewalks. Now, getting on and off the bus is a safer, more pleasant experience and easier to find.

The new stop received national attention in an Aug. 10 tweet from the Transit Center, a national foundation which promotes mobility.

“Sorriest stop nominations can lead to action,” the Transit Center tweeted to its 6,100 followers. “2016 finalist in KC has a shelter and sidewalk thnx to @RideKCTransit & @JacksonCountyMO”

Voting is already underway for a new "sorry" stop and we're proud to say we're not in contention.

The KCATA celebrated the new stop on Wednesday with a tailgating party before the start of the  Royals and White Sox game.

The stadium complex is served seven days a week by the 47 Broadway, which carries about 1,600 riders each weekday. The 28X Blue Ridge Express also travels to the Blue Ridge Cutoff stop, but with less frequent service and only during rush hours.