By Tim Carpenter, Topeka Capital-Journal, March 03, 2010
The Senate overwhelmingly adopted a bill Wednesday dramatically expanding the metropolitan boundary of Topeka to grease the wheels of possible commuter service expansion in northeast Kansas.
On a 38-2 vote, the Senate sent to the House a measure enlarging the definition of metro area from three miles outside the city's corporate limits to 90 miles outside the boundary.
Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, said the legislation would provide the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority enough flexibility to consider adding commuter services to Manhattan, Emporia, Lawrence and the Kansas City region.
The new definition in Senate Bill 544 would enable TMTA to work more collaboratively with transit systems in other cities, she said.
A few senators expressed unease about the switch.
"Manhattan, Emporia and Kansas City seems a long way away," said Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick.
Schmidt said other metro areas don't operate with the same tight geographic limitation. A Lawrence company runs a K-10 highway commuter service, she said, while Sedgwick County has no cap on its ability to service customers.
"You could go to Texas or Canada," Schmidt said.
Since 1984, state law has applied the service-area limitation to Topeka's transit authority.
Officials of TMTA advocated for the legislation, which wasn't opposed by the Kansas Public Transit Association or the Kansas Department of Transportation. No organization or individual testified against the bill in a Senate committee.
"This in no way would compete with something we now have," said Sen. Kelly Kultala, D-Kansas City.