Clay Chastain is popping up again on the subject of light rail. Actually, he's been clamoring for attention a lot lately.

   Today, he sent out an email proposing a Jackson County-only transit plan for the November ballot. This comes on the heels of a plan he proposed last week for a Kansas City-only starter line. And that came on the heels of separate regional transit plans he proposed in June and May.

   It seems the former KC transit activist, who now lives in Virginia, can't decide how he wants to save our souls.

   For those who may be interested in Chastain's ideas -- after all, he is the architect of the only light rail ballot measure to ever pass in KC -- here is a rundown of his latest plans:

  • May:  $2.32 billion Missouri-side concept, including 30 miles of light rail, 17 miles of commuter rail, a downtown streetcar circulator, plus fleets of hybrid and electric buses.
  • June:  $2.9 billion Missouri-side concept, with 32 miles of light rail, a streetcar line along Prospect Avenue, fleets of buses and designated bike lanes.
  • July 21: $800 million for a 14-mile Kansas City light rail starter line, a 4-mile streetcar line in Linwood Boulevard, plus electric buses.
  • July 29: $1.1 billion Jackson County-only concept, with a 10-mile light rail starter line south of the Missouri River, commuter rail, streetcar and "low-emission" buses, all connecting at Union Station.

   There has been no indication from public officials that they've taken any of these plans seriously (or were taking them seriously, until Chastain dropped one concept and went on to another).

   Also, keep in mind that Chastain's cost estimates have consistently been criticized by local transit planners (his light rail costs per mile, for instance, are significantly lower than the ATA's). In fact, the City Council took the unprecedented step of throwing out his voter-approved petition because it was deemed under-funded and unworkable (Chastain filed suit to overturn that decision, the city won and now he's appealing).

   That's our Clay update.