KANSAS CITY -- Because of budget constraints, officials at the Kansas City International Airport have opted to scale back an expansion project, shelving plans for a people mover that would have transported travelers from a future consolidated car rental facility to the airport's terminals.

The planned people-mover rail system and car rental facility were part of a $395 million bond package that local voters approved two years ago. The people mover also would have provided transportation from remote parking lots to the terminals. But on Monday, July 1, Aviation Director Russ Widmar informed the city council's Aviation Committee that the people mover's price tag of $243 million was $58 million higher than anticipated.

Plans for the consolidated rental facility, however, are still alive. The $60 million facility will be constructed at Paris Street and Cookingham Drive, a property now serving as a remote parking lot for the airport.