Transportation
Streetcar Ridership Up 2.6 Percent Last Year, Fed Shutdown May Delay Word on Expansion
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City streetcar rolled out of 2018 with ridership up 2.6 percent over the previous year and looking for signals early in the new year about its planned expansions to the riverfront and UMKC. The downtown streetcar attracted 2,114,886 rides last year compared to 2,060,327 in 2017. Overall, more than 5.5…
Safety Campaign Warns Scooters and Smartphones Don’t Mix
First it was avoiding streetcar rails, now a new safety program has been launched by Bird and AT&T to discourage electric scooter riders from using their smartphones while rolling. “Smartphone use while driving or scooting is a dangerous mix,” said Rachel Bankston, a Bird spokeswoman. “We urge everyone, regardless of their transportation mode, to stay…
Streetcar Keeps Rolling Toward Riverfront Without Federal Help
By Kevin Collison A multi-modal plan to extend the streetcar line to the riverfront, including a new concept to build a separate bicycle/pedestrian bridge next to the Grand Boulevard viaduct, continues to roll, but without help from Washington. The KC Streetcar Authority’s application for $25 million for the riverfront extension was rejected recently by the…
Shared E-Bikes Rolling Into Downtown Soon, KC Among Nation’s First
By Kevin Collison E-bikes are scheduled to begin rolling into greater downtown by Christmas, making Kansas City one of only a handful of North American communities to adopt the latest in “first and last mile” shared transportation technology. “E-bikes are really new, especially for shared use, and Kansas City is in the forefront of this,”…
KCATA Hopes New Transit Center Will Spur East Village Redevelopment
By Kevin Collison The groundbreaking for the $5 million East Village Transit Center at 12th and Charlotte is being viewed partly as a catalyst to attract more investment to a multi-block redevelopment area that has languished more than a decade. “We’re looking at getting input from developers for transportation-oriented development, possibly affordable housing, retail…we’d like…
Better Block KC Tames Oak Street in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison A stretch of Oak Street in the Crossroads will be a lot chiller through Oct. 27 thanks to Better Block KC, a “tactical urbanism” design group. Last Sunday, about a dozen volunteers with the group transformed a two-block section of Oak between 17th and 19th streets from what sometimes can be a…
Streetcar Authority Doesn’t Want Scooters to Wind Up in a Rut
By Kevin Collison They’re both electric, they’re both a cool way to get around downtown and they’re both on the same street. But when it comes to whizzing down Main, the Kansas City Streetcar Authority doesn’t want scooter riders to wind up in a rut–literally. That’s why the Authority is launching a campaign later this…
Streetcar Extension Cost Up $66 Million in Fed Funding Application
By Kevin Collison The cost of extending the streetcar from downtown to UMKC has increased to $316 million, up 26.4 percent from the previous $250 million estimate, according to an application for federal funding submitted last week by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority. Much of the increase is related to policy changes in Washington, streetcar…
Streetcar Authority Picks Outer Lanes of Main Street for Planned Extension
By Kevin Collison The Streetcar Authority plans to run the proposed extension from downtown to UMKC on the outside lanes of Main Street, saying it would provide a more pedestrian-friendly access and greater economic development opportunities. The decision to go outside rather than the alternative of an alignment down the middle of Main Street was…
New Streetcar Shelters Planned for North Loop Stop
By Kevin Collison The Streetcar Authority and the city are planning to upgrade the North Loop stop at Seventh and Main, installing full shelters on both sides of the street in response to higher than anticipated demand. The North Loop stop is near several residential buildings and parking lots that have become popular park-and-ride locations on…