Transportation
Police to ‘Educate’ Downtown Motorists Before Parking Crackdown
Updated with message from City Manager: Starting Monday, April 9, @kcpolice will increase downtown parking enforcement. Warning tickets will be issued for a short period, however, if the parking violation is a safety concern, or impedes the natural flow of traffic, a citation could be issued. More details here. Downtown motorists will have an “education”…
Final Local Push Underway to Extend Streetcar from Downtown to UMKC
By Kevin Collison The complex process required to extend the streetcar from downtown to the University of Missouri-Kansas City is nearing the end of the line, at least locally, with voters along the route now eligible to apply for ballots for the upcoming mail-in election. Beginning this week, registered voters within the Transportation Development District…
Dream of Reconnecting Downtown to Crossroads with Park Over South Loop Costs Much Less
By Kevin Collison A longtime dream to reconnect downtown with the Crossroads by decking the 1960s era South Loop trench may be closer to reality under a new plan that slices more than $60 million from earlier cost estimates. The study done by HNTB at the request of the Downtown Council and partly funded by…
Streetcar Steps Up the Pace
The Kansas City Streetcar Authority has more than doubled the availability of 10-minute wait times by better synchronizing its operations with downtown traffic signals. Tom Gerend, streetcar executive director, said service changes will increase the amount of time 10-minute headways are used from 25 service hours to 61 hours with the new schedule, a 144…
Streetcar Extension to Isle of Capri Casino May Be in the Cards
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Streetcar Authority may push its planned riverfront extension to the Isle of Capri, a strategic move that would connect the isolated casino to major downtown convention hotels. While the idea is still in the early stages, officials note the link to the gambling destination could bolster the city’s appeal…
New Survey: Streetcar No Toy, It’s More Little Engine That Could
A new survey of streetcar ridership dispenses with one myth suggested by its critics–it’s not being used as a free amusement park ride. Ninety percent were onboard to reach a destination, and 50 percent planned to spend money when they got there, according to the study conducted last August through October. Only 3 percent of…
City Market Begins Charging for Workday Parking March 1
By Kevin Collison The City Market will end free parking during work hours starting March 1, eliminating what had evolved to become an informal park-and-ride deal for the rest of downtown since the streetcar began rolling in May 2016. “What happened was downtown businesses figured out our parking was free, and people started letting go…
Streetcar Extension Plan Rolls into 2018 with Key Recognition from Feds
By Kevin Collison The planned extension of the Kansas City streetcar to UMKC received a preliminary thumbs up from Washington last week, allowing backers to apply for an estimated $100 million in federal funding this fall. Tom Gerend, executive director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, said authorization by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to…
Proposed Streetcar Extension Lures New Main Street Investments in Midtown
By Kevin Collison The 11-story former Netherlands Hotel is slated to be redeveloped into 110 apartments, part of a Main Street development surge linked to the planned streetcar extension. The decrepit Netherlands at 3835 Main and its neighbor, the former Monarch Storage building at 3829 Main, are part of a more than $30 million redevelopment…
City Steps Up Efforts to Land Trans-Atlantic Air Service at KCI, Invites Johnson County to the Design Party
(Updated to include time and location of Johnson County community design meeting. It will be Dec. 12 from 6- to 7:30 p.m. at the KU Edwards Campus, 12600 S. Quivera Rd. in Overland Park) By Kevin Collison KCI is broadening its horizons, stepping up efforts to attract international air service and hosting a community design…