Transportation
Transit Agency Offers Online Ride-Hailing Service Downtown, Plans Metro Expansion in New Year
By Kevin Collison An online, Uber-style ride-hailing service originally established for disabled passengers by the KCATA is being quietly offered in the downtown area to the general public on a pilot basis and is expected to be expanded metro-wide early next year. The program, RideKC Freedom On-Demand, allows users to download an app or call…
Kansas City Streetcar Project Wins Global Recognition, Passes 3 Million Rider Mark
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City streetcar project can add some international honors to the national recognition its received since opening in May 2016. During the same month the streetcar broke 3 million passengers, the streetcar was honored as Project of the Year in the over $50 million category at the 2017 Global Light Rail…
New Buck O’Neil Bridge Repair Plan Keeps Span Open to Northbound Traffic, Buys Time for Long-Term Solution
By Kevin Collison In a big breakthrough for downtown commuters, state highway and city officials have come up with an interim repair plan that avoids closing the Buck O’Neil Bridge entirely and buys time to come up with a hoped-for, permanent replacement. The proposal would address critical repair needs to the bridge between downtown and…
Tenth and Main Transit Center Closing, Opening Opportunities in Heart of Downtown
By Kevin Collison The congested bus transit center at Tenth and Main is scheduled to be closed within two years, opening up space for a potential pocket park in the heart of downtown. The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority plans to relocate the 1/2-acre transit center, currently a hub for 15 bus routes, to a…
Grand Boulevard Finally Gets New Stripes, but Bicyclists Believe Much More Needed
By Kevin Collison Several years after it was proposed, Grand Boulevard is finally going on a “road diet” promised to bicyclists who now hope it’s the beginning of realizing the much more ambitious “Making Grand Grand” plan. City Public Works crews have been painting new lanes on Grand in recent days that are reducing traffic…
Port KC Considers Extending Streetcar to Riverfront ‘High Priority,’ Backs Words with Funding, ‘With or Without’ Fed
By Kevin Collison A proposed $30 million extension of the downtown streetcar to the Berkley Riverfront could substantially boost development opportunities and allow people to live and visit there without cars, according to the leader of Port KC. And Port KC, which receives a big part of its revenues from a long-term lease agreement with…
Downtown MAX Bus Rapid Transit Route Going Straight, Celebration This Sunday
The downtown MAX rapid transit line is going straight this Sunday after 12 years in operation. The Kansas City Transportation Authority is shifting the popular express bus line to a direct north-south route down Grand Boulevard from Crown Center to the River Market and is holding a celebration in Washington Square Park to inaugurate the…
ULI Experts Recommend Holding Off on North Loop, Focus on Improving Highway 9 and Independence Avenue Instead
By Kevin Collison The North Loop freeway that divides the River Market from the rest of downtown won’t be going away anytime soon if the advice of a panel of national urban planning experts is followed. Bottom line, there’s too much easily developable land already available downtown to make it cost effective to redevelop the…
Councilwoman Says New Independent Poll Reveals “Tide Has Turned” in Support for New KCI Terminal
By Kevin Collison Kansas City Councilwoman Jolie Justus, a key player in the city’s effort to build a new airport terminal, said today an independent “sophisticated” poll commissioned by civic leaders found 55 percent of frequent voters support the project. “The data shows the tide has turned,” Justus told a meeting of the Downtown Council…
Beyond the Loop Offers Alternatives for O’Neil Bridge and North Loop Freeway
By Kevin Collison The public got their first look at a menu of ideas for reimagining the North Loop freeway in downtown Kansas City and the aging Buck O’Neil Bridge at an open house Tuesday. The Mid-America Regional Council hosted a study process that’s being being called “Beyond the Loop.” It’s considered an opportunity to…