26 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Kansas City, MO Star, 5/6/16:

 

 

After years of planning, setbacks, hard work, KC celebrates streetcar grand opening

 

 

With glorious blue skies as a backdrop and a crowd of several hundred people in front of him, Kansas City Mayor Sly James proclaimed the start of a new era of rail transit in the city Friday, with the grand opening of KC Streetcar.

Story

[KevinKorell]

KHSB-TV, Channel 41 in Kansas City, MO, 5/6/16:

Kansas City Streetcar celebrates grand opening

 

 The Kansas City Streetcar is celebrating its grand opening Friday and Saturday with a series of street parties and celebrations along the streetcar line.

Item

[KevinKorell]

ABC News, 5/6/16:

Kansas City Streetcars Making Comeback After 6-Decade Hiatus

 

Six decades after Kansas City shuttered one of the nation's largest streetcar networks, a modern but much smaller version is set to open in its central business district — a project supporters say already has spurred hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of downtown development.

 

A 2.2-mile starter line from Union Station near Crown Center to the River Market, a few blocks from the Missouri River, opens to the public on Friday. A two-day celebration along the route will include speeches, music, fireworks and carnival rides.

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[KevinKorell]

The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Acting Administrator Carolyn Flowers joined Kansas City Mayor Sylvester “Sly” James Jr. and other local officials to celebrate the opening of the two-mile KC Streetcar line, which runs through the city’s revitalized downtown area.

The line, credited by local officials with spurring billions of dollars in investment as it was being planned and constructed, is expected to serve tens of thousands of residents as well as visitors to the growing Midwestern city.

Related: KC Art Institute students to get RideKC UPass

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) helped fund the project with $20 million from a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant and approximately $17 million in other DOT funds. Since 2009, DOT has awarded $562.7 million to 16 streetcar projects across the country, including starter lines in Dallas, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Tucson, Ariz., as well as extensions to systems in Portland and New Orleans.

“Streetcars are an increasingly popular transportation choice for cities seeking new ways to integrate reliable, convenient transit services that connect residents to jobs and other destinations,” said FTA Acting Administrator Flowers. “By supporting the Kansas City Streetcar, we are helping to create a strong transportation network that gives people options and helps build ladders of opportunity throughout the region.”

In Kansas City, more than $1 billion from private and public sources has stimulated economic growth and redevelopment, including new housing, retail and commercial projects. Since the streetcar project began in 2012, the city has recorded 40 projects along the streetcar route, including a $300 million, 800-room hotel and convention center under development, a $121 million project to convert a 30-story office building to apartments, and the $37 million renovation of a vacated theater that will house an 85,000-square-foot community center.

Related: Streetcars make a resurgence in the U.S.

The streetcar service will also connect existing local bus services throughout the downtown corridor. The Downtown KC Streetcar line is part of a long-range plan to create a regional, integrated transit system to connect the Greater Kansas City area that includes several bus rapid transit routes.

Keywords

Carolyn Flowers   FTA   Kansas City Area Transportation Authority   KC Streetcar   KCATA   light rail   Robbie Makinen   streetcar   TIGER   U.S. DOT   

 

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[Sloan]

 

 

A slightly faster Kansas City streetcar is a better streetcar

Kansas City’s streetcars could glide a little more quickly up and down Main Street if a few tweaks are made in the coming months.

The city’s system has been a big success since it began carrying passengers in early May. More people than expected are riding along the 2.2-mile line from Union Station to the River Market.

 

http://www.kansascit...le86898777.html

Edited by Sloan, 01 July 2016 - 10:24 AM.

[Sloan]

 

 

Did an American City Finally Build a Good Streetcar?

 

Just when we were all set to consign the 21st-century American streetcar to the scrap heap, Kansas City comes along and injects a sliver of uncertainty into the debate.

http://www.slate.com..._ridership.html

 

Excellent photo of a KC streetcar!  Love overhead shots!    Sloan

[CNJRoss]

Metro Magazine, 9/20:
 

Kansas City's Starter Streetcar Line is Sustainable, 'Smart' Endeavor

 

Posted on September 20, 2016 by By Jennifer Schwaller and Christopher Kinzel

 

 

Photos: HDR

 

 

For any transit project to thrive, it must be sustainable for the long term. To be sustainable, it must be the right project.

 

That means the right mode of transit in the right location, implemented the right way. What makes each of these items right varies as widely as does the character of cities. In short, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing and building sustainable transit. Nevertheless, the broad strategies by which the right project is developed can be applied universally. Kansas City recently demonstrated some of these strategies with its successful starter streetcar line.

 

SNIP

 

Maximizing Sustainability
Kansas City’s codified commitment to sustainability is well documented. Among its adopted regulations are: a policy directing city departments to incorporate green solutions into projects and programs; an ordinance requiring building projects to achieve LEED Gold rating (at a minimum); requisite sustainability efforts for projects receiving financial support from the city; and a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% between 2000 and 2020.

 

Clearly, the city’s policies informed the design of Kansas City Streetcar. But beyond mere compliance, the city’s stance pushed the project to achieve more.

Jennifer Schwaller is a Senior Transportation Planner and Christopher Kinzel is a Traffic & Planning Leader with HDR (www.hdrinc.com).

 

More here.