Summary of Kansas City Streetcar- Long-Range Expansion

KC Streetcar Authority

Project Number:	1321
Organization:	KC Streetcar Authority
Project Name:	Kansas City Streetcar- Long-Range Expansion
City(ies), County(ies), State:	Kansas City, Missouri, North Kansas City, Missouri (Clay), Kansas City, Kansas
Routes, interchanges and/or intersections:	Independence Avenue, 18th Street, Linwood, 39th Street, I-70, HOA Bridget to Burlington
Primary Project Mode:	Transit
Supplementary Project Mode(s):	* Active Transportation * Transit ) Projects will likely include related pedestrian accommodations.
Project Purpose:	* System expansion (added capacity) )
Project Description:	This is a general system expansion project that includes potential expansion corridors for future consideration. This corridors are as follows: - North Extension (North Rail Plan)- Running across HOA bridge, on Burlington to North KC - Independence Avenue Extension- Eastern route serving as future replacement of planned BRT line. - 18th Street Extension- Eastern route linking 18th and Vine to Main St. spine. -Linwood Extension- Easther route linking major n/s transit corridors. -39th Street Extension- Potential western connection to KU Med center and KCK -I-70- Potential western connection linking downtown KCMO and KCK, and potentially interlining with Independence extension along reimagined North Loop -South Extension- General placeholder extension to serve southern Kansas City, Missouri.
Scope:	This is a general system expansion project that includes potential expansion corridors for future consideration. This corridors are as follows: - North Extension (North Rail Plan)- Running across HOA bridge, on Burlington to North KC - Independence Avenue Extension- Eastern route serving as future replacement of planned BRT line. - 18th Street Extension- Eastern route linking 18th and Vine to Main St. spine. -Linwood Extension- Easther route linking major n/s transit corridors. -39th Street Extension- Potential western connection to KU Med center and KCK -I-70- Potential western connection linking downtown KCMO and KCK, and potentially interlining with Independence extension along reimagined North Loop -South Extension- General placeholder extension to serve southern Kansas City, Missouri.
Funding Source:	Transit
Total Budget in 2019 Dollars:	$800,000,000
Decade:	Illustrative
Application Score:	102
Constrained / Illustrative:	Illustrative
Priority:	High
Adds Capacity:	Yes

Submitted comments

Please note, only public comments are available for review, which may differ from the total shown on the project listing page.

DP said...

Have a streetcar on Paseo Blvd from Cliff Drive to 85th St even extend it to Ward Parkway Center. Another idea could be to replace the Route 85-Paseo bus alignment from 3rd & Grand to Ward Parkway Center with a streetcar and have the Route 85 bus go to Cliff Drive. There is no transit from Cliff Drive to Armour Blvd/35th St on Paseo Blvd.

5/11/2019 9:56:06 PM

Tim Johnston said...

The Kansas City Streetcar is a great novelty mode of transportation downtown and it attracts tourists. Using the streetcar as an alternative to a real mass transit system will collapse because it will not be able to scale proportionality with the mass transit needs.

5/14/2019 9:46:10 AM

Sara Copeland said...

There is a great deal of support among North Kansas City residents for future streetcar extension. Our ongoing planning efforts, including Burlington Complete Street improvements, support future transit improvements, including potential streetcar extension. In addition, new development in and around downtown NKC would support and be supported by streetcar extension.

5/14/2019 2:10:07 PM

Lisa Kay Hummel said...

As a KC property and business owner, Id like to express my strong support for the continued investment in the KC Streetcar planned extensions. Especially in concert with bike infrastructure improvements and regional bus connections.

5/17/2019 12:25:12 PM

Tim Zook said...

I support expansion of the streetcar system, Particularly north to NKC, to the East, and to KCK.

5/17/2019 2:27:50 PM

Kevin Carlyle said...

I am strongly in support of this project. Busses are a great choice too but with increasing labor costs if bus use grows it will eventually cost more to add more busses to a corridor than laying rail and operating a train. Being prepared so the system can grow in a more agile method not looking at the system in terms of mode vs mode but what makes sense where. I make use of the downtown line and I would be able to access the system from an expansion north.

8/14/2019 11:46:40 AM

Liam Dai said...

As a northlander, this project is something that I would certainly use if built.I strongly support expansion of streetcar/light rail and think it should be an alternative to highway expansion. Cities connected by rail are cities seeing the most growth now and in the future.

8/16/2019 9:42:39 AM

Evan means said...

Young people increasingly want to live in dense areas and transit is a key amenity. Despite living in the Northland I use the streetcar every single time I visit downtown - quite often. If we want to attract young people like me and keep them in our city we need more than a disparate bus system and light rail is the way to go.

8/16/2019 9:55:56 AM

Alejandro S. said...

I cannot convey any stronger support for long-term regional planning of the KC Streetcar. Our system has been wildly successful so far both in terms of ridership and economic development. We need to not just double down but quadruple down on investment in the Streetcar as a connector between job centers in the urban and near-urban core. This project improves quality of life, accessibility and economic standard of living for those living along the line. I implore MARC to reduce spending on studying induced-demand planning for additional lanes and instead devote dollars to studying how KC region can best expand our excellent, clean and efficient streetcar system.

8/16/2019 12:33:47 PM

James Bibens said...

More streetcar is always a good thing. KC has been lucky to have a popular and successful starter system. We should keep the momentum going!

8/16/2019 3:05:01 PM

Jacob Lowe said...

The continued and further expansion of the Kansas City Streetcar system is incredibility important for the whole region. The current and planned system/extensions have demonstrated the great transit ability of the streetcar as well as the economic development ability of the streetcar. This is a high return-on-investment initiative that should be funded!

8/18/2019 2:14:43 PM

Joel Kasenberg said...

Im supportive of any expansion of the streetcar - especially north and east, as well as into KCK.

8/19/2019 8:09:04 AM

Anthony Hugo said...

Im very much supportavie of any extension leading out of the central spine to allow people to come into the city without ever needing their car. Not only will an extension allow mobility around the city, it will position KC as a regional focal point which will only serve to boost KCs economy and expansion.

8/19/2019 12:51:14 PM

Scott Walterbach said...

My young family frequently uses the streetcar & would definitely support all efforts to expand its reach.

8/27/2019 10:13:58 PM

Aaron Tank said...

Streetcars are proven, viable, efficient, and cost-effective mass transit options in cities across the country. They are not a novelty unless you have never lived outside of the KC metro. Large-scale expansions to the streetcar, including light-rail extensions further into Johnson County to allow commuters to use the system, are absolutely critical to a sustainable future that doesnt simply choke our city with more and more and more and more lanes of traffic and pollution.

11/7/2019 3:59:15 PM

Chris Stritzel said...

Expanding the streetcar system is a good way to connect different parts of the region to the core in addition to promoting development in different neighborhoods that the extension would run through. After a certain point though, Light Rail should be considered since it can operate at a faster pace than a streetcar.

5/23/2020 12:00:42 AM

Rob Bratney said...

EnterI cannot more strongly support expanding the streetcar system in Kansas City. I believe the routes proposed here are an excellent starting point, and further, continued expansion is worth strong consideration. I believe it is imperative that extension like this continue, and that they take the place of costly and economically futile highway expansion. The city already has more road miles than it can afford to maintain, and business as usual will eventually bankrupt the city. I would suggest KC could learn a lot from Portland’s streetcar and light rail system, where the two systems intermingle downtown, but the light rail moves from on-street rights-of-way to off-street as it gets further from downtown. This change in right-of-way allows the light rail to avoid fighting with car traffic, which helps ensure regular, frequent, and reliable transit for people further out. It is also important to consider that in order to best create vibrant, exciting urban places people want to spend time (and money) in, a streetcar/light rail expansion like this should coincide with updated land use policies surrounding all new stops that allow for dense, mixed use development and removes any minimum for parking allotment. Streetcar/light rail/rail public transit expansion like this will help set up Kansas City to be a more resilient, competitive, and accessible place for future generations, and I am strongly in favor of it. comment here

5/25/2020 1:15:53 PM


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