Thumbs up for KC's streetcar plan
Yael T. AbouhalkahA two-mile streetcar line in downtown has the potential to be an extremely positive amenity for Kansas City.
The project has gotten this far thanks to a small but passionate band of downtown residents — and the pugnacious leadership of City Council member Russ Johnson along with essential backing from Mayor Sly James.
If all goes as planned, the $100 million project will be moving people in 2015.
Yes, I do have concerns about the proposal. It’s deplorable that supporters suppressed voter turnout by using a complicated (but legal) process aimed at generating only positive ballots on the proposed property and sales tax increases. And it’s disappointing that only a small number of downtown property owners will be financing much of the project.
Still, when the votes are counted next week, the good news is that it’s highly likely the taxes will be approved.
In coming years, the city’s plan should be a winner. It could:
- Spur development.
The fixed route down Main Street provides a road map for investments in businesses, offices and living units along a line which will start in the City Market and ends, for now, at Union Station.
The streetcar will deliver customers, workers and residents to the front doors of many buildings. People who won’t ride buses will ride streetcars, boosting their usefulness.
More people likely will live downtown. And — hallelujah — some ugly downtown parking lots may be replaced with apartments.
- Attract young people to Kansas City.
One knock against this city is the fuddy-duddy leadership that often balks at new ideas. One way around that is to embrace something cool, something that helps young people live their lives in an urban environment.
Many other cities have streetcars or light rail; Kansas City needs to pay attention to young people and their values, to show them that staying in or coming to the city is the right move for them.
Entrepreneurs of any age also want to be in a city that’s willing to take risks — just like they are doing.
- Move people.
Supporters made a brilliant decision by deciding streetcar rides will be free, at least in the beginning.
That will lure more people to try the streetcar. It will benefit the people who are paying taxes for the streetcar but also others — such as downtown commuters on lunch breaks. They will be exposed to the streetcar and perhaps see good reasons to support extensions to other parts of the city.
- Be one more strategy to create a modern city.
Not everyone supported a new downtown arena; critics said we already had Kemper. Or a bigger zoo, because the current one supposedly was good enough. Or renovations to the Truman Sports Complex; skeptics said it was just another subsidy for sports.
Yet voters appropriately embraced plans for Sprint Center, a first-class zoo and better stadiums.
Along with those and other publicly financed attractions, the streetcar will be one more way to make Kansas City a better place to live.
As with any costly project, the streetcar could go off course for many reasons.
Supporters must keep it within budget, even while streets are ripped up and old utility lines are replaced. Johnson said a large contingency fund will meet that challenge.
Construction schedules must be met so the project doesn’t get bogged down. This is a new amenity that will need all the good publicity it can get.
Future system expansion may require a different funding source. Good plans are required for who’s going to pay for that and how quickly it might come.
Even with a new streetcar system, Kansas Citians can’t take their eyes off more important priorities such as improving schools, reducing the high violent crime rate and fixing crumbling sewers.
A two-mile streetcar line is not a panacea for all that ails Kansas City. But it’s worth having, it’s worth paying for and it definitely will be worth using.
Reach Yael T. Abouhalkah at 816-234-4887 or at abouhalkah@kcstar.com. He blogs at voices.kansascity.com. Twitter @YaelTAbouhalkah
Edward Lebbon
5 months, 2 weeks agoAs a new upper middle class citizen of Kansas city tis is the kind of stuff that draws us in and keeps us here. Believe me we just left 2 other major citys for the lack of cool stuff. And we are finally in love with a city! And that city is Kc!!!! Go Sporting!!!!!
Phil Dearing
5 months, 2 weeks agoI am with you on this Yael. But, unlike the metro bus service it would be nice to have security cops on the train. It keeps the thugery down. No one travels on the bus unless they have no choice. To many punks. I just hope its not that way with the new rail.
Emily Catherine
5 months, 2 weeks agoI am surprised that anyone thinks that ‘No one travels on the bus unless they have no choice’ but it is definitely not true, in Kansas City or in other cities. Choosing to reduce the incredible shared expense of roadways, parking lots, and street parking for cars is a choice that helps to create dense, vibrant cities where people want to live and even travel to visit. There are many reasons we choose the bus, including convenience, parking, congestion, pollution, and social interaction. It’s cheaper for me to leave my car parked at home than to drive it to commute (and I can even do my makeup on the ride downtown). I would say it is much more true that folks rely on cars when they feel they have no other choice. Kansas City is so spread out, even in the core, and shortening those urban stretches of a mile or two (often filled with depressing parking lots!) makes an incredible difference in the day-to-day life of residents and makes all the difference in the world to tourists.
Sean Manners
5 months, 2 weeks agoThis streetcar plan costs more than the value it is presumed to provide. The main argument for the streetcar line is that it will increase population density of downtown Kansas City. Is there actual data to support this? It just seems like a stretch to assume that people will move downtown to ride on a streetcar for two miles. At what rate would this population growth need to occur in order for this $100 million “investment” to be considered successful.
Aside from that, this article says, “People who won’t ride buses will ride streetcars…” Really? This again a reaching assumption that people will magically begin to use a streetcar when they didn’t already take advantage of public transportation. I agree that a streetcar might be more popular than a bus system, but doubt the notion that a major expansion in the downtown population will occur. Furthermore, this city’s infrastructure is built around travel by car, so installing a streetcar will not invalidate parking lots, because people will still be traveling by car from the widespread areas that surround the city. Young people may very well use the streetcar to commute within a two mile distance, but what happens if they want to see a Chiefs’ game? They will require a place for a car in the event that they need to access something outside the range of City Market and Union Station.
The real problem with this initiative is that it misses the point. Economic growth will see a much larger impact if tourism is taken into account as much as the effort to increase population density. This method of public transit will be no more successful than the bus lines if the KCI is not included. Providing a means of travel to guests in both business and leisure will increase travel efficiency. I have not only goin it difficult to travel to and from the airport, but have talked to business owners traveling to Kansas City, as well as tourists visiting this summer’s All Star Game that were frustrated by the difficulty of traveling from the airport to their hotel, either downtown or on the plaza. Tourists spend more money at businesses because they don’t have the capacity to fill their needs from within their residence. They go out to eat instead of cook. They seek out entertainment rather than watch TV. There are the people that will bring revenue and growth to the city, and it is these people that we need to consider with plans to extend public transit, especially with an investment of $100 million that provides no direct return.