Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

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flyingember
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Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by flyingember »

So I was thinking, and it seems like there's a simple choice on the table that opens up a huge opportunity for the streetcar for a much smaller amount of money than most options we can do anytime soon plus improves access to existing jobs, improves the chance 20 acres in downtown get developed, and takes the train right to a major tourism destination and park.

Install single track from Pershing to just before Memorial Dr as a dedicated outside lane using ballast and ties, not a track slab. It's utilities, demo and quick track installation. Everything south of the intersection can be a full time closure because of no access impacts on the west side so there's no complex coordinating work.

As a single track it could still use the crossover at Union Station retaining current track design until money is found to go further south. Add a new NB stop at 2301 Main. (I don't ever see a NB stop on the other side of Pershing working out)

This would add half a mile of distance relatively simply and cut the work to get to UMKC by ~5%.

I'm guessing this would be less than a $15 million project, and that's small enough to self-fund or get a small grant to cover. Way easier than the hundreds of millions that went to a vote.

And Penn Valley Park is parking crunched. Imagine if hundreds of people have no car access to a major national tourism spot like the Liberty Memorial. A $15 million project doing yet more to sell needing a major new hotel is exactly what we need right now. I'd rather put $15 million into this idea than incentives.

It also would improve access to major events like Rock Fest. It changes things so people along the streetcar line instead of parking in the neighborhoods nearby.

Small steps with visible results will sell bigger expansion projects. Show how the city is being financially smart with the system design, not trying to do more than is necessary. Show how a dedicated lane can work in a low-impact environment so it's an easier sell going further towards UMKC
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by kcjak »

IMO you don't get much more bang for your buck by going to the Fed - only reach Fed employees and and handful of Union Hill residents. Go at least to 31st and the buses there. Or better yet, build a half mile of track between UMKC and the Plaza.
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by FangKC »

It's too bad that all the Hospital Hill medical facilities didn't get built instead somewhere along Main--say around 31st Street, and St. Luke's was built around 45th and Main. Adding to that, put Penn Valley Community College at Linwood and Main. The employment base from all those medical-related institutions, and higher education institutions, would have provided a huge potential base streetcar ridership--as well as provided plenty of tenants to build new higher-density housing for along the streetcar line near these institutions.

Imagine the employment and student base of the downtown loop, Crown Center/Union Station, Hospital Hill, PVCC, St. Lukes, the Plaza and UMKC feeding a streetcar line.

The other thing I've always thought was kind of odd was the fact that more big apartment buildings weren't built along Main Street between 27th Street and 47th Street--similar to what happened along Armour Boulevard. The only really large one built was the Hawthorne Plaza Apartments near 39th and Main.
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by flyingember »

You get the most bang for the buck by going just to 27th. It's the simplest place to take the train next without a huge amount of work. It's a stop at 20 acres that could suddenly double in value on the edge of a popular neighborhood and next to one of the densest parts of Kansas City. How many decades have they sat empty?

There's also a museum drawing 170,000 people per year in recent years.

One Light is a $80 million project. There's space for billions in construction in one spot 3 blocks from Union Station. I would think Hallmark coming on board as a key piece to this idea, though. But if that's realistic it's exactly what the city needs to see happen for it's rejuvenation. The taxes from these blocks being developed densely could pay a large percentage of an expansion to UMKC by itself.

Get that development going and the city spending ~1/20th the cost to get to UMKC is my kind of math. We need to find ways to get a bigger and bigger return on the corridor. To snowball the return.

And that hill is one of the major barriers in the city. Helping bridge is opens up the park and eases access to Union Hill from downtown without a car
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by JBmidtown »

Making small half mile expansions every few years and then using revenue from the development spawned by these expansions is probably the most clever idea I've heard so far. Each push would come with a price tag most people can chew on and it could allow the streetcar to slowly creep into corridors that would normally be antagonistic towards a large, comprehensive package. Best of all, it's economically sound and is versatile enough to allow the city to follow trends of AND promote new development and density. I'll take that kind of organic growth over massive planning anyday and I think most Kansas Citians would too.
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by JBmidtown »

Someone make a proposal!
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by DaveKCMO »

the reason you'd want to nudge further south is to trigger development at 27th street. however, you'd run into an equity issue because you're providing an amenity to the federal reserve without assessing them. to expand the district's assessment boundary you'd need a new vote.

anything further south should be center-running (but not dedicated ROW) because the character of the street is different and traffic volumes are higher. both charlotte, new orleans, and DC are doing this on segments of their new routes.
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by Pork Chop »

DaveKCMO wrote: anything further south should be center-running (but not dedicated ROW) because the character of the street is different and traffic volumes are higher. both charlotte, new orleans, and DC are doing this on segments of their new routes.
So, something like below, but not dedicated?

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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by JBmidtown »

but...Main would still be reduced to two lanes each way, right? and the size of the street and the center running would give the streetcar an almost right of way running anyways. Would parking be outright banned on Main? Because it should. Also, what would the stations/stops look like?
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by Eon Blue »

I'd rather see Main with exclusive center-running lanes, one traffic lane each direction and then buffered bike lanes in the remainder. Let the cars either turn into transit riders, bike riders or use another N-S corridor like SW Tfwy, Broadway, Gillham, Troost or Paseo.
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by DaveKCMO »

you could also restore the two-way grid through midtown to alleviate pressure on the arterials. cars or bikes shouldn't have to go blocks out of their way to go short distances. one-way streets suck and should be undone wherever possible.
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by pash »

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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by smh »

Eon Blue wrote:I'd rather see Main with exclusive center-running lanes, one traffic lane each direction and then buffered bike lanes in the remainder. Let the cars either turn into transit riders, bike riders or use another N-S corridor like SW Tfwy, Broadway, Gillham, Troost or Paseo.
Testify!
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by pash »

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flyingember
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Re: Streetcar phase 1.5- single track to Federal reserve

Post by flyingember »

pash wrote:
DaveKCMO wrote:anything further south should be center-running (but not dedicated ROW) because the character of the street is different and traffic volumes are higher.
What's the advantage to running in the center when you don't have a dedicated right-of-way?
Straighter is easier to engineer, downtown has a lot of weaving. You don't take any parking so there's less fighting over that. Stops don't take away sidewalk space.

I could see doing this same three blocks in a dedicated center lane where SB would stay. It's one of the few places without parking on Main and no need for it, ever, so there's a lane to take. The concept still works done this way.
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