First Friday

[KCPowercat]

Nice didn't know you were coming like this weekend. Great weather. I didn't mean to indicate FF was nothing its just not getting the support from they neighborhood and artists have moved out. It's for sure taken on a disconnected life of it's own. Chiefs did an event there this week for example.

Yeah downtown on a holiday weekend Friday is going to be dead. I can't imagine any mid sized city that wouldnt be true in 2022.

[DColeKC]

Downtown KC was pretty dead most of the day with very few people, cars etc. Pretty typical when I visit KC.

But it nicely came alive in the evening. There was a lot of events, the Irish Fest, a concert at P&L, something at the PAC and even First Fridays related events seemed pretty active. I'm assuming all the people and random activity in the crossroads was related to it being a First Friday and not something that happens every weekend night. Whatever it was, I was not expecting anything for First Friday and while it was not as busy as I remember it, it was much busier than I expected since many said the event was no longer a thing. So downtown was generally really hopping at least tonight with all the events going on. It really seems like there is some sort of First Friday thing happening and it's somewhat organized.

The plaza area honestly felt pretty depressing. A few pedestrians, but again really very few people or even cars etc. That nordstroms site really creates a massive gap and needs addressed asap. Hopefully the Plaza will be a bit more bustling on Saturday.

River Market was pretty standard. It's really maturing into a nice district. But yes Alkai, lots of cities have similar districts to the River Market especially the boxy new apartment buildings there. I still think the River Market is a great area and pretty unique to KC, but there is nothing even remotely like the Plaza anywhere and it's a much larger and built up area than the River Market and worth bringing it back. That's all I was trying to say.

Yesterday was a challenging day downtown. About 1/4th as busy as a standard weekend with it being a big lake weekend. Not to mention a ton of things happening all over the city. Big concert at Azura, Santa-Calagon Days (spelling!) and the things you mentioned downtown.

[DColeKC]

Yeah downtown on a holiday weekend Friday is going to be dead. I can't imagine any mid sized city that wouldnt be true in 2022.

And you factor in we are 2 hours from one of the most popular lakes in the country, big challenge week for downtown for sure.

[AlkaliAxel]

But yes Alkai, lots of cities have similar districts to the River Market especially the boxy new apartment buildings there.

Every good city had an outdoor pedestrian mall. Very very few have the outdoor market with boutique surroundings adjacent to downtown & waterfront except Seattle. Streetcar is there too.

[WoodDraw]

But yes Alkai, lots of cities have similar districts to the River Market especially the boxy new apartment buildings there.

Every good city had an outdoor pedestrian mall. Very very few have the outdoor market with boutique surroundings adjacent to downtown & waterfront except Seattle. Streetcar is there too.

I’m trying to think of a city I’ve been in that doesn’t have an outdoor market

[AlkaliAxel]

But yes Alkai, lots of cities have similar districts to the River Market especially the boxy new apartment buildings there.

Every good city had an outdoor pedestrian mall. Very very few have the outdoor market with boutique surroundings adjacent to downtown & waterfront except Seattle. Streetcar is there too.

I’m trying to think of a city I’ve been in that doesn’t have an outdoor market

The outdoor market isn't the point. It's the combination of the outdoor market with the beautiful district for blocks around it, and an amazing skyline view. It has streetcar view. It's just the whole district that's one of a kind in a great way. When the north loop is removed it will be unparalleled.

[GRID]

You guys are overly sensitive. Comparatively speaking, KC is a relatively quiet city. Even if there is stuff going on or a holiday weekend etc, that doesn't mean the city should be empty, but it often feels that way. It is what it is.

Anyway. I honestly hit KC on a great weekend. Irish Fest, First Friday, PAC was in use Fri, Concert at P&L Fri, Concert at Tmobile Sat. Both Friday and Sat nights KC was pretty active and bustling when you go to the right places. Even the Plaza at least had some nice pockets of activity on Sat with street performers etc, much better than Friday. Not like it used to be, but not totally dead either.

Also, Downtown KC is really neat looking at night vs the day. It's lit up nice and just very attractive.

And the River Market. Again, so sensitive. It's a neat area, I really like it, but the general built environment of the area can be found in most cities. I love the River Market, I was just saying that the Plaza is more unique and I stand by that.

[KCPowercat]

I agree it is unique and it has nothing to do with the retailers as I said before and was told was wrong that's where it got it's charm

[KCPowercat]

Looks like you had a great time

[GRID]

Yep, had a great time in KC. Generally always do!

[im2kull]

Yeah downtown on a holiday weekend Friday is going to be dead. I can't imagine any mid sized city that wouldnt be true in 2022.

And you factor in we are 2 hours from one of the most popular lakes in the country, big challenge week for downtown for sure.

There was an 18 mile long backup on 49/71 S due to lake traffic on Friday. Pretty wild stuff. Can't imagine the car counts going to Branson and LoZ on Friday.

[shinatoo]

Yeah downtown on a holiday weekend Friday is going to be dead. I can't imagine any mid sized city that wouldnt be true in 2022.

And you factor in we are 2 hours from one of the most popular lakes in the country, big challenge week for downtown for sure.

There was an 18 mile long backup on 49/71 S due to lake traffic on Friday. Pretty wild stuff. Can't imagine the car counts going to Branson and LoZ on Friday.

People are sheep. Just look at google maps before you go. 50 Hyway to 13 and 65 was pretty light traffic considering the holiday weekend. There are a dozen ways to get to the lake that don't involve the drive to Harrisonville.

[GRID]

And you factor in we are 2 hours from one of the most popular lakes in the country, big challenge week for downtown for sure.

There was an 18 mile long backup on 49/71 S due to lake traffic on Friday. Pretty wild stuff. Can't imagine the car counts going to Branson and LoZ on Friday.

People are sheep. Just look at google maps before you go. 50 Hyway to 13 and 65 was pretty light traffic considering the holiday weekend. There are a dozen ways to get to the lake that don't involve the drive to Harrisonville.

It's the same deal with people complaining how long it takes to get into or out of Arrowhead, TMobile etc. You don't even need to use alt routes for the TSC, you just need to use all available lanes and you will get right into either stadium no matter how busy. It's fun to pass thousands of cars on the way into those stadiums. For downtown, there are so many options yet everybody take the same exits and sit in traffic.

[GRID]

One final note on the first friday / general nightlife thing.

As we left town, we did a drive through the city at close to midnight and I was quite impressed with the nightlife, especially for that late and on a Sunday night. There were several areas around downtown and westport that were still quite vibrant with busy bars and restaurants etcs music and lots of people. I really did not expect that on a Sunday night, especially that late.

So while KC does still feel sort of dead during the day on a weekend (river market being the main exception), it seems to come more to life at night, especially on a weekend. It was a weekend full of events and reasons for people to be downtown though.

Getting the baseball stadium downtown will really be a game changer for KC.

[KCPowercat]

The only really hub of activity on a weekend day is east crossroads. There are places to go in other areas of downtown but they are so spread out like a shotgun pattern you never see any sort of real people activity.

[GRID]

The only really hub of activity on a weekend day is east crossroads. There are places to go in other areas of downtown but they are so spread out like a shotgun pattern you never see any sort of real people activity.

"shotgun pattern" is a good way of describing nightlife in KC, but that likely applies to any city I guess. When I say that KC is dead during the day, I generally mean there are few people driving, walking, cycling etc. Doesn't matter if it's a weekday, weekend day nice day, cold day, holiday or humpday. KC is a quiet city in that regard. I always put what seems like hundreds of miles in just urban KC alone in just a few days and that's what it always feels like to me and to people I'm showing around.

We drove the Gillham cycle track from the plaza to downtown (actually to riverfront) and back and saw one cyclist for example.

However, I probably compare KC too often to bigger cities which I spend a lot more time in now, so I'm sure I'm not always fair. But IMO even when compared to peer cities like Cincy, Milwaukee, Austin, Charlotte etc, KC often feels like like "where is everybody" even during the middle of a weekday. Everybody is always offended when I say that, but that's just how the city feels most of the time. That's why I say closing streets down like Grand in the heart of downtown when nothing is going on makes that feeling even worse.

[KCPowercat]

I also think you hold KC to a higher standard because of how familiar you are and passionate you are about it.

[GRID]

I also think you hold KC to a higher standard because of how familiar you are and passionate you are about it.

Probably true as well. But because KC "feels" dead on the surface doesn't mean it is. Much of that is attributed to geography and having so many freeways and quick access to freeways and parking. So people really don't have to walk or drive very long before they are on a highway and out of the area.

Also, Downtown, crossroads etc is not very well tied to a greater urban fabric. There are not really many major through streets that go through downtown. It's all busted up by topography, rivers, highways etc. It's not like Denver where you can pass through downtown going from one part of the city to another on various major streets. Hard to explain I guess.

I have always been hard of how few people there are out recreationally in KC, but that is quickly changing for the better. KC is starting to get better with that. Berkley Park is a good example. I think the 670 park will really get people out downtown and if they build the linear parks on the river bridges and build levee trails, and more cycle tracks and improve PVP and start connecting all that together, then KC "should" really start feeling like the cities I'm always comparing it to.

[ericwyner]

And you factor in we are 2 hours from one of the most popular lakes in the country, big challenge week for downtown for sure.

There was an 18 mile long backup on 49/71 S due to lake traffic on Friday. Pretty wild stuff. Can't imagine the car counts going to Branson and LoZ on Friday.

People are sheep. Just look at google maps before you go. 50 Hyway to 13 and 65 was pretty light traffic considering the holiday weekend. There are a dozen ways to get to the lake that don't involve the drive to Harrisonville.

how many locals to an area or region use navigation?

[shinatoo]

There was an 18 mile long backup on 49/71 S due to lake traffic on Friday. Pretty wild stuff. Can't imagine the car counts going to Branson and LoZ on Friday.

People are sheep. Just look at google maps before you go. 50 Hyway to 13 and 65 was pretty light traffic considering the holiday weekend. There are a dozen ways to get to the lake that don't involve the drive to Harrisonville.

how many locals to an area or region use navigation?

I do every time I'm in the car for this exact reason, especially if I'm traveling that kind of distance.