The Kansas City Streetcar Authority is climbing aboard the latest effort to expand the line after voters rejected a similar proposal about two years ago.
Here's the newspaper publishing unquestioned hype . . .
"Kansas City Streetcar Authority board chairman Mike Hagedorn said Thursday that the authority intends to take a leadership position and “strike while the iron is hot” to propel route expansion south from downtown.
"Ridership to date (on the toy train starter line) totaled 656,882, with an average daily ridership of about 6,800. By far the busiest day is Saturday, but several board members said they weren’t worried that “novelty” rides would abate. Rather, they said, the streetcar line is fostering a lifestyle change for people who live and work downtown.
“The economic development angle is undeniable,” Hagedorn said of an estimated $1.7 billion in development that’s at least partly related to the line. But he also acknowledged that board members need to be ready to respond to members of the public who question the line’s value and long-term viability . . ."
#######
Of course there's not a lot of mention that most of the development is also taxpayer subsidized to the hilt.
Still . . .
KANSAS CITY TOY TRAIN STREETCAR ENTHUSIASTS SEEM EMBOLDENED IN THEIR GERRYMANDERING EFFORTS THIS TIME AROUND AND COULD BE WEARING DOWN THEIR OPPOSITION!!!
Last time around Mr. Peanut pretty much killed the project and it's not clear if opponents can rally the same kind of funding to battle another Kansas City secret tax election hidden away from a public ballot using sketchy mail-in tactics.
You decide . . .
would it be faster?
ReplyDeleteit'd have to be.
building it to go faster and be safe, that'd be a lot more expensive.
Crime is so low in KC we can afford it.
ReplyDeleteWhat will be, will be. Show must go on.
ReplyDeleteSeems...
ReplyDeleteit's not clear...
Everybody says weasel words are great!
We have one of these in Los Angeles - light rail system, much more developed. It is a fucking joke. They completed an extension from downtown to Santa Monica and are bragging you can go from downtown to Santa Monica in 50 minutes. That's what they're bragging about. The extension cost over a billion dollars. Much of it runs in traffic where it must wait for lights and also runs the risk of being hit by cars, trucks, and hitting bikes, pedestrians, what have you. It's a billion dollar horse and buggy.
ReplyDeleteOne can use the BART system in San Francisco and travel that same distance probably in 12 minutes. That's because it's completely grade separated, at no point does any traffic cross any rail line anywhere throughout the 45 stations. Anything less than grade separated for a metro area is a fucking joke.
San Francisco also has MUNI trains, but they were never designed to be anything except the light rail equivalent of buses. They don't have miles between station stops like typical light rail does, they run in traffic, except for the underground portions, and there are stops every one or two blocks on the entire line.
Dis be off da hook ! Now use can roll outta my crib , jump on dat train , & ride to the Plaza shit hole Diebels & steals me dem Bluntz !
ReplyDeleteWhat's a quarter billion between friends?
ReplyDeleteHopefully voters will ram a hot iron right up Hagedorn's ass.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel like playing games tonight. Good luck with your thoughts fellas...
ReplyDeleteif both presidential candidates favor infrastructure improvements, there may be a lot of federal money becoming available.
ReplyDeletethinking big, what would be a visionary streetcar system?
build to brookside? bannister road?
also, how about a fast maglev train to the airport?
and i70 needs to be three lanes minimum each direction.
But guys, trolley boy says the entire cost is being paid for by those who live in the TDD. And trolley boy would never lie.
ReplyDelete6:30, I have taken the blue bus from LAX to downtown Santa Monica many times, and the direct route bus to Santa Monica from downtown LA once. Both were convenient and cheap. There is no reason to add a light rail line to the mix, except to line the pockets of developers and politicians.
ReplyDeleteAnother advantage BART has over light rail. I've never seen a light rail with more than three cars. All of the BART stations are designed to handle ten! cars in each train, if need be. They usually do run ten cars. They've also built satellite lines running from adjacent BART stations to the two major airports, and are working on another line which will include a regional train station within San Francisco itself. Currently only MUNi serves the existing station.
ReplyDeleteit's true that graft and corruption are the reasons for your train, it's obvious to anyone with a working knowledge of subways, elevated trains, and light rail. If you really want to move the people of a city effectively, you grade separate your rail systems throughout the entire system.
Last three years...you think.
ReplyDeleteBend over, KC. The toy train is coming.
ReplyDeleteThe streetcar is the biggest scam KC has ever seen. It's really just a cash cow for lawyers, that's what Sly doesn't want you to know.
ReplyDeleteFace it, light rail is better than the streetcar. In LA they are already seeing the benefits:
ReplyDeleteExpo Line doesn't have enough rail cars for its surging ridership
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-metro-rail-cars-20160807-snap-story.html
Nah, biz as usual- seyz so right here: http://tonyskcstreetcar.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteExactly. Not enough cars. And it still won't be when all the trains switch to three cars, and that's all it will ever be able to handle It should have been grade separated to reap the maximum benefits from day one.
ReplyDeleteI like it, but compared to the benefits of BART for the community, it doesn't come close.
If it has half the economic-development potential that the backers claim, then it's more than capable of standing without public investment. Capitalists aren't stupid--they'll go where they can make money. And that's not along a Main Street lacking subsidized transit. They're making a lot of money along the starter line because someone else is shouldering the vast majority of the development costs. Not exactly rocket science.
ReplyDeleteProperty owners are bracing themselves for the largest property tax increase.
ReplyDeleteYoung homeowners are wanting the expansion, and are clueless...that is until they see their mortgage jump .
The special assessment will be a double wammy ,the sales tax is jumping up in midtown. Midtown may not be so affordable.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
ReplyDeleteWHY WON'T THEY LISTEN TO MEEEEEE?!?!?!?!?!?!
I'M A SUBRABAN WHITE MALE WITH THE INTERNET, GODDAMNIT!!!!!!!!
In the meantime buses run up and down Main Street faster than a streetcar and aren't costing $200 million and higher property taxes. So how exactly is the fixed rail streetcar considered progress?
ReplyDelete$200 million is a farce. Look at the prospectus.They do not have the total costs of utility and sewer relocations reflected. You will easily double and maybe even triple the $200 million price tag before it gets done. Wake up KC!!
ReplyDeletetriple? More like quintadubledepoopldey! The toy train already costed a gazillion bajillion dollars and it got it all from whatever you like the best!!!!!! Wake up tootemscootemdy!
ReplyDelete^^^^^And trolley boy musters all the resources he garnered in Coffeyville to rebut any and all criticism of a toy choo choo in the big city.
ReplyDeleteLOL @ "criticism". You kids are cute.
ReplyDeleteThe scam is to have people who won't pay a nickel vote to have others pay for it. Pretty democratic, eh?
ReplyDelete