TKC SUNDAY SPECIAL!!! KANSAS CITY TOY TRAIN STREETCAR FAILS FIRST BOUT WITH ICE, SNOW AND MIDWEST COLD WEATHER!!!
Typical Kansas City December ice, snow and freezing temperatures proved too much for the Downtown streetcar which was forced to shut down most of this weekend and enjoyed very few riders while much more reliable bus transit was forced to pick up the slack.
The rider alert from last night noted the toy train was suspended early in the evening . . . Sunday morning rides won't start until around 10 in the AM.
Take a look at the FAIL from straight from the KC Streetcar authority:
A note from our blog community . . .
"Please remind your readers to take the bus when there is an inch or so of snow. The streetcar has stopped dead in its tracks."
Roundup of the weather . . .
- The ice was typical for December in Kansas City.
- The snow was only a few inches at most.
- It has been much colder over the years in KCMO. The temperatures are in no way historically frigid.
And all of this reveals . . .
THE KANSAS CITY STREETCAR FAILED ITS FIRST COLD WEATHER TEST AS THIS FAKE TRANSIT WAS FORCED TO DEPEND ON MUCH MORE RELIABLE BUS SERVICE LIKE MOST OF KANSAS CITY!!!
More to the point . . .
IF THE STREETCAR CAN'T RUN IN THE COLD, SNOW AND ICE LIKE THE BUSES . . . IT'S REALLY NOTHING MORE THAN A TOY TRAIN!!!
Parting shot for the cheap seats . . .
THE KANSAS CITY TOY TRAIN STREETCAR HAS BEEN CONFRONTED WITH CONSTANT BREAKDOWNS BUT THIS WINTER WEATHER FAIL SHOULD STOP EXPANSION TALK DEAD IN ITS TRACKS UNTIL THE THIS EXPENSIVE MODE OF TRANSIT BECOMES MORE RELIABLE!!!
At the risk of coming off like a curmudgeon . . . This is why Kansas City should have purchased AMERICAN streetcars given that these fancy Spanish toy trains will always have difficulty accommodating super-sized Midwestern Winter blasts.
Kansas City has put down more than $150 MILLION for one of the most expensive streetcar lines in the nation and now we discover that it's not even as reliable as so many beat up old school Chevy trucks which navigated local streets this weekend far more successfully.
In the final analysis, Streetcar cheerleaders must address the issue of dependability and toy train FAIL on this front if their expansion efforts are to be taken seriously.
You decide . . .
All we need to keep the streetcar packed is parties, lots of press and a new line every year. That should do the trick.
ReplyDeleteKeep it frosty!
Streetcar deserves a chance to prove itself. Maybe the mistakes from this episode will help the KC streetcar authority learn from its mistakes and make better accommodations next time around. I should remind you that the buses are part of the streetcar link and they were always intended to feed traffic into the line. This isn't an absolute "fail" as you say but an example that the streetcar has a contingency plan when things go wrong.
DeleteIt's a party train. The buses are when we really need to move people. That's the whole point. My question is, were the buses free like the streetcar? Why should some lines get free bus fare and others have to pay based only on location. That is not fair to all the ATA riders.
Delete7:24: WHAT next time?
ReplyDeleteI'm not against the streetcar as an idea but this proves time & time again how the gerrymandered elections make for poor results. KC citizens are willing to be taxed for all kinds of things but not this because the plan sucked. From putting it into traffic, it's inability to move ppl at a size and pace commiserate with rail based transit. Just fail after fail. Now they will expand it with similar gerrymandering. Let's see if they at least learned any lessons or if they are going to double down on stupid
ReplyDeleteFantastic. See you guys at the streetcar expansion groundbreaking
ReplyDeleteWOW!! Buses. Who would of thought of those old things for transportation.
ReplyDeleteAlmost as epic as this classic fail:
ReplyDeletehttp://willnotbetelevised.com/tag/tkc-forced-to-settle-in-court/
https://mediakc.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/tony-botello-offers-apology-retraction-for-stories-about-union-boss-louie-wright/
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article306941/Tonys-Kansas-City-blogger-retracts-posts-apologizes-to-former-head-of-KC-firefighters-union.html
http://www.pitch.com/news/article/20572966/louie-wright-union-head-sues-tony-botello-for-defamation
Old news. Weak sauce.
DeleteWill someone please explain why a streetcar is better than a bus?
ReplyDeleteThem mail in elections is really sumptin!
ReplyDeleteIf there is a streetcar expansion groundbreaking, it will be because the self interest of the power players and politicians triumphed over common sense and the public weal...again.
ReplyDelete8:38: It's much better than buses for the contractors who build it and the people who get jobs running it. For everyone else, especially taxpayers, not so much.
ReplyDeleteWorks perfect for me when I go downtown to Power and Light or a ballet at Kauffman, something I know that the subhuman internet trolls like you wouldn't understand.
DeleteHey, do me a favor and call your MO state rep and petition for me to get a big fat pay raise. I deserve it.
M-I-Z
is anyone surprised? I'm not. I have been saying from the beginning, just wait until the first snow or ice storm. Unfortunately it is too late to fix it to work in very cold weather. the problem is a major flaw in the design. The Spanish streetcars were designed for Spanish weather, not KC weather.
ReplyDeleteDesign? If I had designed it, it would be the best system ever. We Mizzou engineer grads are too smart to make mistakes.
DeleteNow these same people want $800 million. What do you think they will spend it on?
ReplyDelete8:28 a prime example of the kind of asshole who votes for toy trains people like Sly and Hillary posting shit everybody knows the real truth about while they don't.
ReplyDeleteI would have voted for it if I lived in KC. I certainly do ride it to Power and Light when I visit downtown every chance I get- just to piss you off.
DeleteM-I-Z
Spanish Street cars are not the problem -- It is the great engineering firms who signed off on the streetcar plans. The guys who are always in line with their hands out promising "First Class City". I can hear the laughter from Minneapolis and Denver who run "A WELL ENGINEERED" system all winter. Wait until the first street car SLIDES down the Main Street Hill to the fountain. Wait until the media starts telling us how easy it is to run a streetcar UP the Main Street Hill. Lets get a KITE to tell us how efficient, and economical fixed rail is.
ReplyDeleteJust get in your car and drive, and be sure to fill up in Missouri. I need the revenue and a pay raise.
ReplyDeleteM-I-Z
Although I don't fully understand what Mr Stoplights is hoping to accomplish around these parts, I have to grudgingly respect his commitment to his craft.
ReplyDeleteMr Stoplight proves how easy it is for an asshole/idiot to get a job with the state.
ReplyDeleteIf I was his boss and knew he was posting shit like this in here I'd fire his ass first thing in the morning. It's okay to speak your mind, just don't be an asshole about it.
You won't do anything to me and you know it. Read this link here. This is what kind of power we Mizzou people have.
Deletehttp://www.mutigers.com/news/2016/12/16/football-south-end-zone-facility-project-continues-to-take-shape.aspx?path=football
Truth hurts, doesn't it?
If this blog community thinks it's so tough and powerful, start your imaginary "petition" to get rid of me just like you "petitioned" to get rid of the water slide (which we know was total BS).
You know who I am (or at least you think you do) so prove it.
It is now 1:45 pm on Sunday, the sun is out and the streetcar is still not running. What are the hobos going to do to keep warm this winter if their mobile homeless shelter is not functioning?
ReplyDeleteFROM THE VERY BEGINNING, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CLUES THAT THE TOY-TRAIN WAS A MISTAKE?
ReplyDelete1) Politicos went on an out-of-town junket and lifted the idea from "hip Portland", attempting to copy what works elsewhere instead of focusing on what works for KC.
2) A fixed-rail project to serve a small area makes no sense. Why in the world would you dig up the streets, and underground infrastructure, to install a mode of transportation incapable of turning corners whenever necessary?
3) The Toy-Train necessitated the creation of a new bureaucracy, The Streetcar Authority, at a time when government should be seriously trimming the fat, not adding it.
4) Does a railroad lay tracks over unstable, hollowed-out ground? Not if they're smart. What's going to happen when the inevitable sinkhole opens underneath part of the ToyTrain line? The entire system will become inoperable until expensive, time-consuming repairs can be made.
5) Whereas a bus can modify it's route as needed to detour around fires, building collapses, police stand-offs, vehicle accidents, water pipe breaks, etc., a ToyTrain riding a fixed-rail is like a crowded building with only one narrow exit.
6) Residents said they didn't want a ToyTrain, and especially didn't want to pay for it. They were ignored.
7) It's free to ride. It's a simple well-known fact that people tend not to value what's given to them for free. If City Hall gave away hamburgers on Tuesdays, people would quickly come to feel entitled to those hamburgers, begin complaining about their quality, and many would then shun the burgers because free hamburgers must be made with tainted meat.
8) Keep government out of the picture if at all possible. If downtown needed a streetcar system, and investors could make a profit by constructing and operating one, then that would have happened on it's own. The same is true for the ill-fated convention center hotel, a new airport terminal, a wealthy engineering firm's headquarters expansion, a luxury hotel on the Plaza, or a sports stadium for a private professional team. Let private enterprise do it's thing, and keep government out of it.
What will probably happen is that the city will now throw more money at this like they're doing with the jazz district. It's nice to talk about free market government but unless one is a player in the political back room deals, nothing will change.
ReplyDeleteNow they want to extend the streetcar to Riverfront Park, and possibly to the Isle of Casino. Good. Keep it going in that direction with no street traffic, but not on Main Street. And let the developers and the Casino pay for it.
ReplyDeleteBuses have ZERO problems in inclement weather. Also highways and roads and cars function perfectly. Also, lots of important people read this site and there are hundreds, even thousands of commenters and many tastemakers and power players. And they totally live in Kansas City, not in JoCo and the Northland. That's why they have their finger on the pulse of the people and reflect KC's values and wishes. This is in no way an echo chamber for a couple alt-right losers.
ReplyDeleteLet’s us stop the streetcar in its tracks. It costs $10 million per year and has proven itself to be an expensive tourist attraction.
ReplyDeleteExpansion? We already voted and it was soundly defeated. As I recall almost 70% of KCMO citizens said no. How can a message to City Hall be any planner that this?
ReplyDelete800 million to the same people?
ReplyDeleteIt's up and running now. Just fyi.
ReplyDeleteStreetcar=fail. Troy Schulte=fail. Public Works Director Sheri McIntyre=fail. Why these two mother fuckers still have a job after this week is a mystery.
ReplyDelete8:28, share the Pitch, Fox4, and whatever ya got for links to someone's arrest and following apology for a fleeced Fran's diner bill...his DUI repeats...charges for punching a girl...his failure to appear...unpaid fines...OR, you can just keep SLYly tossing old news out if that's what gets your frosty on. Hahahahah!!!!!
ReplyDeletemaybe we should observe the extant streetcar for a year before launching a new one.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they just put chains on the streetcar wheels for traction?
ReplyDeleteThis used to work really well on cars b4 4 wheel drive!
did the designers and promoters, being who they are, assume global warming would present a benevolent operating climate?
ReplyDeleteWow, so if it's on the internet, it must be true... like it seyz here:
ReplyDeletehttp://tonyskcstreetcar.blogspot.com/