The debate over Kansas City's streetcar line continues with consultants and political activists fighting to win the war of public opinion amid a week of bad news for the transit effort that desperately wants to expand despite voter rejection of the idea two years ago.
The mayor and most of the media have spotlighted the smiling faces and optimistic talk about the streetcar, so as an alternative to that kind of coverage, let's look at the downside.
- Smarter TKC readers remind us that many regard streetcars as an urban gimmick.
- There wan an embarrassing opening weekend streetcar breakdown along with a midweek interruption in service this week as well . . . Late last week we noticed a troubled streetcar stalled during the late night.
- The streetcar smashed into a parked car during testing and yesterday was t-boned at an intersection which raises questions about accommodation for everyone on sometimes crowded Downtown streets.
- Ridership has been touted at more than 100k but criticism about empty morning commute streetcar from the head of the Kansas City Public Library honcho hit a nerve at the highest levels.
And so, given the hype from MSM and this accounting of challenges confronted by the troubled transit effort . . . We put it to you (yeah) . . .
HOW LONG BEFORE CONSTANT COMPLICATIONS ALONG THE STREETCAR ROUTE SOUR KANSAS CITY ON THIS MODE OF TRANSIT???
Don't forget that NOBODY EXCEPT OUR BLOG COMMUNITY is talking about how this project is also OVER BUDGET and has yet to fulfill any of the promised economic growth or job creation that supporters have touted.
What's also important to realize about discussion of the streetcar is that there are so many consultants, politicos and marketers on the TDD payroll who are faking enthusiasm and attempting to maintain positive toy train perception when Kansas City voters and residents are typically less optimistic and enthusiastic about public transit.
Developing . . .
Better headline: Is Kc sick of the streetcar?
ReplyDelete^^^^^^Not as much as the constant shrill emitting from this site^^^^^^^^
ReplyDeleteOH YE, OH YE the misery of being yoked to 21st Century transportation systems exposes me to a level of misery not before experienced my modern man, TONY INSIDERS REPORT.
This is what you do Tony?
I bet the women are beating a path to your door. I mean, your Mom's door.
Contrary to popular belief, constant complainers are revered in 2016.
Ahem. Take a deep breath, princess. At this point there's more than enough reason to question this. :)
DeleteGreater KC has always voted no on light rail or streetcars. They want the roads they use fixed.
ReplyDeleteEvery time we have a problem with the streetcar they send in the reliable buses to transport people. So why not just make the bus system even better and scrap any ideas of streetcar expansion?
ReplyDelete845 must be making money on this scam somehow.
ReplyDeleteIt's beyond comical that these "urban futurists" with grandiose claims of glory as a "world class" city continue to be gaga over a 2.2 mile streetcar line that doesn't really meet any objective criteria as an economic development tool, replicates public transportation that was already in place, inconveniences people trying to actually conduct business along Main Street, and has already proven to be an unreliable, poorly designed and operated embarrassment.
ReplyDeleteLook at us! We were mentioned in the Huffington Post!
Time to open the downtown water slide as the next addition to the publicly-funded amusement park.
And keep the KoolAid coming. Lots and lots of KoolAid!
Ridership is high because of newness. After everyone has ridden this once, no one will ride.
ReplyDeleteYes. All that fail to fall in line shall be deemed evil and self interest ed.
ReplyDeleteNo fucking proof. But that MUST be true.
This is about as insightful as talking about which girl has the biggest boobs in 5th grade.
Jebuz Tony, the wit is even gotten poor on this blog.
What does David Johnson and his husband (or wife?) Stephen think?
ReplyDeleteone has to admit that the streetcar is creating a lot of buzz. personally, i'm guessing that in a year or more it will have worked and become part of a mini urban space that's neat.
ReplyDeleteWell were gonna find out just how DEEP Mayor Sly James pockets really are, once the LAWSUIT is filed against him personally !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteEnough of that Degenerate Lib'Tard Jack Ass former Ambulance chasin lawyer !!
The public voted NO on it and he himself went thru with it anyway as reported also here on TONYS KC Blog !!
So, hope ol' Sly saved lots of his money, because he's gonna need it !!
Sly go check your Bank account, hope its good for $350 Million ?????
Obvious troll is obvious. :) Cope as best you can, I guess. The discussion has moved to a place you can't control and it makes you insane!! Funny though.:)
DeleteKC needed to get the debut of the streetcar perfect and we flubbed it.
ReplyDeleteThere was too big of a rush to get it done in a hurry. We should have waited.
Maybe no one else is reporting that the streetcar is overbudget because actual news sources have to print actual facts?
ReplyDeleteLike the Star, which is transparently a cynical City Hall mouthpiece?
DeleteMSM can't do that and you know this.
ReplyDeleteWhats the problem? Tax payers in the city have billions. Tax payers outside the city apparently have even more. Too bad they can't vote, but I'm starting to understand why it is rigged that way.
ReplyDeleteThe big practical problem with "part of a mini-urban space that's neat" is that in a small population metro of only 2.4 million residents, the businesses in that space have to depend on repeat customers to survive. And once you've been in downtown KCMO once, there's not much reason to go back and certainly not to take a ride on the streetcar.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of repeat customers is one of the main reason for the failure of 18th and Vine, the College Basketball Experience, and other venues which have opened to such acclaim and then disappeared into the background of most people's lives.
Creating a publicly-funded Disneyland Main Street USA may appeal to a handful of local boosters and urban afficionados, but the real Disneyland and other similar theme parks are much safer, cleaner, and far more interesting for tourists, even though they're more expensive.
Tourists and conventioneers aren't coming to KC for he downtown experience.
And repeat local customers are unlikely as well.
Good luck to the businesses who are unfortunate enough to be stuck in the unexciting mini-urban space.
Should be a good market and lots of job security for commercial leasing agents.
They ride the trolley and there's no place to shop. Instead of extending it, get some damn retail and businesses and things to do Downtown before expanding. Make it work.
ReplyDeletePut a Ferris wheel over by Penn Valley park...lol.
ReplyDelete$140 Million Party Bus attached to wires.
ReplyDeleteLMAO!
It's about as cutting edge as the google blogger platform. Which is also attached to overhead wires.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is everyone's mind is already made up and not going to change.
ReplyDeleteDowntown, midtown, the Plaza, and Brookside support the streetcar.
Northland, East Side, and Ward Parkway don't.
No one is going to change their minds. Streetcar haters aren't going to change their minds because ridership is so high. Streetcar boosters aren't going to change their minds because of a handful of mishaps and mechanical problems.
The die is cast. Unfortunately, this blog has nothing else in the tank to activate it's small base of internet cranks, so we can look forward to 4 or 5 streetcar trolling posts per day from now until a few years after the extension opens.
Deliberate mischaracterization. What we have is not hate, it's serious concern with a project that was sneaked past voters, is of dubious benefit, and is plagued with early issues. I know the streetcar cult hates accountability and despises democracy, but the thin propaganda has already worn through.
Delete12:48, you honestly think Brookside wants a streetcar? Seriously? Like Soccer Mom's are going to take their kids on a streetcar to practice. Or do you think they'll take the Streetcar to Costco to bring home 30 rolls of toilet paper on the streetcar? Why would people in Brookside ever give up their SUV's for a streetcar?
ReplyDeleteThis is the current poll on KMBC.com.
ReplyDeleteWould you support a tax increase to expand the Streetcar line to the Country Club Plaza?
Yes
43%
No
57%
BACK TO POLL» 4069
http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article75310012.html
ReplyDeleteSupporters should move quickly to extend the line to the Plaza:
77% agree
Streetcar is a huge waste of money:
70% Disagree
Fuck yeah. Buy ANOTHER one of those "Can Openers". Did you see what it did to that lil dipshits Nissan Maxima ? Opened it up like a can of cheap sardines. Lil shitheel was crying "the train ran the light"....."Can Opener cam showed the truth." Shitheel ran the light and paid the price.
ReplyDeleteDon't fuck with the "Toy Choo Choo" or you lose. Can't wait till it flattens a stinky spic. Any guesses which one ? Yeppers, you win the prize. Now go sniff another of those greasy Botello beaner farts.
what i need is a way other than car to get me from indp to lenexa everyday.
ReplyDeletethat would be great for ME.
Streetcar is having it's problems but it's a $100 million investment. KC needs to support it with everything we've got because if we don't we're in big trouble.
ReplyDelete@7:00, supporting it does not mean an expansion line.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't much matter if you support the streetcar, 7:00pm, because it's FREE and doesn't generate any revenue.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's no more (or less) a drain on taxpayers than the P&L District, Kemper Arena, or all the other TIF-subsidized and tax-abated "projects" that are upside down on the financial ability to support themselves.
Downtown is a hot air balloon inflated with hype, grandiose dreams, false claims, and lots of debt.
And unfortunately, only the debt is real.
David Johnson reports that 10,000 people ride the trolley every week. But every time there is a streetcar incident, there are 6 or 8 people on it. Could David be telling a fib (again)???
ReplyDelete12:48 PM should check the last vote Brookside and Midtown said NO.
ReplyDeleteThe trolley does seem to start before the light has turned green.
I've been following it for the last week and it travels at 10 to 12 miles per hour. So there is always a line of cars behind it. I think that some other new laws need to be made. Main Street is for Trolley only. Set the side streets on red lights so that the trolley can go at least twenty miles an hour. If there was aplace to park my car at Union station I would ride it to work --but it would take me longer than it does by car. As long as it is free I will save a gallon or two of gas.
^^Um....Brookside didn't vote in the last vote. They voted yes on every single light rail plan EVER, though, before that one.
ReplyDeleteAnd midtown voted yes on the last proposal by a margin of 60%-40%...
I think we need to support the streetcar but I'm not in favor of expansion just yet. Think we need more time to prove the concept. However, let's not confuse light rail with the streetcar, they are two different things.
ReplyDeleteMy orientation is not interested in transportation interests. My orientation is not interested in tax breaks for people who want to put high rise development at every other corner and then demand that a form of transit be built for the people who will be moved into the rabbit hutches.
ReplyDeleteI can walk almost as fast as the trolley. My bike is twice as fast with out effort, as the trolley. The bus takes me from Plaza to City Hall in 23 minutes. Transit should follow development not the other way around.
I am tired of listening to Planners talking about development of Transit Nodes when what they are talking about is tearing down existing development and redeveloping so the profit and property changes hands.
Brookside HAD a rail line, once. But you soccer moms and democrats turned it into a quaint walking trail.
ReplyDeleteAre you people still in charge?