KC Streetcar

KC Streetcar

Overview
Owner	City of Kansas City, Missouri
Locale	Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Transit type	Modern streetcar
Number of lines	1[1]
Number of stations	16 stops[1]
Website	kcstreetcar.org
Operation
Operation will start	Spring 2016 (projected)[1]
Operator(s)	Kansas City Streetcar Authority
Character	Street running
Number of vehicles	4 CAF Urbos 3[2]
Technical
System length	2 mi (3.2 km)[1]
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V overhead line
Route diagram Legend River Market North(3rd/Grand) River Market West(4th/Delaware) City Market(5th/Walnut) I-35 / I-70 North Loop(7th/Main) Library(9th/Main) 10th Street Transit Hub Metro Center(12th/Main) Power & Light(14th/Main) I-670 Kauffman Center(16th/Main) Crossroads(19th/Main) Kansas City Terminal Railway Union Station

The KC Streetcar, also branded as the RideKC Streetcar,^[3] is a streetcar system under construction in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.^[4] Construction began in May 2014.^[5] It is expected to begin public revenue service in spring 2016.^[1]

Operating authority

The streetcar will be operated by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, a not-for-profit corporation. The authority was incorporated in August 2012 after voters approved creation of the Kansas City Downtown Transportation Development District,^[6] a special taxing district that will fund construction and operation of a two-mile streetcar route through downtown Kansas City. Legal claims against the district and its taxation power were dismissed in August 2013.^[7] Final design for this starter line is underway, as of 2013. The streetcar began construction in May 2014, and is expected to be completed in fall 2015, and carrying passengers in revenue service by early 2016.^[1]

The Streetcar Authority's 13 directors, a mix of public officials, business people, and transit advocates, were appointed in late 2012 and met for the first time as an officially sanctioned body in early 2013.^[8] The authority's oversight of the streetcar's operation and maintenance is modeled on that of the Portland Streetcar. The city council has the power to appoint the some of the authority's directors and retains ownership over the system.

Day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system will be handled by Herzog Transit Services Inc., under joint contract to the Streetcar Authority and the City of Kansas City. The contract was signed in October 2015.^[9]

Planning and construction

After earlier efforts to create a metro- or city-wide rail transit system failed at the ballot box, voters in downtown Kansas City approved funding for a two-mile streetcar line in December 2012.^[10] This line, which will run between the River Market and Union Station, is envisioned as the trunk of a wider system of streetcar routes in the city. The possibility of extending the line south to the Country Club Plaza and north of the Missouri River, as well as along several east-west routes, is already being studied.^[11]

In December 2012, the city council awarded a contract to HDR, Inc. to complete a final design for the downtown streetcar line.^[12] HDR had previously performed preliminary engineering work. In October 2013, the mayor announced that the system will use 100% low-floor Urbos 3 streetcars made by the American subsidiary of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.^[13] Pre-construction work, utility-relocation work in preparation for the project, began in late 2013, and construction of the line began in May 2014.^[5] The streetcar is expected to begin carrying passengers in early 2016.^[1][5]

The projected cost of the Downtown Streetcar is $102,000,000.^[14] The majority of funds will come from Special Obligation Bonds of the City of Kansas City, Missouri totaling $63,955,000. Construction bonds and operating costs will repaid by a special assessment and one-cent sales tax collected inside a transportation development district approved by voters in 2012. Both levies will be assessed only within the taxing district, which encompasses downtown neighborhoods along the streetcar route. Additional funding includes a utility contribution and two federal grants totaling $17.1 million.^[15] The project received another $20 million federal grant, through the TIGER program, in August 2013.^[16] Passengers will ride free of charge.^[17]

The streetcars will be numbered 801-804, following the numbering set up by the original Kansas City Public Service Company numbering system. Car 801 arrived in Kansas City on November 2, 2015.^[18] Testing began on November 6.^[19] Car 802 arrived on December 9.

Illustration of the KC Streetcar

Route and stops

The downtown streetcar will run between the River Market and Union Station, through the central business district and the Crossroads, mostly along Main Street. It will make stops about every two blocks.^[17] Along the way it will connect directly with Amtrak, local and commuter bus services (including a direct route to Kansas City International Airport), and several B-cycle bike-share kiosks.

Proponents tout this initial linear segment as one of the simplest and straightest modern streetcar routes in the United States. All platforms offer level boarding and real-time arrival information.^[20]

See also

• Light rail in the United States
• Streetcars in North America
• Streetcars in Kansas City (historical)
• List of streetcar systems in the United States (historical)

References

External links

• KC Downtown Streetcar website