‘This is our moment’ – City welcomes KC Streetcar
Mayor Sly James followed Downtown Council President Bill Dietrich on to the KC Streetcar for its first official journey through Downtown on Friday morning. Thousands turned out for the streetcar grand opening weekend in Downtown.
With glorious blue skies as a backdrop and a crowd of hundreds of people before him, Kansas City Mayor Sly James proclaimed the start of a new era of rail transit in the city Friday, with the opening of the Kansas City streetcar. The event marked the start of a grand opening weekend that drew thousands to Downtown KC for the weekend.
“This is our moment,” James said at the kickoff ceremony with about 800 people at Union Station. “This is one of the most significant milestones in this city in generations.”
As The Kansas City Star reported, James acknowledged the many city and federal partners who helped make the new $100 million, 2.2-mile streetcar starter line a reality and said it’s an example of the challenging, risky and historic projects that cities need to tackle to play in the big leagues.
“You have to be bold,” he said.
And at least throughout opening day Friday, a celebratory party atmosphere prevailed along the entire streetcar route. All four streetcar vehicles were pressed into service and were filled with diverse crowds of all ages and races. People generally seemed to be in a very positive mood.
“Who’s having a good time?” an operator called out on one ride, and he was answered by enthusiastic cheers.
Shops and restaurants appeared reasonably busy but weren’t packed in the afternoon, and some owners said it will take time to see whether the streetcar is a business game-changer or whether the novelty wears off.
When the system gets going in earnest, officials anticipated it would average about 2,700 daily riders.
While the streetcar opening went off without a hitch, a traffic crisis unfolded just a few blocks away. The Missouri Department of Transportation discovered that the Grand Boulevard Bridge over Interstate 670 needed an emergency closure and is now considering replacing that bridge. It would be the department’s responsibility, not the city’s, to deal with that replacement.
Regarding the streetcar, it’s hard to sum up decades of planning, election failures, legal setbacks, persistent work and progress, construction disruptions, and months of testing leading up to opening day.
But Tom Gerend, executive director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, offered words to put the whole crusade into perspective.
“This has been a long and winding road,” he said, recalling the concerted effort since 2011 to bring the streetcar project to fruition.
He said that thanks to the hard work of city planners and downtown residents and businesses, the city now has an amenity that will connect Downtown’s many activity centers from Union Station to the River Market, while already generating significant new economic development.
Carolyn Flowers, acting administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, commended Kansas City for completing a simple and predictable streetcar route that will be user-friendly for both residents and visitors.
“I believe Kansas City will be a model with its vision and commitment,” she said.
Several groups from Cincinnati and Milwaukee were in Kansas City on Friday to check on the progress here, as they plan their own streetcar starter routes. Cincinnati’s opens later this year and Milwaukee’s in a few years.
Streetcar opening day was an emotional and sentimental project for those who remember the heyday of Kansas City streetcars, before the last car stopped in 1957.
Long before the speeches started, Chandra Guinn, 78, and her daughter Charleso Guinn, 51, came down to Union Station early Friday morning to get in line for one of the first public rides.
“I always loved it,” Chandra Guinn said, as she recalled riding the streetcar as a little girl from Kansas City, Kan., to Kansas City, Mo. She remembered when it cost 5 cents to ride, then 10 cents, then 15 cents.
She’s pleased to realize the new streetcar system is free to ride.
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All aboard!
