Northeast News

May 6, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – After much pomp and circumstance, the new KC Streetcar is now up and running for the general public.

The city celebrated the start of streetcar services on Friday, May 6 with a grand opening ceremony at Union Station. Area dignitaries closed the ceremony by going on an honorary first ride. At 11:00 a.m., the streetcar was officially opened to the public. The streetcar corridor will be celebrating throughout the weekend with live music and activities at each stop. Union Station will host a weekend-long carnival, and fireworks will be launched on both Friday and Saturday night at the Liberty Memorial.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James provided the closing speech at the grand opening ceremony, culminating with a blast of white and blue confetti raining down from the stage set up on the corner of Main and Pershing.

“We’re seeing neighborhoods come back, we’re seeing schools prop up downtown, we’ve got restaurants and businesses and start-ups popping up just about everywhere. We’re providing free public Wi-Fi with Cisco and Sprint,” said James. “More than anything, we see our city and our residents holding their heads up high.”