Northeast News
September 18, 2013

While city officials are ironing out the details for implementing the downtown streetcar, plans are already underway to evaluate adding additional lines.

One of the proposed lines runs along the Independence Avenue corridor in Historic Northeast. Other proposed routes run along corridors 12th Street East, 12th Street West, 18th Street, Southwest Boulevard, Main Street and Linwood/31st Street.

The city of Kansas City has contracted a “project team” consisting of BNIM, HDR, HNTB and sub-consultants to conduct a 10-month study of the streetcar expansion, and the project team is continuing to host workshops and meet with residents to gather feedback on the proposed lines.

The locally based firms will look at the potential impact and cost of adding additional lines, evaluate long-term planning and create an implementation plan. They are also analyzing engineering constraints for each proposed line. Each proposed corridor will undergo a screening process and will be narrowed down to three corridors by November. From there, a more detailed study on the three corridors will be conducted and additional public meetings and workshops will be held.

The project team expects to make its final recommendation to the Kansas City City Council in March of 2014.

Parson & Associates LLC is studying the 18th Street and Independence Avenue corridors and will continue to meet with residents. The next interactive workshop regarding the Independence Avenue corridor will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, 825 Euclid Ave., Kansas City, Mo. All are invited to attend to share feedback and learn more about the proposed route.