Quote:
Originally Posted by jmecklenborg
My guess is that most of the ridership of the existing KC streetcar line is coming from tourists, and that many of them are traveling very short distances (i.e. bar hopping). Tourists aren't going to be traveling between the Home Depot and hospital on this proposed line.
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You're absoluely right. Tourists (or even most residents from the rest of the city) aren't going to ride the streetcar just to go to 31st & Van Brunt.
HOWEVER.... Just two (2) miles from the east end of this proposition is a massive, hulking, concrete fortress that seats 80,000 fans of one of American Football's most rabid, loyal, and supportive franchises and will host a World Cup match in 2026. For the moment, that 80,000 seat concrete fortress is accompanied by another 40.000 seat shrine that's used 90 days of the year for alleged Major League Baseball.
The fact that the City of Kansas City, RideKC, the KCStreetcar, the Feds, and whoever else is considering spending money to build this just to stop two miles short of the Truman Sports Complex is irresponsible, indefensible, and low-key moronic. The 8-12 home NFL games justify the added cost for the extra two miles alone. There's no point in pinching pennies just to be pound foolish.
It's almost as if the KCStreetcar is building a mass transit utility just to say they built it, rather than designing and building it to function for the practical and efficient mass transit of actual people