A Streetcar We Desire?

For a while I had a really cool secret. Part of the fun of being a candidate, and hopefully a councilman is that you get to find out about things that are in the works. The RTA is working on a plan that will bring streetcars to downtown Kansas City. When I was briefed on the subject it was still pretty much a "back of the napkin" scheme so propriety dictated that I keep my big mouth shut. My biggest concern was that it be "more private" and "less public". We have a sewer to build after all. It was a fun afternoon of sketching possible routes, discussing construction logistics and of course the politics involved with an ambitious plan like this. Well the cat's out of the bag. In the July RTA Newsletter they report the following: Downtown Streetcar Initiative - RTA is working with the Convention & Visitor’s Association, the Downtown Council, the City of Kansas City and major private sector entities to develop a new, unique transportation system to link Crown Center, the Crossroads district, the Power & Light Entertainment District and the Convention Center district. This system will be a private-public partnership with the purpose of improving transportation among these areas for the benefi t of tourists, conventioneers, sports fans, entertainment district patrons and the increasing number of people living and working downtown. Don't get your trolley tokens out just yet. There are still a lot of logistical things to be worked out to determine whether or not this plan is even possible. First and foremost the "private" part of the private-public partnership will probably involve the creation of a Transportation Development District (TDD) which is basically a self-imposed taxing district on the businesses who would directly benefit from tourists being shuttled back and forth from their front doors. Then there's the issue of right-of-way through public streets, moving utilities, etc. I think it's a good idea. Yes it's "touristy frou-frou" but that's exactly the kind of thing you need if you want to attract conventioneers to downtown. The plan is workable, but much like the Chiefs annual playoff picture in about week 15 it's going to take a combination of a lot of things falling into place. Not the least of which is some creative thinking at City Hall. Stay tuned...