Taking a closer look at goals of “Reconnecting Kansas City” public transportation project
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City is in line to receive billions for transportation projects all in an effort to help reconnect the city.
The funding comes from a partnership with the U.S Department of Transportation that will help finance $15 billion for nine projects across the city. Mayor Quinton Lucas said with the growth the city has been seeing, these funds will allow Kansas City to juggle multiple big projects at a time.
One of the biggest projects mentioned in this agreement is creating a rail line from the airport to downtown Kansas City. The goal is to link it up with the streetcar routes that run through the city. The plan is to build two new routes of rail lines and street cars going from North to South and East to West. Which will connect the Truman Sports Complex to the University of Kansas Medical Center. Hopefully in time for the World Cup in 2026.
Right now, the end of the streetcar route sits in front of Union Station where travelers like Jesse Ornelas rely on public transportation to tour the city.
“Easy access from point A to point B benefits everybody,” Ornelas, who is visiting from Chicago, said. “The tourism, the local people and the businesses.”
READ MORE: Kansas City works toward “reconnecting” communities along 71 Highway
When hearing about a $10.5 billion project for a fixed rail line running from the KCI Airport to connect to the KC Streetcar Line downtown, both Ornelas and locals feel everyone can save money on parking at the airport or renting cars during their visits.
“I just took an Uber from one side of Kansas City to here, and it was $40, and a little bit here and there adds up,” Ornelas recalled. “So, especially in my line of work I nickel and dime to survive. Especially if you have more free transportation in the city that would be a great asset for myself and other people.”
“It got people around where as if you got your own transportation down here there was no parking,” Glenda Olivas of Kansas City added. “For cars if you drove yourself down but this is fantastic. I think it’s a great addition to our city.”
On top of the rail line service from KCI running all the way to downtown, another streetcar route will be constructed to run from the Truman Sports Complex through the downtown commercial district and to the University of Kansas Medical Center. That route will cost around $1.5 billion.
“Parking at Chiefs and Royals is high so it would save you money that way,” Olivas continued. “You can take the tram out to the stadium and out to KU. These are comfortable to ride on. They’re smooth, they’re fast.”
Throughout this expansion the Ride KC bus lines will also be connected to the new routes for riders to hop on.
Copyright 2023 KCTV. All rights reserved.
