KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development across the Kansas City area. Share your story idea with Caroline.
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The Kansas City Streetcar Authority revealed on Thursday they're starting to think about and discuss the future of the streetcar and public transit in Kansas City.
"We’re even having new and emerging conversations about places like 18th & Vine and Southwest Boulevard," said Tom Gerend, KC Streetcar Authority Executive Director. "We know as the line gets longer, the magnetic pull for people wanting to be connected to that spine is growing."
Later this year, the KC Streetcar plans to open up the Main Street Extension, expanding service south of Kansas City's Union Station to neighborhoods in Midtown before ending in the Brookside neighborhood at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
Work is also ongoing for an extension to connect the line to the rapidly developing Berkley Riverfront. That section is slated to start service in 2026.
Gerand says as crews finish those two extensions to the original line between the River Market and Union Station that opened in 2016, his teams are already thinking about what comes next.
LINK | KSHB 41 KC Streetcar coverage
Gerand said these lines take on average of 10 years to complete.
"We’re also looking north of the river with north rail and riding the Missouri divide, and how do we connect a growing Northland for the next generation," Gerend said. "We’ve got a great new bridge in the Buck O'Neil; What do we need to do from a transit standpoint?"
KSHB 41's Caroline Hogan reported RideKC is actively researching and performing surveys with neighbors in the Midtown area for a potential east/west streetcar line.
A preliminary route runs down 39th Street to Main Street, and then from Main Street down Linwood Boulevard to Van Brunt.
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