KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development across the Kansas City area. Share your story idea with Caroline.
Jacob and Betsy Ambrose used to live in the River Market, where they could easily hop on and off the streetcar.
In the past few years, they've moved to Midtown, and now they're not too far from a stop on the new Main Street extension.
What's even more exciting for the couple is the possibility of an east-west streetcar line.
"I’m super excited about it," Betsy said. "I hope we’re able to expand more than just the east-west line."
RideKC began studying the possibility of an east-west line in 2022. Their goal is to fill a transportation gap and connect the University of Kansas Health System to the area near the Truman Sports Complex.
RideKC just finished Phase 1.5, which, along with Phase 1, included community outreach, surveys, and research.
They came up with a potential route, that runs down 39th Street to Main Street, and then from Main Street to Linwood Boulevard.
Betsy's husband, Jacob, is just as on board with the new route as his wife.
"There’s a lot of businesses on 39th I’d love to be able to take a streetcar over there and be able to frequent them that way," Jacob said.
However, Jacob recognizes some challenges that need to be addressed, like potential congestion on 39th Street.
"There’s so little parking right in front of the businesses as it is anyway," Jacob said. "Is everyone just going to be forced to park in the neighborhoods? Is that gonna adversely impact the neighbors along 39th Street as a result?"
We're still in the very early stages of the project, and nothing is set in stone.
RideKC received a RAISE grant worth $4.5 million to move into Phase 2. The next phase would include more public engagement, advanced planning, and starting to coordinate with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
For now, Jacob and Betsy are dreaming of what could be, and how another streetcar line can improve their neighborhood.
"That would be great if only one of us had to have a car and we could share it," Betsy said.
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