Currently, the KC Streetcar runs from Union Station to River Market.
Since the streetcar opened a month ago, some people around the metro are saying it would be much better if it went to the Country Club Plaza.
Under a new proposed plan, it would.
The Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance submitted a petition to the Jackson County Circuit Court to consider a new transportation district that would extend the streetcar route four miles south to UMKC.
The expansion would cost $227 million and would be funded the same way current route is: a 1 percent sales tax within the district boundary and special assessments on businesses within 1/3 mile of the route.
If the court said forming the new district is legal, voters within the area would vote in a series of elections. That could take years. Then Kansas City would need to apply for federal funding and make engineering and design plans.
City leaders, including Mayor Sly James, have always said expansion is in the future. A city-led initiative failed in 2014. This new effort is led by KCRTA.
The court will set a public hearing later in the summer.
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Sarah Plake can be reached at Sarah.Plake@KSHB.com
