Transportation
Safety Campaign Warns Scooters and Smartphones Don’t Mix
First it was avoiding streetcar rails, now a new safety program has been launched by Bird and AT&T to discourage electric scooter riders from using their smartphones while rolling. “Smartphone use while driving or scooting is a dangerous mix,” said Rachel Bankston, a Bird spokeswoman. “We urge everyone, regardless of their transportation mode, to stay…
Streetcar Keeps Rolling Toward Riverfront Without Federal Help
By Kevin Collison A multi-modal plan to extend the streetcar line to the riverfront, including a new concept to build a separate bicycle/pedestrian bridge next to the Grand Boulevard viaduct, continues to roll, but without help from Washington. The KC Streetcar Authority’s application for $25 million for the riverfront extension was rejected recently by the…
Shared E-Bikes Rolling Into Downtown Soon, KC Among Nation’s First
By Kevin Collison E-bikes are scheduled to begin rolling into greater downtown by Christmas, making Kansas City one of only a handful of North American communities to adopt the latest in “first and last mile” shared transportation technology. “E-bikes are really new, especially for shared use, and Kansas City is in the forefront of this,”…
KCATA Hopes New Transit Center Will Spur East Village Redevelopment
By Kevin Collison The groundbreaking for the $5 million East Village Transit Center at 12th and Charlotte is being viewed partly as a catalyst to attract more investment to a multi-block redevelopment area that has languished more than a decade. “We’re looking at getting input from developers for transportation-oriented development, possibly affordable housing, retail…we’d like…
Better Block KC Tames Oak Street in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison A stretch of Oak Street in the Crossroads will be a lot chiller through Oct. 27 thanks to Better Block KC, a “tactical urbanism” design group. Last Sunday, about a dozen volunteers with the group transformed a two-block section of Oak between 17th and 19th streets from what sometimes can be a…