KCRag Forum

Do people think KC exists in a vacuum?  You do realize downtown arenas with parking 2-3 blocks away have been in existence for generations with great success right?  People act like this is something new.

Try to form an opinion and post objectively, not with your "everything will turn out bad downtown" mindset.  Don't want to walk 2-3 blocks to the arena?  Don't freaking come.  Live your boring life at Chili's run home to Bed, Bath, and Beyond where you can parking less than 100' away.

i'm really not worried about people finding parking.  sure, there will be a few numbnuts that write angry letters to the Star b/c they received parking tickets by parking in the Court of Appeals lot or something, but people seem to be able to cope when they come downtown for an event at Bartle, the St. Pat's Parade, First Friday, etc.

what i AM worried about is that the city kowtows to the lowest-common denominator clueless twits and builds even MORE unnecessary parking structures.  how stupid would it be to build a giant parking structure next to the sprint center while like EIGHT parking garages within 3 blocks are sitting empty?

chrizow wrote:how stupid would it be to build a giant parking structure next to the sprint center while like EIGHT parking garages within 3 blocks are sitting empty?

Spectacularly stupid. Therefore, it will probably happen. 

mean wrote: Spectacularly stupid. Therefore, it will probably happen. 

And a giant above ground garage right next to it will ruin the looks of the Sprint Center too. It won't look so enormous either with a garage next to it.

chrizow, I agree but what do you do????

KC's biggest challenge is its geography and mentality.

Just like the GSA.  No parking downtown, well, we will just go to the river front!  It's the same thing over and over again as to why companies leave downtown for the burbs or even the plaza etc.  Sure, it's a perceived problem.  KC has more parking than it knows what to do with.

I just spent a week in NYC.  As many of you know that have been there, there is no dedicated parking for ANYTHING, ANYWHERE.  Not just Manhattan, but Queens, Brooklyn, Jersey etc.  I had to rent a car for a couple of days (couldn't do everything I needed to do with transit, plus $500-700 night hotel rooms in Manhattan kicked us out to Queens).

But even in NYC, I had little problems parking and it wasn't even all that much (relatively speaking) We ended up parking in the upper east side a lot and walking, but it's not a big deal at all.  But that city would eat 99.9% of Kansas Citians alive if they even attempted to drive a car anywhere in the metro, let alone Manhattan, let alone finding a place to park a car.

And it's not just the big mega cities like NYC and Chicago, many larger towns have similar parking situations.

I really can't comprehend the parking issues in KC.  I just can't.  I have driven around Philly for hours looking for parking, NYC?  Forget it.  Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, Seattle, San Fransisco etc.  Then you go the the busy but smaller cities that have vibrant downtowns, Minneapolis, Denver, San Diego and parking is a cakewalk.  Then you go to KC.  The ONLY big city in the USA with so much unused, cheap or even free, close parking to everything in the core.

It truly is incomprehensible.

You can go downtown AT NOON on a WEEKDAY and park within one block of ANYTHING on the street for free to 50 cents.  If for some ungodly reason you can't find a street spot, you have your choice of massive multi story garages on every single corner and if that fails, you have surface lots that are rarely half full during the week and empty on weekends that will set you back 4 bucks FOR ALL DAY PARKING IN A MAJOR DOWNTOWN CBD.

Yet people in KC run off and write letters to the star, bitch and complain that there is no parking etc etc.

Seriously, I am at a loss with the whole parking issue in KC.  I don't think there is enough signs in the world to make it work here and so yes, the Sprint Center will create chaos, not because of a lack of parking, but because this is just the way KC is...

GRID wrote: You can go downtown AT NOON on a WEEKDAY and park within one block of ANYTHING on the street for free to 50 cents.  If for some ungodly reason you can't find a street spot, you have your choice of massive multi story garages on every single corner and if that fails, you have surface lots that are rarely half full during the week and empty on weekends that will set you back 4 bucks FOR ALL DAY PARKING IN A MAJOR DOWNTOWN CBD.

Sad but true.  My wife and I go on several walkabouts downtown everytime we come into town.  We never have had a difficult time parking.  In fact, the most difficult part of that task is making the decision on what space you want out of the thousands of empty spaces that confront you.  Downtown's core is actually pretty small, you could traverse it at a fair pace in 15 minutes.  I doubt if even the most parking-challenged trip downtown would ever result in more than a 5-10 minute walk (easily less time than a trip to Arrowhead stadium from the parking lot after a late arrival).  Of course, I know where most of the garages are but info is available to anyone (I do not park in surface lots DT out of principle).  In any event, TransAmerica's departure just opened up another few hundred spots.

Cauthen: Parking will be tight at SC

"I think people are accustomed to having street parking and be able to go from business to business. It's not going to be that way. It's going to be pretty tight," Cauthen told KMBC's Micheal Mahoney.

Cauthen said there are about 10,000 parking slots within a 10-minute walk of the arena. Some slots are on the street, some are on lots and some are in parking garages. On event nights, the price to park is expected to go up.

Cauthen said the cost of parking will be at the market rate, "whatever that is."

KCMax wrote: Cauthen: Parking will be tight at SC

"I think people are accustomed to having street parking and be able to go from business to business. It's not going to be that way. It's going to be pretty tight," Cauthen told KMBC's Micheal Mahoney.

Cauthen said there are about 10,000 parking slots within a 10-minute walk of the arena. Some slots are on the street, some are on lots and some are in parking garages. On event nights, the price to park is expected to go up.

Cauthen said the cost of parking will be at the market rate, "whatever that is."

See, I knew it was a bad idea for Kansas City to build an urban arena!  We should have waited until other cities built urban arenas and stadiums first, then see how those cities did!

I did some research, and a long time ago, 1 city tried to build an urban arena, but it FAILED because there was no place to park.  And since that urban arena had no parking, the people didn't know what to do.  So, they committed a mass suicide.  And that's what happened to the city known as "Atlantis."

We should just tear down the Sprint Center and put of surface lot in it's place because it will be a flop anyway.  We don't want Kansas City to end up like the lost city of Atlantis.

[/sarcasm]

Now get me more coffee!

it's as if the MAX never existed...

Hell, unless you are in a wheelchair or have a life threatening disease you can park as far south as Grinders.  Have a cold beer, then walk to the SC.  Jesus, what is wrong with people thinking it is too much to walk a few blocks.  Fat, lazy and stupid is no way to go through life...

The Sunday Star had a thing on the arena and shows 10,000 parking spots in the loop within 5 block radius of Sprint Center, not including all the Xroads parking south of the arena and another 10K elsewhere in the Loop.  With typically 2-4 people per car for events as well as those who walk from home or use transit, it's not an issue to even bring up.  Chicago has only 6000 parking spots in walking distance to United Center.  Pepsi Center in Denver has less than 5000.  Dallas arena has less than 6000.

For those who don't want to deal with finding parking, park at the 3rd/Main MAX stop or the one at Linwood/Main.  Take MAX.  Sprint Center should advertise using MAX with EVERY event.

MAX will be key during the Big 12 tournament.  There should be downtown-plaza runs every 3-5 minutes.

KCPowercat wrote: MAX will be key during the Big 12 tournament.  There should be downtown-plaza runs every 3-5 minutes.

has anyone mentioned using home depot and costco parking lots as a park and ride?

KCTigerFan wrote: Hell, unless you are in a wheelchair or have a life threatening disease you can park as far south as Grinders.  Have a cold beer, then walk to the SC.  Jesus, what is wrong with people thinking it is too much to walk a few blocks.  Fat, lazy and stupid is no way to go through life...

If I was in a wheelchair of which I am not, I would be pleased to park as far away as Grinders. Just make sure that the ramps and the sidewalks are in good shape from Grinders to the SC.

schugg wrote: has anyone mentioned using home depot and costco parking lots as a park and ride?

That would be convenient because when you come back after the show, you can just swing into Costco to pick up a new set of tires and rims to replace the ones that got ripped off.

KC0KEK wrote: That would be convenient because when you come back after the show, you can just swing into Costco to pick up a new set of tires and rims to replace the ones that got ripped off.

Lame ass comment

I can't believe that people complain about walking a few blocks.   But people go to places everyday in which they would walk at least a few blocks.  So, I think we should change the Sprint Center to look more like this:



That way, no one would complain about walking "a few blocks."

lock+load wrote: Lame ass comment

I actually thought it was quite hilarious.

KC0KEK wrote: That would be convenient because when you come back after the show, you can just swing into Costco to pick up a new set of tires and rims to replace the ones that got ripped off.

Better than getting carjacked in OPKS.  Got to love stereotypes of neighborhoods.   

remind me why county government exists? i just don't see the value...

Sprint Center parking deal nixed

Legislators agreed the 131 parking spots would be good money-makers during arena events but said the county should lease them to the highest bidder. The two lots for county employees are between Oak Street and Locust Street on the northeast side of the arena.

The Finance and Audit Committee, which has three legislators, voted the resolution down 3-0. Later, the full legislature sent it back to the full committee for further review after staff looks into putting the parking lots out for bids.

Fred Siems, chief administrative officer for the county, proposed an agreement with the city of Kansas City, which owns the arena, to receive $240,000 from the city for the two county lots through May 31, 2010. Anschutz Entertainment Group, which operates the arena, would also be part of the agreement.

Siems said he thought the deal was fair to the county financially, given research he had done. More than 100 events annually are expected at the arena.

But legislators said the county should not give up control of high-value parking spaces that could be used primarily by VIPs and suite holders at the arena.

The county might be better off leasing the lots directly to patrons, if the spaces are that lucrative, Legislator Henry Rizzo said. He joined committee members Scott Burnett and Bob Spence in voting down the agreement.