Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

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KCPowercat
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by KCPowercat »

Doesn't appear there is a consistent approach that's for sure.

Pushing cars to main would be pretty silly given the streetcar
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by bspecht »

If nothing is happening on the actual street, bus & bike should be able to use Grand (e.g. before/during/after Sprint Center events) – ridiculous to force the significant reroute so often + could be a great perk to get people to ride MAX to events, being dropped right at the front door. This is a problem solved in many cities, yet KC treats it like an impossibility.
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by KCPowercat »

So.....it's not always closed for every event. Got it.
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by KCPowercat »

Oh I read what you posted. I just know in the past I've seen sprint center events w/o Grand clsoed.

"traffic was a nightmare" - somehow you think traffic is better when you close down streets?

I'm all for pedestrian safety...and I do agree having police there to help with traffic control including pedestrian flow is best...I think that's a better option than just shutting down streets. Somehow tons of other urban arenas can do it.
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by KCPowercat »

"Somehow other urban areas can get massive employers to build large headquarters downtown. Somehow most major cities have downtown baseball stadiums. "

This literally has nothing to do with what we are talking about.

"I'm willing to bet the traffic in most of those other urban areas that have downtown arenas aren't truly comparable to KC's situation. "

agreed, they are 10x more busy I'd guess

'KCPD, City Council, Sprint Center, Traffic Enforcement and all the other groups involved have came to the conclusion that shutting down Grand is the best option, don't you think maybe they're right?"

not really. I think they have good intentions.

"Or do you think they just like jacking with people and doing everything they can to stick it to people who ride the bus or want to drive on Grand during a event day? "

I don't think that. I do think RideKC could have a bigger voice in these discussions.

"Traffic is better when it's closed down considering you know in advance that a street ahead is closed and you'll be needing to make a turn."

When Grand is closed for events, drivers don't know until they can see it. I think this would be a great improvement though....let's get more signage at intersections that can direct traffic flow when we do close down streets...this has been mentioned many times on here in different threads as a great improvement...Minneapolis has a great system.
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by kboish »

Move sprint center (t-mobile arena) to the west bottoms. there won't be as many conflicts to worry about.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Pedestrian tunnel?
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by KCPowercat »

StrangerThings wrote: When they close down the street, the traffic signals correspond with the closure. So you'll see a flashing red light a few blocks away indicating somethings different up ahead
I've never seen this. I don't drive up and down grand so maybe I've missed it. I have seen the lights directly at the intersection (13th, truman) will change to all right arrows, etc....but I've not seen flashing lights blocks before the closing.

Oh I'd bet RideKC has a seat at the table....but I don't think they get the voice they deserve...that's just an observation....transit is always comes out last in these discussions. Other examples include the city blocking off Wyandotte so valet can use the street, moving the old Main MAX route.
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Re: Closing Grand all the time is stupid.

Post by aknowledgeableperson »

TheLastGentleman wrote:Pedestrian tunnel?
Pedestrian overpass.
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