Union Station

Issues concerning Downtown as described by the Downtown Council. River to 31st Street, I-35 to Bruce R. Watkins.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Union Station

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Well, that's disappointing.

Thanks for the Imgur advice though!
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Re: Union Station

Post by pash »

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Last edited by pash on Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Union Station

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Image
I think the three structures are aligned. The stairs ARE a mess though.
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Re: Union Station

Post by pash »

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Last edited by pash on Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Union Station

Post by TheLastGentleman »

I see it now. The fountain would be around the front of the plaza if it was all aligned right.

Sigh.
JBmidtown
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Re: Union Station

Post by JBmidtown »

Wow, I've never noticed how sloppy that is and how it contributes to a horrible pedestrian experience. Crossing Pershing near Main is one of my least favorite intersections to cross in the city. The whole experience is like stepping knee deep in a swamp of vehicles; the area is just a giant car pit. Just another example of how much KC is indifferent to pedestrians and a walkable environment.
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NorthOak
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Re: Union Station

Post by NorthOak »

The stupid, unnecessary surface lot right in front of our most iconic building had to be kept intact at all costs!
Imagine a pedestrian mall and the fountain there flowing up to the foot of the hill.
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shinatoo
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Re: Union Station

Post by shinatoo »

That would be a great location for a gondola.
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Re: Union Station

Post by flyingember »

shinatoo wrote:That would be a great location for a gondola.
Only if it's a stop between Crown Center and Penn Valley Park on it's way to the amazing parallel train route on Broadway
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Eon Blue
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Re: Union Station

Post by Eon Blue »

pash wrote:Your photos aren't showing up. You have to use Imgur's direct links, something like i.imgur.com/wHatEVeR.jpg.

I've previously complained here that there aren't crosswalks directly through the traffic island in the middle of Pershing, around either side of the fountain. There are probably several reasons that hasn't happened (and didn't happen when Union Station recently re-did the driveway entrances and added the plaza), but one of them seems to be that Public Works interprets the MUTCD to say that they cannot install marked crosswalks without also installing a stop sign or signal to control car traffic at the crosswalk. That means, in their interpretation, that they'd have to install a HAWK signal or something on both sides of Pershing, which would be expensive and slow down cars racing between Main and Broadway—so never going to happen.
They will install one without stop sign or a signal - see 7th & Wyandotte. However, it typically requires a certain number of people swimming across the river before they will build a bridge, so to say.
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Re: Union Station

Post by pash »

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Last edited by pash on Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
earthling
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Re: Union Station

Post by earthling »

Is nice to see the new platform at streetcar stop but disappointing to see it underutilized. Are there longer term plans to do something with it? Lots of public seating, food stand or anything? There are large groups of people even weekday afternoons waiting for streetcar.
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Union Station

Post by beautyfromashes »

So, I’ve started avoiding Union Station all together as an access point to the Crossroads. They close off the main waiting hall for events so often that you can never get to the bridge. Beautiful building too! Too bad I’ll never see it anymore.
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Re: Union Station

Post by flyingember »

They have two alternate paths to the bridge they open up depending on if the best alt is blocked off. Have you been looking for this path? They usually put up signs.
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Re: Union Station

Post by joshmv »

flyingember wrote:They have two alternate paths to the bridge they open up depending on if the best alt is blocked off. Have you been looking for this path? They usually put up signs.
They don't do great with the signs, but yes, there are other ways of getting to the bridge. I usually just walk through the Amtrak side and then you go through the model train room.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Union Station

Post by TheLastGentleman »

I think you can go through the science city store too. It's still a bummer that you can't go under the arch as often, but renting out that space is helping fund the building, so I don't have too much of an issue with it, especially if it's paying for the restoration of the facade.
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Union Station

Post by TheLastGentleman »

In other news, Science City got a new logo and is developing early childhood exhibits with the help of a Boston museum. The rail experience exhibit will also be renovated.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/ar ... 87746.html
The new logo looks a bit more sophisticated.
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Union Station

Post by beautyfromashes »

flyingember wrote:They have two alternate paths to the bridge they open up depending on if the best alt is blocked off. Have you been looking for this path? They usually put up signs.
I’ve never seen an alternative route sign, just the one stating an event and roped off. The gift shop is often closed but the Amtrak would work though not desirable. My biggest problem is not that it’s closed at 8pm on a Friday night, it’s that they have an evening event and close it all day. No reason I shouldn’t be able to get through most every morning/afternoon. I really feel it should be open to the public and very rarely closed. It’s big enough you should be able to put a roped walkway down the side do everyone can experience it. I don’t really care if a group is paying a small fee. I’d be surprised if rental fees got anywhere close to parking fees. But, regardless, it’s so unpredictable (or predictable) that I will still avoid it and take the Main walkway.
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Re: Union Station

Post by KCPowercat »

usually it's the walkway to Amtrak platform then take a left behind the north waiting room.
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Re: Union Station

Post by flyingember »

KCPowercat wrote:usually it's the walkway to Amtrak platform then take a left behind the north waiting room.
The main one I see is the already mentioned one through the store

I’ve used this one 10x to the external one
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