OFFICIAL: Troost MAX

[chrizow]

the MAX is a train, right? 

[DaveKCMO]

i'm considering using the Troost MAX b/c the Manheim Park stop is two blocks from my house.  i am sure i could probably just go get on the existing Troost bus, but i don't. 

just trying to figure out whether it's worth it to walk 5 minutes to the MAX stop, take a 20-minute train ride to Hospital Hill, then walk 7 minutes to work vs. a 5-minute car commute....

do you pay for parking? assuming you're in the 30s, the ride to hospital hill would probably be 10 minutes or less, although not sure where you'd board. the stops below equate to 43rd (mannheim park), 39th (metro center), armour (squire park), 31st (midtown), and 27th (beacon hill).



i also doubt it would take you a full 7 minutes to walk from 24th and holmes to your office. it only takes me 10 minutes to walk from 19th and baltimore to the main entrance at crown center (and that's a lot of jaywalking at 6 signalized intersections, which you wouldn't really have to do).

[chrizow]

i'm definitely going to try it out.  our house is near 45th and Troost, so the Manheim Park stop would be the closest.  thanks for the info!

[lock+load]

Why not just label the stops with the name of the cross street?  It would make the map a lot more useful.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Why not just label the stops with the name of the cross street?  It would make the map a lot more useful.

Yeah but it also makes it a lot more "bus-like" and not "subway-like" - which is supposed to be part of the appeal of BRT.  Plus - the landmark/neighborhood names are probably more useful to visitors than cross streets. 

[ignatius]

The ATA needs to call the MAX lines by color - the Orange line is Main and Green line is Troost.  Since neither line is entirely along those streets, perhaps they need to be referred to by color and have all max stops note the color.  When riders refer to Max, it should be natural to then to refer to the color line, not the main drag (as most cities do).

Am disappointed to see the new MAX system map still shows that the orange line still zig zags around downtown.  They really need to straighten it out - is just too confusing and slows down the trip to get to City Market to level of being unacceptable.   The green line zigzagging through Hospital Hill is also a no-no methinks - as if they haven't learned nuttn.

[dangerboy]

^

1. Some maps do have the cross streets in parenthesis after the "Station" name.

2. The ATA is referring to Main Street as the Orange Line and Troost as the Green Line.  I imagine this will become more widely known once there are actually two lines in operation.

[lock+load]

Yeah but it also makes it a lot more "bus-like" and not "subway-like" - which is supposed to be part of the appeal of BRT.  Plus - the landmark/neighborhood names are probably more useful to visitors than cross streets. 

I don't know that "the landing" is more useful to anyone than "63rd street."  Where is "Southtown?"  If there is a specific landmark that is at that stop and is widely known, ok, but don't use random neighborhood names that hardly anyone will know.

[chrizow]

I don't know that "the landing" is more useful to anyone than "63rd street."  Where is "Southtown?"  If there is a specific landmark that is at that stop and is widely known, ok, but don't use random neighborhood names that hardly anyone will know.

i agree.  "universities" makes sense, but why not just say 43/troost and 31st/troost?  main has some stops like that.  "manheim park" doesn't mean anything to anyone, and it could have just as easily been "hyde park" which is a much more well-known neighborhood.

"midtown?"  "southtown?"  WTF

[LenexatoKCMO]

The only one that bothers me is "midtown" - that name could have been used interchangeably with about a dozen+ other stops on both routes and really does nothing to remotely tell you where you are. 

[DaveKCMO]

The only one that bothers me is "midtown" - that name could have been used interchangeably with about a dozen+ other stops on both routes and really does nothing to remotely tell you where you are. 

especially now that "greater downtown" ends at 31st...

[dangerboy]

I actually like the idea of using transit to effect a small resurgence in the use of neighborhood and place names in the city.  Too often we lump things into giant categories like "downtown", "midtown", or "east side" at the expense of smaller communities that residents can more easily identify with.

[chrizow]

^ i can see that.  to that end, i wonder why hyde park isn't mentioned on there.  hyde park could plausibly be mentioned on 4 of those stops, but it's not on any of them...

[LenexatoKCMO]

I actually like the idea of using transit to effect a small resurgence in the use of neighborhood and place names in the city.  Too often we lump things into giant categories like "downtown", "midtown", or "east side" at the expense of smaller communities that residents can more easily identify with.

Indeed - neighborhood branding is valuable.  "I just bought a historic mansion in Manheim Park" has a heck of a lot more cache than "I just bought a big fixer-upper over by Troost".  See Heights, Pendleton. 

[dangerboy]

^ i can see that.  to that end, i wonder why hyde park isn't mentioned on there.  hyde park could plausibly be mentioned on 4 of those stops, but it's not on any of them...

probably your punishment for opposing light rail

[LenexatoKCMO]

^ i can see that.  to that end, i wonder why hyde park isn't mentioned on there.  hyde park could plausibly be mentioned on 4 of those stops, but it's not on any of them...

Perhaps they thought that name might suggest the stop served the actual park and would be a bit misleading?  There is also the whole N Hyde Park v. S Hyde Park v. Old Hyde Park confusion, 

[chrizow]

probably your punishment for opposing light rail

we did?  or was that old hyde park?  i'd like to know more about this.  predates my time in HP.

[dangerboy]

we did?  or was that old hyde park?  i'd like to know more about this.  predates my time in HP.

sorry it was old hyde park.  too many hyde park's to keep track of

[DaveKCMO]

drove the route today. very little to see as far as construction goes, just a smattering of utility work. ATA has posted a timeline.

[trailerkid]

just trying to figure out whether it's worth it to walk 5 minutes to the MAX stop, take a 20-minute train ride to Hospital Hill, then walk 7 minutes to work vs. a 5-minute car commute....

it doesn't take 20 minutes for a MAX bus to hit 5 stops in the dead streets of KC. have you ever ridden it before? 100% serious question.