Downtown Baseball Stadium

[moderne]

That front lot of US is aesthetically better than the historic lot that was there for the first 85 years. Two problems: handicap access and post office access.

[GRID]

That front lot of US is aesthetically better than the historic lot that was there for the first 85 years. Two problems: handicap access and post office access.

You can still provide that while turning most of the lot into a plaza.

Another good use for that space would be for a bus transit center. Maybe a smaller version of the transit center in front of Rome's main train station or something like Oslo where you have a public plaza and a transit mall. Would be great across the street from the stadium.

[TheUrbanRoo]

That front lot of US is aesthetically better than the historic lot that was there for the first 85 years. Two problems: handicap access and post office access.

You can still provide that while turning most of the lot into a plaza.

Another good use for that space would be for a bus transit center. Maybe a smaller version of the transit center in front of Rome's main train station or something like Oslo where you have a public plaza and a transit mall. Would be great across the street from the stadium.

Love this idea. Grid's been on a roll lately.

[dnweava]

That front lot of US is aesthetically better than the historic lot that was there for the first 85 years. Two problems: handicap access and post office access.

You can still provide that while turning most of the lot into a plaza.

Another good use for that space would be for a bus transit center. Maybe a smaller version of the transit center in front of Rome's main train station or something like Oslo where you have a public plaza and a transit mall. Would be great across the street from the stadium.

Not too be a hater, but we don't need a bus depot full of homeless people in front of one of our biggest tourist locations.

[smh]

That front lot of US is aesthetically better than the historic lot that was there for the first 85 years. Two problems: handicap access and post office access.

You can still provide that while turning most of the lot into a plaza.

Another good use for that space would be for a bus transit center. Maybe a smaller version of the transit center in front of Rome's main train station or something like Oslo where you have a public plaza and a transit mall. Would be great across the street from the stadium.

Not too be a hater, but we don't need a bus depot full of homeless people in front of one of our biggest tourist locations.

Not sure we need to bring homeless people into this, but I agree that we don't really have need for something like GRID describes unless we get a lot more bus service going.

[GRID]

You can still provide that while turning most of the lot into a plaza.

Another good use for that space would be for a bus transit center. Maybe a smaller version of the transit center in front of Rome's main train station or something like Oslo where you have a public plaza and a transit mall. Would be great across the street from the stadium.

Not too be a hater, but we don't need a bus depot full of homeless people in front of one of our biggest tourist locations.

Not sure we need to bring homeless people into this, but I agree that we don't really have need for something like GRID describes unless we get a lot more bus service going.

I do kind of understand this. American cities generally don't have very pleasant urban bus transit centers. I do think it could be small one though and something that is more catering to regional commuters than just a connection point for urban bus routes.

It's going to take decades to build single regional rail line, let alone a regional rail network. But a regional bus system where all buses go to Union Station right in the middle of the Streetcar Line, where riders can be distributed could be done in under five years.

[smh]

Maybe this is where the KCI FlyAway bus drops?

[GRID]

Maybe this is where the KCI FlyAway bus drops?

Would be perfect for that.

[FangKC]

https://kansascitymag.com/developers-un ... rfect-fit/

[GRID]

Not sure why I'm posting this here since I'm preaching to the choir, but I went to Pittsburgh to catch a couple of Royals games and guess what? Pretty much zero traffic.

Now, I have been to most stadiums and live near DC and Baltimore and got to games in those parks all the time. And I have been to Pittsburgh many times and have seen games there before. But this time around, I wanted to pay particular attention to how downtown handled the crowds.

Mainly because the North Shore actually had both stadiums in use at the same time on Saturday with a major college game at the Steelers stadium.

Pittsburgh is similar in size to KC and has LRT, but I'm not sure how many people use the T for Pirates games. I doubt it's any more than would use the KC Streetcar.

There was just almost no traffic anywhere and parking was still fine. You could park across the street from PNC park for $20-30 or much less across the river in downtown garages. When the stadiums let out, people walked to hundreds of different places so there was almost no traffic congestion anywhere.

I am convinced that a downtown stadium in KC would have almost no traffic or parking issues. The vast majority of fans will spend less time walking, sitting in traffic and spend less money on parking than they do now. I just have no idea how you get the general public to understand that.

[Highlander]

Not sure why I'm posting this here since I'm preaching to the choir, but I went to Pittsburgh to catch a couple of Royals games and guess what? Pretty much zero traffic.

Now, I have been to most stadiums and live near DC and Baltimore and got to games in those parks all the time. And I have been to Pittsburgh many times and have seen games there before. But this time around, I wanted to pay particular attention to how downtown handled the crowds.

Mainly because the North Shore actually had both stadiums in use at the same time on Saturday with a major college game at the Steelers stadium.

Pittsburgh is similar in size to KC and has LRT, but I'm not sure how many people use the T for Pirates games. I doubt it's any more than would use the KC Streetcar.

There was just almost no traffic anywhere and parking was still fine. You could park across the street from PNC park for $20-30 or much less across the river in downtown garages. When the stadiums let out, people walked to hundreds of different places so there was almost no traffic congestion anywhere.

I am convinced that a downtown stadium in KC would have almost no traffic or parking issues. The vast majority of fans will spend less time walking, sitting in traffic and spend less money on parking than they do now. I just have no idea how you get the general public to understand that.

That was my experience at Coors Field in Denver and Minneapolis in recent trips and in Houston (easy walking, easy traffic - well, traffic is never easy in Houston but not because of baseball). Royals stadium has limited egress points and its not uncommon to sit 20 minutes in the parking lot waiting for traffic to clear out.

Washington Park will pose some problems for drivers because of the quirky road system in that area. For instance, 22cd which will become a main traffic corridor during games from US 71, needs to be a little more straightforward at McGee. That intersection needs to be redesigned as well as the Grand/22cd intersection. Getting onto to southbound 35 will be a problematic for fans from JoCo and will probably require police presence to keep that traffic flowing especially at Pennway and SW Blvd. I can see why some fans are apprehensive because they are accustomed to driving directly to their destination on an interstate and the Washington Park location will require negotiating downtown streets which I'm sure quite a few people have never done. Traffic won't be bad, just awkward for some people.

[FangKC]

I agree. That insection at McGee has always been wonky.

I wonder if the JoCo people will park on the shoulder of I-35 and walk like they do during the Chiefs/Royals celebration parades?

[alejandro46]

I love PNC park. It is one of the best stadiums in MLB. It has a unique location, fantastic views, and the stadium itself is great. It should be a model for any future Kauffman.

[longtimelistener]

Very, very quick sketch of having the best of both worlds. Plaza and gameday fan zone and a transit hub to the west. Handicap access for Union Station maintained right off the garage access.

[smh]

Very, very quick sketch of having the best of both worlds. Plaza and gameday fan zone and a transit hub to the west. Handicap access for Union Station maintained right off the garage access.

I think this is the right idea. Though honestly given the number of buses likely in use any time soon I'm not sure you'd need a large transit center. A few street side pullouts might get the job done, particularly if we're talking mostly MCI Flyaway buses. But I am really interested in the idea of removing the parking from in front of Union Station for a more attractive plaza use.

[dukuboy1]

I'm for it, provided it does not detract from the front on Union Station. I mean that front entrance is iconic. It would be a crime to Cover it over with corporate business sponsors, especially food & beverage logos and other brands. I love the idea of reimagining the space and creating better usage

[dnweava]

What's the point of making all the busses route over to a parking lot? Seems pointless to make the routes longer and congest them into that bottleneck Just build some nice bus stops on Perishing and Grand. Most people who aren't regular bus users aren't going to use them anyways, it's the streetcar stops that are going to be undersized for the crowds it will see. I'd make Pershing & Grand Pedestrian/bike/bus only for gamedays.

[GRID]

^ seems like half those bus routes don't even exist anymore. I know union station is only served by a few routes for example.

[TheUrbanRoo]

My guess us that once the Royals playoff run concludes we're gonna hear something from them about the stadium. And they'll try to tie in the season success to helping them.

[DColeKC]

My guess us that once the Royals playoff run concludes we're gonna hear something from them about the stadium. And they'll try to tie in the season success to helping them.

And fans will move the foul post. "We know we said win first and we would consider giving you a new stadium but we meant a world series".