WoodDraw wrote: ↑Sat Feb 25, 2023 10:14 pm
I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I feel like the beg signs are becoming really dangerous along the street car. You can't get a walk with unless you time it right, so you either walk with a green light and don't walk sign or just wait for ages.
Is there any way to promote better pedestrian safety on main? Other streets aren't like this.
Done so they can prioritize streetcar. If it flips to walk each time have to hold the cross streets green longer so the lights can't flip back to giving streetcar the green faster. It's dangerous and confusing to have one set of lights different tm then the rest of downtown ped signals.
It's a battle fought and lost over and over, I've given up.
I get that in theory, I'm sure some traffic engineer at public works figured it out.
Sadly we have such little foot traffic at some main intersections I think it could impact it a bit but probably immaterial. Hrd to argue to give 30 second cross traffic passage every time at 7th and main for example when nobody is ever there.
That said some intersections (10th to 18th and river market) maybe it is time to re examine
KCPowercat wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:17 pm
Sadly we have such little foot traffic at some main intersections I think it could impact it a bit but probably immaterial. Hrd to argue to give 30 second cross traffic passage every time at 7th and main for example when nobody is ever there.
That said some intersections (10th to 18th and river market) maybe it is time to re examine
Many of the intersections aren't that busy either. The whole priority system is a mess, the streetcar still stops and then immediately stops again at a light.
Regardless of this, having rules that no one follows is a safety issue. The traffic engineers might have thought they nailed it, but it doesn't work.
I should add that even crossing walking north doesn't trigger the pedestrian lights. So if I walk out of my place in the crossroads and walk north I have to beg button every single light to get down main. That's what I'm saying.
The streetcar itself is nowhere close to me, I'm just trying to walk. But it's so fucking frustrating. Again, most cars that are used to downtown give way. But others just run through.
WoodDraw wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:39 pm
I should add that even crossing walking north doesn't trigger the pedestrian lights. So if I walk out of my place in the crossroads and walk north I have to beg button every single light to get down main. That's what I'm saying.
The streetcar itself is nowhere close to me, I'm just trying to walk. But it's so fucking frustrating. Again, most cars that are used to downtown give way. But others just run through.
That and the frustrating quality that almost all of the pedestrian phases only have a walk sign for ~15 seconds or so when the light is green for 2-3x that length.
WoodDraw wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:39 pm
I should add that even crossing walking north doesn't trigger the pedestrian lights. So if I walk out of my place in the crossroads and walk north I have to beg button every single light to get down main. That's what I'm saying.
The streetcar itself is nowhere close to me, I'm just trying to walk. But it's so fucking frustrating. Again, most cars that are used to downtown give way. But others just run through.
That and the frustrating quality that almost all of the pedestrian phases only have a walk sign for ~15 seconds or so when the light is green for 2-3x that length.
Or when the streetcar is pulling up right in front of you but you have a do not walk with a green light. lol
Why can’t it just be a caution turn that gives way to pedestrians? At least that way when I’m killed by an f750 that can’t see me I at least have had the right of way.
I’d just be happy having drivers turning on a green yield to learn that they have to yield to pedestrians too, not just cars. I take my life in my hands walking Main everyday, especially at Pershing and 18th streets.
Not sure if the right thread for this post, but I'm curious if anyone can shed some light on this but this building at 3947 State Line Rd.
I was told by someone it was built as a streetcar maintenance building in 1911. but it appears maybe it was just a electrical substation for the streetcars based on what I'm reading in the case file I found with a google search It has tall windows so I could foresee being able to pull streetcars in the building at some point, if you look at the north wall, you can see they bricked in part of the taller openings.
dnweava wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:19 pm
Not sure if the right thread for this post, but I'm curious if anyone can shed some light on this but this building at 3947 State Line Rd.
I was told by someone it was built as a streetcar maintenance building in 1911. but it appears maybe it was just a electrical substation for the streetcars based on what I'm reading in the case file I found with a google search It has tall windows so I could foresee being able to pull streetcars in the building at some point, if you look at the north wall, you can see they bricked in part of the taller openings.
I'm traveling at the moment and can't check myself, but the book Kansas City Streetcars (not the older KC Star book) has details about every structure and track layout from the old system.
40th & State Line, E side. One 1500-kw rotary converter. Built after 1912. Owned by Kansas City Electric Light Co. All other substation buildings owned by MSRy [Metropolitan Street Railway, precursor to Kansas City Public Service Company]. Building still exists.
I think there are four substations on the downtown route -- I recall locations of at least two: Main @ I-70 and Main @ Truman Road South. They're basically pre-assembled boxes from Siemens. I don't recall how many are being placed on the Main Street Extension, but work next week will involve one at East 31st Terrace.
Seems pretty absurd they are closing the union station stop for several days for the NFL draft since the streetcar has to go to the stop anyways to turn around.
dnweava wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:47 pm
Seems pretty absurd they are closing the union station stop for several days for the NFL draft since the streetcar has to go to the stop anyways to turn around.
