KCMO Downtown Streetcar

[flyingember]

Extension to the riverfront fesability study announced

http://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/ ... expansion/

[earthling]

Extension to the riverfront fesability study announced

http://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/ ... expansion/

Doesn't make sense until all surface lots along existing line developed.

[pash]

.

[flyingember]

Extension to the riverfront fesability study announced

http://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/ ... expansion/

Doesn't make sense until all surface lots along existing line developed.

We don't have 20 years to wait for this before expansion is Iooked at.

This is supposed to be a network and development will go faster the larger a network the buildings can take advantage of.

[DaveKCMO]

Extension to the riverfront fesability study announced

http://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/ ... expansion/

Doesn't make sense until all surface lots along existing line developed.

how do you know such an announcement isn't also imminent?

[pash]

.

[KCPowercat]

That would be a pretty cool announcement

[miz.jordan17]

This is a pretty interesting article. I didn't know there was a tunnel that ran from downtown into the West Bottoms. I wonder if someday the tunnel could be restored and used for a streetcar connection to the area.

http://kcur.org/post/8th-street-tunnel- ... t#stream/0

[FangKC]

No. There is a garage built over the entrance to the tunnel now.

[beautyfromashes]

There is still an entrance. I'd rather have this restored than the Berkekey extension.

[FangKC]

Yes, there is an entrance inside the garage, and it's controlled by the building staff. Occasionally, there have been private tours given.

There were two tunnels. One on top of the other. The other tunnel ran under Washington Street and came out on 8th Street between Washington and Broadway. That entrance has been sealed over.



http://kcrag.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1 ... unnel+tour

The other tunnel was on top, and it exited on the bluff between Pennsylvania and Washington. Here is the former tunnel entrance in the bluff.

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.p ... OX=1&REC=6

http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/kan ... ten-tunnel

http://hyperblogal.blogspot.com/2010/04/under-city.html

http://undergroundozarks.com/blog/index ... eet_tunnel

Here is where the entrance to the tunnel was. The garage is built over the tunnel.

http://tinyurl.com/hvck5eo

Here is a diagram showing the two tunnels. You can magnify and zoom in on it if you click on the image, or use the directional tools on top of the image.

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.p ... DMROTATE=0

Here is a Sanborn map showing the tunnel entrance a half-block to the west of Washington Street where the alley would have run.



Here is a Google aerial of the block today showing the building and my guess to where the tunnel entrance would be underneath it.

[JBmidtown]

There is still an entrance. I'd rather have this restored than the Berkekey extension.

a beautiful idea but also a pipe dream.

[beautyfromashes]

There is still an entrance. I'd rather have this restored than the Berkekey extension.

a beautiful idea but also a pipe dream.

I've been on this board awhile. Most of the stuff that is happening DT now started out as a pipe dream.

[grovester]

I find it odd that today tunneling is considered prohibitively expensive, but somehow was doable at the turn of the century.

[JBmidtown]

I find it odd that today tunneling is considered prohibitively expensive, but somehow was doable at the turn of the century.

there was almost no safety regulations to work around, organized labor was still in infancy and exploiting a bunch of immigrant laborers was cheaper than the machinery they would use today. Also they didn't have all the shit underground we have now like fiber lines and all the other telecommunication stuff.

[JBmidtown]

That said it would be awesome to see the 8th street tunnel restored AND used for streetcar service/light rail to KCK. Just the idea of Kansas City having underground rail blows my mind.

[flyingember]

I would be intrigued to see where the exit is in relation to I-35.

[mykn]

I would be intrigued to see where the exit is in relation to I-35.

If I remember right, Question Quest on KCUR said that the exit was partially cut off by I35.

[shinatoo]

I-35 on the west side is, in my opinion, the worst thing about the highway system in Kansas City. If I could change one thing about our highway system it would be to move I-35 to the west bottoms if not wholly into Kansas. Higher priority than any part of the loop.

[flyingember]

I-35 on the west side is, in my opinion, the worst thing about the highway system in Kansas City. If I could change one thing about our highway system it would be to move I-35 to the west bottoms if not wholly into Kansas. Higher priority than any part of the loop.

At the time it was built the bluffs were slums and the bottoms were busy industrial.

In context they made a good choice