© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

LOOK: Kansas City Streetcar Takes Its First Ride Through River Market, Downtown

The Kansas City streetcar took its first ride through downtown Kansas City early Friday. After a series of delays, the first car arrived three days ago from the manufacturer in Elmira, New York.

A handful of streetcar construction workers, city officials and officials from the KC Streetcar Authority rode in the vehicle while others walked along side streetcar #801 as a massive tow truck pulled it through the River Market.

Though overhead power lines are installed along the route, they were not used during the test run. Streetcar officials said the test was mainly to test curves and clearance.

Donna Mandelbaum with the KC Streetcar Authority said only a few minor changes to traffic signals and curbs are needed before testing continues.

"The next time we go out with our streetcar vehicle, we'll be testing it under its own power," Mandelbaum said. "We expect that things will go pretty similarly, and that the corrections we'll have made will be even more suitable."

Mandelbaum says most of the adjustments needed are small: some just inches or millimeters in size. The powered streetcar tests could happen as early as next week. 

Take a peek at the new car in the slideshow above, or in this video:

A California native, Briana comes to KCUR by way of KMUW in Wichita, Kan. and KUSP in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Cody Newill is part of KCUR's audience development team. Follow him on Twitter @CodyNewill or email him at cody@kcur.org.
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.