The Kansas City councilman who has steered the city's streetcar project from its start says Thursday was probably the most significant mile post in the process. The city is ready to sign the contract for four streetcars.
Councilman Russ Johnson says the council's approval of the $17.9 million contract was the true “point of no return,” the day that the plan changed from a dream to a project underway.
“This is where you're really getting serious about building this project," Johnson told his colleagues. "We're going to go 'box it out' and buy something.”
In addition to approving the purchase of four $4.5 million streetcars, the council instructed city staff to start shopping for a $10 million loan to begin environmental and preliminary engineering studies for a yet undefined expansion of the streetcar system.
