Kansas City Streetcar Authority
In 2016, the Kansas City downtown streetcar went into service. The 2.2-mile starter line was a success and generated more trips than originally anticipated. Due to overwhelming support and enthusiastic public interest in extending the streetcar route, the City of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO), the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), and the Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) is extending the streetcar approximately 3.5 miles south. The plan is for the streetcar service to travel along Main Street to the Country Club Plaza/University of Missouri Kansas City Plaza (Plaza / UMKC) area. The South Main Street Extension project would connect the city’s two largest activity centers.
To deliver a streetcar line that operates efficiently and effectively with managed headways and reliable service, KCMO, KCATA, and KCSA decided to implement a Transit Signal Priority (TSP) solution as an integral part of the streetcar extension project development. Econolite is working with its partner, Traffic Control Corporation (TCC), to implement Centracs® Priority and upgrade traffic signal controllers with Econolite’s EOS controller firmware as the intelligent TSP solution for the project. The combination of Centracs Priority and EOS will be used to modify signal timings throughout the corridor to keep the streetcar operating within planned headways. It will also be leveraged at specific locations to facilitate dedicated streetcar phasing for more aggressive transit priority treatments and schedule reliability, as required.
Centracs Priority will also integrate with the existing Computer-Aided Dispatch / Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) systems for the City’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) systems. The network communication is established at a Server-to-Server level. Streetcar operation functionality will include Train-to-Wayside device communication to further prioritize transit at key locations along the corridor.
