Streetcar Expansion Cleared for Voting

A Jackson County Circuit Court Judge has cleared the way for voting on the expansion of the Transportation Development District (TDD) for Kansas City’s budding streetcar service. The expanded district would support a southward expansion of the existing Main Street line to the UMKC Volker Campus.

Building costs for the project are estimated at $227 million with about $114 million of that being sought from the federal government. Additional funding from a sales tax, real property assessments and assessments on lots used for pay parking is among the issues voters will decide on.

There will be three elections among registered voters in the areas affected by the TDD proposal: a mail-in formation election, a polling-place election for a board of directors and a mail-in funding election.

As for objections that were raised regarding the inability of non-resident landowners—who aren’t registered to vote in the area—to participate in the elections, the Wednesday ruling by Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs stated, “The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear that ‘a government unit may legitimately restrict the right to participate in its political processes to those who reside within its borders.’