This story is part of an ongoing series, On Track with KC. If you have questions about the extension of the streetcar, you can submit them here.
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Fire trucks in Kansas City, Missouri, and streetcars both use technology to communicate with traffic signals.
The system is called Traffic Signal Priority.
In the case of KC Streetcar, the system can extend or shorten the length of a green or red light to keep the streetcars on schedule. Its goal is for a streetcar to reach each platform every 10 minutes.
Fire trucks go a step further. They can interrupt a traffic signal to give them the green light.
KC Streetcar has been using the system for the past nine years on the original line downtown. Updated technology was installed on the Main Street Extension.
"It's advanced, it's sophisticated,” said Jason Waldron, Kansas City’s director of transportation.
He described how an emitter on a streetcar communicates with traffic signals. A control box within the signal uses algorithms to determine how to move the most people — not necessarily cars — as efficiently as possible. It then gives priority to the streetcar or regular traffic.
“If the streetcar is falling behind schedule, the system will automatically recognize that and actually up the priority just a little bit more to get it back on schedule,” Waldron said.
The city has upgraded the technology on the original streetcar line, too. The system is installed on 130 total intersections in the city, with each intersection costing around $10,000.
The Main Street Extension’s $350 million total price tag includes costs for installing the system along the route.
Waldron said one of the many tests the city is conducting before opening the Main Street Extension is ensuring the emitters and traffic signals are working properly.
The city uses Opticom and Econolite products in the system.
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KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.