Appeals court upholds dismissal of lawsuit over Downtown streetcars

“Kansas City’s Downtown streetcar project got a big boost today with an appeals court ruling affirming the legality of the local taxes to help pay for it,” according to The Kansas City Star.

“The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that threatened the financial viability of the project, which is expected to cost about $100 million and run for two miles from the River Market to close to Union Station, primarily on Main Street,” wrote reporter Lynn Horsley.

When the streetcar becomes operational in about two years, it will be a modern transit solution to fill a long-noted gap in the city’s revitalized Downtown.

“Two property owners who opposed the Downtown property and sales taxes to help pay for the streetcar system had asked the appeals court to reverse Jackson County Circuit Judge Peggy Stevens McGraw’s dismissal of their lawsuit,” The Star said. “They argued that it would be unfair to forever deny them a chance to challenge those taxes in court. But the appeals court said the deadline for such a challenge has passed, and the project should be allowed to move forward.”

To read the complete story in The Star, click here.