We sometimes hear the quaint expression “He’s off his trolley,” or “they’re off their trolley.” What it means, generally speaking, is that someone is “nuts” or has done something weird or inexplicable.
While the Kansas City, Missouri council may deserve such criticism occasionally, its decision to help launch a trolley project is not one of those times.
The council backed a two-hundred-thousand dollar loan to jump-start, starting next month, the use of trolleys and other vehicles to move people between and among some major entertainment areas, such as 18th and Vine, the P&L District, Westport, the Plaza and others.
Two “Bills” are behind the project, Bill George and Bill Nigro. The former runs transportation companies; the latter is in the restaurant/bar business.
They hope the new service will attract tourists and locals alike and expose them to venues they might otherwise ignore.
One of the most appealing aspects of the plan is that the trolleys would run periodically in each of the main areas. That means you could ride to the P&L District, for example, and if you found it unappealing for some reason, you could be on your way to a different location in a short time.
Equally appealing is the idea that there’s safety in numbers. Suburbanites who might recoil at the idea of traveling to 18th and Vine alone will find themselves in the company of others for the trip.
This trolley plan seems well planned and workable. And taxpayers in Kansas City, at least on this venture, are not “being taken for a ride.”