Kansas City Streetcar - First Six Years + Current and Future Expansion
Come hear Tom Gerend, Executive Director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, provide an update on KC Streetcar operations and expansion. Mr. Gerend will recap the first 6 years of downtown streetcar’s success, provide details on current expansion efforts currently underway to connect the existing system to UMKC and Berkley Riverfront, and outline plans for further expansions in the years to come.
On June 16th, 2014 Tom Gerend was named the first Executive Director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA). Since the public opening of the streetcar system on May 6th, 2016 the KC Streetcar system has carried over 8 million passenger trips, won numerous state and national awards, and has been credited with stimulating over $3 billion in active economic development in downtown Kansas City. Gerend is currently leading planning on streetcar expansion to the Missouri Riverfront and University of Missouri, Kansas City and actively supporting transit expansion efforts region-wide.
Prior to KCSA, Gerend worked for the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) leading regional transportation planning and public transit coordination across the eight county bi-state Kansas City region. Gerend earned his MBA from the University of Illinois and his undergraduate degree in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University in Ames.