RR's don't mind closing crossings, but folks who use particular crossings often want someone else's crossing closed, not the one on their favorite route.

Exactly.

I understand that people like their favorite routes, but routes can be changed. 6th through 9th Streets being closed would only require driving down to 5th or up to 10th. Oklahoma is one way south, so anyone wanting to go north on Oklahoma has to use an alternate route anyway. I don't really care for myself, but several people have told me they wouldn't consider living in Deep Deuce or the Triangle because of the railroad noise. It seems like a reasonably simple thing, looking at traffic patterns in that area.

I lived in the DDeuce and never felt the trains were a problem.

Perception is reality though.

I'm not disagreeing betts, but some of the silliness involved in folks not wanting to change routes is, to put it mildly, every bit as entertaining as it can be annoying.

For some, being asked to adjust a 1/2 mile or less can equate to the end of all that is holy.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm a little confused on the train issue. If the at-grade crossings are closed, then the train doesn't have to blow the whistle at every crossing? Is that correct?

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm a little confused on the train issue. If the at-grade crossings are closed, then the train doesn't have to blow the whistle at every crossing? Is that correct?

Yes, the trains are required to whistle a certain number of feet prior to approaching an at-grade crossing. Because 6th through 10th are all at-grade crossings, the trains whistle pretty much continuously while traversing that area. There are also at-grade crossings north of 10th up to 23rd, but I haven't driven up there to determine how many.

There is a lot of variation in how loudly and long the trains tootle.....some engineers clearly enjoy laying on the horn, whereas others are following the letter of the law. Again, I've gotten used to it, sleep through it and kind of enjoy the train noise. But, I've had more than one person tell me they decided not to move into the area east of Broadway because of train noise. And, according to metro, we've had some stalled development because of it, which I think is important to note.

But, I've had more than one person tell me they decided not to move into the area east of Broadway because of train noise. And, according to metro, we've had some stalled development because of it, which I think is important to note.

Gosh... is there really that much residential east of Broadway?? Where are we talking about?

How close do you have to be for it to be so loud you wouldn't want to move there? I know that at places like Iguana Mexican Grill it is pretty loud.

I live only 4 blocks west of the train on 12th and it is hardly loud enough to irritate me.

Gosh... is there really that much residential east of Broadway?? Where are we talking about?

How close do you have to be for it to be so loud you wouldn't want to move there? I know that at places like Iguana Mexican Grill it is pretty loud.

I live only 4 blocks west of the train on 12th and it is hardly loud enough to irritate me.

People who were looking at housing in Maywood Park and Deep Deuce were the ones who had objections they voiced to me. As I said, I don't think the train noise is bad at all, but there were 3 different people who told me they'd decided not to live in that area because of train noise.

Gosh... is there really that much residential east of Broadway?? Where are we talking about?

How close do you have to be for it to be so loud you wouldn't want to move there? I know that at places like Iguana Mexican Grill it is pretty loud.

I live only 4 blocks west of the train on 12th and it is hardly loud enough to irritate me.

Yes, in Deep Deuce/Maywood Park there are probably 500 or so residents. Not to mention people WEST of the tracks can also hear it, so that includes a good 1000 or more residents as well as all the downtown hotels and businesses. That's a pretty good cluster, the most concenterated cluster in the metro. Not to mention, Burt Belanger is wanting to break ground on 300 or so apartments just north of 10th and Broadway if the Quiet Zone passes.

I find it hard to believe that there is millions of dollars of new development waiting to start construction but only once the city creates a quiet zone. I cant imagine that being the only thing stopping them from building.

But if that is the case, then the city is really dropping the ball on this issue.

The City IS dropping the ball on this one. It's baffling actually.

Are there any studies thus far on how many crossing need to be zapped, and over how great a distance in each direction from the epicenter of the desired quiet zone.

I don't know just how much traffic would need to be rerouted from how many streets, but y'all done gone and gots me curious.

People who were looking at housing in Maywood Park and Deep Deuce were the ones who had objections they voiced to me. As I said, I don't think the train noise is bad at all, but there were 3 different people who told me they'd decided not to live in that area because of train noise.

But there are no at-grade crossings in that area.


Not to mention people WEST of the tracks can also hear it, so that includes a good 1000 or more residents as well as all the downtown hotels and businesses.

I work at a downtown hotel, and have not once heard the train. I've also never heard it even from Iguana. (the latter may just be luck)


I'm not saying we don't need the quiet zone, I just don't buy that these developments are really on hold because of it.

But there are no at-grade crossings in that area.
I work at a downtown hotel, and have not once heard the train. I've also never heard it even from Iguana. (the latter may just be luck)


I'm not saying we don't need the quiet zone, I just don't buy that these developments are really on hold because of it.

You're right, there are no grade crossings until 6th St. However, there is a mandated distance before a train reaches the crossing when the whistle has to be blown. My husband, a train aficionado, says there is a sign telling the engineer precisely where to blow the whistle, but I've not seen it. Suffice it to say, it seems like it's right at about 3rd or 4th street.

I've not really noticed the trains at the Iguana either, which is probably because there's a fairly high decibel level in the restaurant itself that blocks out a lot of the noise. It also depends upon the wind and which direction it's blowing.

I'm not sure the train noise is the ONLY reason the developments are on hold, but with proximity immediately adjacent to the tracks, I'm not sure I'd want to develop the area without a Quiet Zone existing.

I believe they start blowing the whistle somewhere around where the tracks pass by the Canal, so California St. I know that you can hear it very loudly from the canal level, so if they are actually blowing around 2nd or 3rd street then the noise (at a distracting/annoying decibel) is carrying pretty far.

Last year I lived near the Santa Fe tracks in Norman (about 3 blocks away maybe) and every now and then things would rattle around in my room a bit, and I would hear it but not in my sleep. However, as someone else mentioned, certain drivers are WAY worse than others.

Norman just implemented a quiet zone at Constitution St, where there are a lot of student housing and apartment complexes along Classen and 12th St. I think if Norman can handle quiet zoning for a couple thousand student apartments, OKC can finish out the process for an area where there are at least 500 expensive residential units existing and probably 700-1000 more planned within very close proximity to the tracks.

The City IS dropping the ball on this one. It's baffling actually.

Can you explain this? I'd like to hear why you think they are dropping the ball.

My husband, a train aficionado, says there is a sign telling the engineer precisely where to blow the whistle, but I've not seen it.

They are little white sign posts with a W painted on them - one before each crossing.

Cafe, here's a question I can't seem to get answered in this regard (and I'm going to try again this week): why has the city been so quick to tap TIF funds to buy up property in Core to Shore for a park that isn't funded and where there is no development and yet has been unwilling (from what I'm told) to spend TIF dollars to pay for the quiet zone where there is ample development?

Good question.

I lived in Crystal City in VA (DC) for a short time and the entire city is basically built around the idea of apartment complexes with shopping centers/restaurants/bars on the bottom floor and built next to small cozy parks. I would go down to the first floor watch an OU game and have a few drinks at mackie's, pick up crab cakes from the farmers market, whip up some dipping sauce and read the post in the park, walk home and take a nap on the couch. That was a typical Saturday.

Somehow get the city to work public transit into that and you've got yourself a pretty nice little residential community.

I always thought something like that would go over really well in Oklahoma City.

Cafe, here's a question I can't seem to get answered in this regard (and I'm going to try again this week): why has the city been so quick to tap TIF funds to buy up property in Core to Shore for a park that isn't funded and where there is no development and yet has been unwilling (from what I'm told) to spend TIF dollars to pay for the quiet zone where there is ample development?

That is a good question...

Can you explain this? I'd like to hear why you think they are dropping the ball.

As Steve pointed out, they can find funds to run the boats to nowhere on the Oklahoma River or purchase land in Core To Shore (which hasn't even been passed in MAPS 3 yet), and other projects, but they can't come up with a measely $3-$4 million for this project, that is already in our most concentrated area of development in the City, when the ROI's on this would be far greater and bring in much more in tax revenues with future developments. In another thread (quiet zone thread), I actually posted more information and clarified this statement to a greater degree, might want to check out that thread.

Back to the topic of this thread, just East of Sara Sara, the house that will feature a bar/restaurant looks about done, and it looks like they either moved (or I never saw) a smaller house next to it (2 houses east of Sara Sara, buts right up to train tracks) and they have been rehabbing it, and it has come along very nicely!

Once-decrepit Oklahoma City street blooms into retail, restaurant area
GROWTH HOMES THAT WERE IN BAD REPAIR ARE BEING MADE INTO STORES, STUDIOS
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: November 14, 2009
Just three years ago, the stretch of NW 9 just east of Broadway was a blighted mess lined with boarded up houses masked by overgrown brush and trees and homeless folks living in parked cars.

Now, the street is home to a popular restaurant, a cupcake bakery and soon a home accessories gift shop, photography studio, sushi restaurant and even a Christmas tree lot.

For the rest of Steve's article go to:

NewsOK (http://newsok.com/once-decrepit-oklahoma-city-street-blooms-into-retail-restaurant-area/article/3417240?custom_click=lead_story_title)

Thanks for putting this article in the right place. I shouldn't have started a new thread, but, it was early and I wasn't thinking clearly. Regardless, what has happened on 9th Street is incredibly exciting and shows that a building doesn't necessarily have to be historic to be worth renovating.

A quiet zone still has whistling, but the sound comes from a loudspeaker on the sign post. It is still pretty loud, but is directed at street traffic from either direction

A quiet zone still has whistling, but the sound comes from a loudspeaker on the sign post. It is still pretty loud, but is directed at street traffic from either direction

Actually, that's only one form of quiet zone control. It's the least desirable, in my opinion, because it still causes noise pollution for housing/retail.

I actually went by BD Designs yesterday. It's a very nice space and they've got both furniture and decorative items for the contemporary home, although there are plenty of things that could be used in a home with a more eclectic design incorporating some contemporary elements. It's a great addition to the area.

Where is the Sushi restaurant to be located?

The building directly west of the tracks on the north side of 9th.

Patience, hope pay off for developer of NW 9
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: November 17, 2009

Three years ago, Steve Mason was still just getting started on renovation of the historic former Cadillac dealership building at 1015 N Broadway when he insisted on walking across the street and on to NW 9.

The street was a disaster. An old brick garage was the only building that wasn’t overrun with brush and trees. And even it looked like a building best left to the fate of a bulldozer.

The three old houses along the north side of the street looked like an oversight of either Urban Renewal from the 1970s or more recently the city’s neighborhood services department. By any standard, the houses were blighted and were dangerous to the public.

Read the rest of Steve's article at:

NewsOK (http://newsok.com/patience-hope-pay-off-for-developer-of-nw-9/article/3418033?custom_click=headlines_widget)

More to come too, I've been told! Another restaurant or two, and possibly a music venue.

More to come too, I've been told! Another restaurant or two, and possibly a music venue.

Would Mel's Towing be the music venue?

That's what I've heard.

Is the BD Designs open yet? When is the sushi restaurant set to open?

BD Home is open.

I seriously recommend the nostalgic go by and see the 9th St Christmas Tree lot. It looks like something out of an old movie...a real urban Christmas tree lot. I love it.

Noticed this place when I was at Sara Sara a few nights ago, looks like they are almost open. Also saw this article in today's OKC Biz.

Automobile Alley

Chef Eric Smith soon will open Pachinko Sushi Parlor, an Asian-inspired restaurant at 1 NW 9, situated two doors east of his Sara Sara Cupcakes.

Renovations are near completion in the old, abandoned home, where Smith will take 1,400 square feet of space and feature patio-seating areas.

“Our restaurant will have an urban, sultry, kind of new-century theme, featuring an open space, sushi bar and long banquet hall,” he says. “I like for it to feel like people are going to someone’s house for dinner. The interior will be subliminally Asian.”

Smith says his menu will include traditional sushi rolls, but its specialty rolls will distinguish Pachinko from other sushi sites. He plans to feature between 10 and 12 specialty rolls, including the Italiano Roll, made with marinated buffalo, mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, and a balsamic glaze; a Curry Chicken Salad Roll with mango chutney; and a Mexican-inspired roll made with chorizo, cream cheese and avocado on the inside with crushed tortilla chips and salsa verde placed outside of the roll, among others.

“It’s exciting on multiple levels,” Smith says. “We’ll even deliver our sushi all the way up to Crown Heights at no extra charge, and in Smart cars.”

Restaurant hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

Sounds excellent!

What a fantastic little enclave this has become.

I haven't seen it in any articles, but St. Anthony's ad agency recently moved into a building just to the east of the tracks.

which agency is that?

I haven't seen it in any articles, but St. Anthony's ad agency recently moved into a building just to the east of the tracks.

Unfortunately, everytime someone locates east of the tracks, I think it makes a Quiet Zone less likely. That's one more business that is going to protest any closure of the streets.

which agency is that?

Insight Creative Group