Steve is right about this. Whoever is in charge of the streetcar system needs to change the arrival times and stop blaming the lights for the wrong times. There has to be a way to manually change the times so someone isn't waiting around for 30 minutes for a train that was supposed to arrive in 5. If you want to set this thing up for failure, that is how you do it. Lots of people won't give second chances.

Steve is right that the monitor issues should be addressed. At times like New Years Eve, the boards should just read something like, "Due to traffic, streetcar times cannot be predicted." Moreover, I don't understand why the streetcars don't have GPS and why this can't be fixed when it's used for bus systems and metros all over the country, but I know people are on top of it.

However, Lackmeyer's tone (e.g., the streetcar is "a complete joke") is a poor look for anyone, much less a journalist.

I have ridden the SC several times for various types of trips. The SC absolutely needs: (1) signal prioritization on all lights, immediately; (2) an app and on-screen correct locations for the SCs immediately; (3) more SCs running on the loops; and (4) to be shut down and completely rebuilt as a dual track between Capitol Hill and uptown. The loop decision was clearly not the right one and it was chosen to force people to walk, as Urban Pioneer stated in an earlier post. It wasn't chosen for actual commuters who need to get to work or to a restaurant. KC already proved that and that it should be fare-free, but our SC Committee thought they knew better, I guess.

Steve is right about this. Whoever is in charge of the streetcar system needs to change the arrival times and stop blaming the lights for the wrong times. There has to be a way to manually change the times so someone isn't waiting around for 30 minutes for a train that was supposed to arrive in 5. If you want to set this thing up for failure, that is how you do it. Lots of people won't give second chances.

Steve is blowing up a grid-lock scenario during a major NYE event. I agree that some sort of alternative message should have been sent to the boards. However, the lights are a contributing and continual accuracy inhibitor. The lights ARE a daily accuracy real-time estimate problem!

Steve is blowing up a grid-lock scenario during a major NYE event. I agree that some sort of alternative message should have been sent to the boards. However, the lights are a contributing and continual accuracy inhibitor. The lights ARE a daily accuracy real-time estimate problem!
You can just have said "the lights ARE a daily problem" for the streetcars and every other driver downtown.

OKC Guy- the traffic signals are "dumb". A few intersections have special turn lane cycles that activate at certain times of the day. That is the extent of it. Any sort of GPS or geo-netting technology would open a 20 - 30-second window of time for the streetcar. Perhaps even shorter. Any unintended effects would be severely limited and so momentary that they would be absorbed by all of the other dumb movements. In essence, its a wash with the particular OPTICOM technology proposed.

Are you quoting a study or not?

KC already proved that and that it should be fare-free, but our SC Committee thought they knew better, I guess.

You can directly blame Jim Couch and Ed Shadid for streetcar fares. And, regarding the fares, OKC's structure is not the same as Kansas City as brought up in previous posts.

you can just have said "the lights are a daily problem" for the streetcars and every other driver downtown.

lol

Are you quoting a study or not?

Hours and hours and hours of meetings and debates about this issue is what I am quoting. Meetings that you did not have to sit through. Several pages back is a detailed synopsis of one of those meetings published as a courtesy.

Hours and hours and hours of meetings and debates about this issue is what I am quoting. Meetings that you did not have to sit through. Several pages back is a detailed synopsis of one of those meetings published as a courtesy.

So these are personal opinions of non traffic flow experts.

I respect their work but I would never trust opinions over facts. Facts can only be obtained with a study by traffic engineers.

Lets just say you own a business a half block away. All the sudden you start to notice cars backed up on your street. This change means customers stop coming to your business because its now hard to get to.

We spent $130,000,000 already. If we haven’t performed a traffic study then its a failure to ask for more money when that solution may create bigger problems. We have to know.

This is why I asked what the preferred time between same stop is. This can then be used by traffic engineers to see impacts of light changes. What if the crosswalk was just about to change but overidden by SC. When its done does it go back to crosswalk light or start over and they wait a cycle? We cannot assume.

When people want a new light installed for what they perceive is a bad road the city has to do a study first, to see all the ripple effects. They don’t just run out and add a light (although it seems that way at times lol)

This is not directed at you but in general. I would hate to buy this priority setup amd city comes back and says it will cause bigger problems if we go forward. It seems from all I have read everyone is laser focused on fixing the immediate SC problem but not consdering other potential problems.

Has a study even been requested from the city yet?

Thanks for your reply

https://www.thelostogle.com/2019/01/02/steve-lackmeyer-is-mad-at-the-okc-streetcar/

This!!!!

You can directly blame Jim Couch and Ed Shadid for streetcar fares. And, regarding the fares, OKC's structure is not the same as Kansas City as brought up in previous posts.

Yes, we should have "structured" our SC payment system just like KC's, not tried to reinvent the wheel.

So these are personal opinions of non traffic flow experts.

I respect their work but I would never trust opinions over facts. Facts can only be obtained with a study by traffic engineers.


Who do you think these meetings were with?... traffic engineers. Specifically OKC Traffic Engineers and their consultants.

Yes, we should have "structured" our SC payment system just like KC's, not tried to reinvent the wheel.

The people that control the Downtown OKC BID Board were against it. Therefore, EMBARK runs and funds the streetcar. Ed has made it clear that a Title 6 lawsuit will be brought if we make the streetcar free over buses. Jim Couch doesn't want homeless people on there all day or an ACLU lawsuit... therefore... fares.

The people that control the Downtown OKC BID Board were against it. Therefore, EMBARK runs and funds the streetcar. Ed has made it clear that a Title 6 lawsuit will be brought if we make the streetcar free over buses. Jim Couch doesn't want homeless people on there all day or an ACLU lawsuit... therefore... fares.

Is there another city where they have a free streetcar but still have fares on buses?

Is there another city where they have a free streetcar but still have fares on buses?

Not that I can immediately recall. Fare-free zones yes. Kansas City has done many things right and it is admirable. They get it.

I really don't see a problem with fares, since anyone can purchase an unlimited Embark pass for $4 which is good for 24 hours, city wide with sc

Who do you think these meetings were with?... traffic engineers. Specifically OKC Traffic Engineers and their consultants.

Do they have a public “summary document” that can be viewed?

Thanks

SUMMARY

September 24, 2018 Automatic Signal Priority Meeting for OKC Streetcar


Between City Staff, EMBARK Staff, Consultants, and Myself
420 Main (4th Floor MAPS Office Conference Room)


There are 39 traffic signals that may potentially affect the efficient operation of OKC Streetcar.

15 Signals will have some sort of degree of priority control that is fully-funded by MAPS.

24 Signals currently do not have funded priority control and are being evaluated.

An additional $600,000 is required to deploy priority control equipment to the remaining 24 locations.

Consultants and OKC Streetcar Staff have identified three signal locations on the Bricktown loop that would potentially, positively affect route times.

An estimated $150,000 has been identified as “next-step” investments and involve outfitting the seven train cars with OPTICOM transmitters and to convert the initial three signal control cabinets with new controllers that can communicate with the system.

OPTICOM is the current method for actuating the signals due to historic reliability precedents with minimal, ongoing traffic management programming requirements from Public Works.

OPTICOM has its limitations however as it is not a “smart” technology. It can cause preemptive traffic management cycling times to occur on demand. However, it does not actively make “smart” judgments about real-time situations at intersections. A camera-type solution may provide better overall results but also would likely require more ongoing programming investment costs to keep such a system reliable.

The goal is 12 – 14-minute intervals between trains.

Additional time extending beyond 12 – 14 minutes is projected to have a detrimental effect on ridership.

Current Consultant estimates based on projected averages have trains estimated to function within reason.

The Bricktown loop is taking longer to travel than projected. Factoring crosswalk signal cycles, Bricktown times can only be marginally improved but probably require the initial three OPTICOM signal investments to keep travel times within reason.



(1 of 3)


PERSONAL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS


Public Works Staff is resistant to a blanket Signal Priority Policy such as I have proposed to the OKC Traffic Commission and attempted to promote through the MAPS process.

The attempt at implementing the policy has continued to elevate awareness about the issue.

There is strong communication occurring between EMBARK and Traffic Control and active monitoring of route times.

OPTICOM is not the ideal long-term solution to improve overall times but it is the immediate technology of choice by Public Works to resolve current obstacles that are delaying efficient streetcar circulation at key signal points.

One of the main obstacles to improving times system-wide is pedestrian crosswalk buttons. If a reliable “camera-type” technology could be obtained that Public Works found acceptable, real-time evaluation of pedestrian activity might be achieved allowing for the smart ongoing evaluation of real-time conditions of crosswalks. Cameras could detect whether the crosswalk had fully cleared of activity and automatically shorten the length of time as necessary thus improving the promptness of green lighting streetcar through-movement. Such a system is being deployed in Kansas City.

The problem with route timeliness and its relationship to signal cycles is incredibly dynamic and varies throughout the day. Additional building development and increased pedestrian activity downtown will ironically exacerbate the timeliness problem. A smarter preemption technology than OPTICOM should be pursued to assist with the new dynamism downtown and its impacts to streetcar movement.

The meeting illustrated that there is an earnest effort to coordinate between city departments to achieve a consultant-based level of service timeliness that the consultant, JACOBS/URS, believes will obtain reasonable streetcar ridership.

The current plan does not attempt to wholly eliminate unnecessary stops at red lights.

I believe it is essential to actively monitor the situation as we enter testing and aggressively evaluate what the ridership experience is like.

I also believe that additional “smart” solutions should be evaluated and a vendor solution selected that provides the necessary reliability and ongoing support that Public Works desires be provided in the immediate future.

Eliminating unnecessary stops at red lights will improve the ridership experience and the sense of expediency that riders throughout the US expect out of streetcar travel.




(2 of 3)


NEXT STEPS THAT I RECOMMEND


1. Approve the estimated $150,000 investment out of excess MAPS sales tax collections to improve travel times at three signals identified in Bricktown.

2. Actively test and reevaluate B Line circulation after OPTICOM is deployed on the B Line.

3. Begin testing on D line and evaluate performance.

4. Identify bottlenecks that OPTICOM may temporarily improve.

5. Develop a Request for Proposals through the Consultant for a truly “smart” priority system that uses technology such as cameras and achieves a real-time evaluation of intersection activity. This RFP should include commitments and provisos from potential vendors describing the level of ongoing support that they would be willing to commit to. Recognize that OPTICOM is not a long-term solution and is only a stop-gap measure. Utilize available MAPS funds to jump-start a permanent solution.




Jeff M. Bezdek
MAPS 3 Streetcar Subcommittee Appointee
OKC Streetcar Initiative



Cc. MAPS 3 Subcommittee Members, MAPS 3 Oversight Board, David Todd, Eric Wenger, Dennis Clowers, Doug Smith, Jesse Rush, Jason Ferbrache, James Cooper,

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OKC Guy- Here is my summary of the last meeting that specifically dealt with this issue that had only traffic engineer present. This was publicly distributed at the following MAPS 3 meetings. There are many other meetings whose minutes are obtainable through okc.gov

http://journalrecord.com/2018/12/20/streetcar-delays-prompt-request-for-450000-fix/

Also note that the amount of signals not automated has now changed from the 24 intersections to 21.

Guy here just told me him and his wife got their stay @ Hampton comped because the car kept waking them up...dunno if this has been mentioned.

Guy here just told me him and his wife got their stay @ Hampton comped because the car kept waking them up...dunno if this has been mentioned.

I wouldn't doubt it. We have someone in the building I office in that is changing their office location to a different one because of the constant noise of the 'bell' of the streetcar as it pulls up to the platform near his window.

OKC Guy- Here is my summary of the last meeting that specifically dealt with this issue that had only traffic engineer present. This was publicly distributed at the following MAPS 3 meetings. There are many other meetings whose minutes are obtainable through okc.gov

Thanks for posting this info. Couple of comments and this is overall comments not directed at you.:

1. The traffic info seems to be focused solely on speeding up SC (which is good on its own) but I don’t see any mention of residual effect other than pedestrian.

2. I am mainly concerned with if they update signals what does this do to car traffic on and within a block of tracks/intersections. If you have 4 cars wanting to turn left and they are about to get green - but the light changes for SC - and after SC goes by if the light starts over (so you are last in line so to speak) so now 5 more cars show up to turn left but the left lane only holds 5 cars - now you have cars in the going straight lane stopped and plugging up lanes. So it becomes deadlocked. And it could move car wait stack backwards to prior light and basically cause major congestion. I am wanting to know where they studied this potential problem. Engineers would need to have spent some time getting recent traffic counts to properly analyze this potential.

So mainly I realize you can fix SC problem by priorty system but did the city traffic engineers even look at these questions? If not asked maybe they didn’t? They might have focused solely on crosswalks? I didn’t read “there will be no considerable imapct to car traffic at or within a block of the street car route sue to adding SC light priority”.

We may fix one problem and create several others. If the car impacts are high and yet the city decides to move forward with SC light priority they would need to educate the public and impacted businesses to make them aware. Worst thing we do is upgrade lights and months down rhe road a few businesses say the light priority is backing up traffic and costing them money. Not saying it will but an actual study would give us facts and alert ahead of potential problems

Thats all I’m saying is we need to make sure we don’t move the problem else we could potentially put someone out of business. That would be extreme case but if true it would hurt ability to get new business to replace them.

I appreciate your replying in a respectful manner and am not trying to create problems either. I would just hope they used good and recent data to see any residual problems a SC light priority would potentially create.

Thanks!

Did anyone else catch the heated Twitter exchange between Lackmeyer and Mayor Holt on NYE? Shots fired re the Streetcar delays on NYE post-Thunder game:

Anyone who understands the history of this project should not be surprised by Steve's commentary.

Why does the streetcar need a loud bell? I mean it's supposed to be a streetcar not a train.

Thanks for posting this info. Couple of comments and this is overall comments not directed at you.:

1. The traffic info seems to be focused solely on speeding up SC (which is good on its own) but I don’t see any mention of residual effect other than pedestrian.

2. I am mainly concerned with if they update signals what does this do to car traffic on and within a block of tracks/intersections. If you have 4 cars wanting to turn left and they are about to get green - but the light changes for SC - and after SC goes by if the light starts over (so you are last in line so to speak) so now 5 more cars show up to turn left but the left lane only holds 5 cars - now you have cars in the going straight lane stopped and plugging up lanes. So it becomes deadlocked. And it could move car wait stack backwards to prior light and basically cause major congestion. I am wanting to know where they studied this potential problem. Engineers would need to have spent some time getting recent traffic counts to properly analyze this potential.

So mainly I realize you can fix SC problem by priorty system but did the city traffic engineers even look at these questions? If not asked maybe they didn’t? They might have focused solely on crosswalks? I didn’t read “there will be no considerable imapct to car traffic at or within a block of the street car route sue to adding SC light priority”.

We may fix one problem and create several others. If the car impacts are high and yet the city decides to move forward with SC light priority they would need to educate the public and impacted businesses to make them aware. Worst thing we do is upgrade lights and months down rhe road a few businesses say the light priority is backing up traffic and costing them money. Not saying it will but an actual study would give us facts and alert ahead of potential problems

Thats all I’m saying is we need to make sure we don’t move the problem else we could potentially put someone out of business. That would be extreme case but if true it would hurt ability to get new business to replace them.

I appreciate your replying in a respectful manner and am not trying to create problems either. I would just hope they used good and recent data to see any residual problems a SC light priority would potentially create.

Thanks!

Honestly I don't see a lot of downtown businesses that need the parking right outside their door. And probably those spaces are already taken up during normal business hours.

I would like to see a study on how people actually get to those businesses.

As far longer lines in traffic, you might have a case. But I just don't see many businesses struggling due to flow of traffic. If anything, I would think slower traffic helps with visibility since motorists are waiting and can look around them.

Not that I can immediately recall. Fare-free zones yes. Kansas City has done many things right and it is admirable. They get it.

The M-Line streetcar in Dallas is free of charge - but it is operated by a nonprofit organization (MATA) and not the City - however they do receive some operating funds from DART.

Why does the streetcar need a loud bell? I mean it's supposed to be a streetcar not a train.

I do agree that having the streetcar sound a bell at every intersection is a bit much. But I would think the bell is to alert pedestrians of the oncoming streetcar.

However, when I was in Vienna, their streetcars only chime whenever the streetcar is starting to move from standing still and doesn't usually have a bell or horn sound unless a pedestrian or vehicle is in the way.

In November I stayed in downtown Houston and my hotel was on the intersection of two of their downtown rail routes and I heard the chime every few minutes through the night. While annoying at first, it didn't take long to forget it was happening, and I chalked it up as part of the downtown experience in a vibrant, transit oriented downtown.

I don't think I've ever seen a more viral gold-plated bureaucratic buzzword than 'vibrant" before. Pretty amazing. So much so that it is becoming a cottage industry, as there is now an Institute of vibrancy studies. Strange world.

In November I stayed in downtown Houston and my hotel was on the intersection of two of their downtown rail routes and I heard the chime every few minutes through the night. While annoying at first, it didn't take long to forget it was happening, and I chalked it up as part of the downtown experience in a vibrant, transit oriented downtown.

This... at my previous job, i stayed in Downtown San Francisco very often, and these are just the noises of the city. Street Cars, Trolleys, Cars hocking, Sirens, all just noises of a city. While our streetcar might be overdoing the bells right now, if this is the complaint people have, then they aren't going to live Urbanization anywhere...

I don't think I've ever seen a more viral gold-plated bureaucratic buzzword than 'vibrant" before. Pretty amazing. So much so that it is becoming a cottage industry, as there is now an Institute of vibrancy studies. Strange world.

IVS is far superior to its rival school, the Institute of Lethargy Studies. The campus is located deep in the sprawl of suburbs. Every hallway is a cul-de-sac in which you can park your car right in your office. Food is catered by Applebee's carryout so no one has to interact or walk anywhere. Enrollees can specialize in NIMBYism to ensure there is never vibrancy in their backyard. ;)

This... at my previous job, i stayed in Downtown San Francisco very often, and these are just the noises of the city. Street Cars, Trolleys, Cars hocking, Sirens, all just noises of a city. While our streetcar might be overdoing the bells right now, if this is the complaint people have, then they aren't going to live Urbanization anywhere...


Which is well and good unless your established office near one of these bells routinely records audio and the bells pierce the otherwise silence or indistinguishable ambient noise - causing you to either pause recording, redo audio or spend extra time in post production. In our building radio commercials are recorded, video and audiotaped depositions are recorded, conference calls are the norm, court reporting is commonplace, media interviews being recorded are common, etc.

I was even recording all of my upcoming audio for my podcast but just last week moved the recording studio/equipment to my home office.

To me it's not a huge deal, I actually prefer to work at home. But, my statement that someone was moving their office (not referring to me) because of the loud bells still stands.

Which is well and good unless your established office near one of these bells routinely records audio and the bells pierce the otherwise silence or indistinguishable ambient noise - causing you to either pause recording, redo audio or spend extra time in post production. In our building radio commercials are recorded, video and audiotaped depositions are recorded, conference calls are the norm, court reporting is commonplace, media interviews being recorded are common, etc.

I was even recording all of my upcoming audio for my podcast but just last week moved the recording studio/equipment to my home office.

To me it's not a huge deal, I actually prefer to work at home. But, my statement that someone was moving their office (not referring to me) because of the loud bells still stands.

and a business that was established before has more of a ground to stand on... i was more going back to the person who wasn't happy with their hotel room.

Also, why is the EMBARK website so neglected?

Under "What's New" - the most recent posting is dated 8/10/2018 and deals with the Santa Fe Parking Garage. I guess the launch of a $130-million streetcar doesn't make the 'What's New' criteria?

I tried to use the "Journey Planner" on the home page - that thing is completely useless. I tried several different addresses and it just keeps saying the addresses are invalid.

Also, the printable map at http://okcstreetcar.com/ride-guide/route-map/ shows Park Ave. connecting to EK Gaylord (it actually dead ends at the Skirvin and the parking garage prevents Park Ave from connection to EK Gaylord.

I also still don't get why there is no streetcar route map that shows all the restaurants and retail stores along that route.

and a business that was established before has more of a ground to stand on... i was more going back to the person who wasn't happy with their hotel room.


I get that. When I travel to NYC it's always very difficult for me to sleep because of all the city street noise going on outside my window. But, I'm in NYC, so I get it.

You know when booking a room that you intentionally choose a downtown location and might get noise.

As for us, there was no noise at regular intervals, that pierced the building, until the street car's arrival.

I don't get the need to sound the bells at all. The vehicles re just as deadly and they don't sound a horn when going through an intersection.

I would think that the local Chamber of Commerce should be providing maps showing retail along the route. Isn't the promotion of business what they are supposed to be all about?

So mainly I realize you can fix SC problem by priorty system but did the city traffic engineers even look at these questions? If not asked maybe they didn’t? They might have focused solely on crosswalks? I didn’t read “there will be no considerable imapct to car traffic at or within a block of the street car route sue to adding SC light priority”.

I appreciate your replying in a respectful manner and am not trying to create problems either. I would just hope they used good and recent data to see any residual problems a SC light priority would potentially create.

Thanks!

No problem. We did and we have discussed impacts to vehicular traffic although that was. I think everyone in these meetings is aware of several locations like you describe where we have to be hyper-aware of impacts. 5th / Broadway, 4th / Broadway, and 4th / Robinson easily come to mind as areas that have to be monitored when deployment of this technology takes place. Fortunately, a great many of the streetcar movements are with the flow of traffic during times of friction between modes. The reason that pedestrian buttons were discussed so much is that they actually cause more and longer disruptions to cycle times than the streetcar even would. They are random and disruptive to cycle patterns for both automobiles and streetcars. So in these discussions, many of the conversations revolve around the challenges that increased use of ped buttons presents to overall movements.

I would think that the local Chamber of Commerce should be providing maps showing retail along the route. Isn't the promotion of business what they are supposed to be all about?

Downtown OKC Inc. usually handles this.

Mayor Holt just announced the free period is extended to Feb 1st via Twitter.

Great news! Let's keep these extensions going. I would not mind to see some corporate sponsors help in this effort.

It is great news but I would have had it run through the weekend, starting fares on Monday instead of on Saturday where visitors arriving on Friday would be free one day and not the next.

Fantastic!

For the curious: https://twitter.com/davidfholt/status/1081229997392740352. It's a great account to follow if you are of the Twitter persuasion, Holt is using social media for meaningful city business quite a bit more than Cornett did.

Great news and great decision. Mayor Holt is a boss!

The weather has not been favorable to the later time that remains on the streetcar rollout; want to commend Mayor Holt on the extension.

Great news! Let's keep these extensions going. I would not mind to see some corporate sponsors help in this effort.

They probably would as long as they can plaster their names and logos all over the pretty new street car bodies.

free until at least the spring would be even better.

So my wife and I had an interesting time on the Street car Saturday night. We hopped on at the Library stop. As we went along the route we noticed that the recorded messages were not playing as well as the scrolling electronic sign kept saying that next stop was Myriad Gardens. No biggie, we are pretty confident with the route, but we heard other riders complaining or making fun of it not working. As we turned onto Automobile Alley we made the first stop to pick people up, by this time the train was fairly full, but not packed. While heading to the next stop we felt the train start to brake and then accelerate again. Upon looking out the window we watched as the streetcar ran a red light with no horn or bells. Not sure if the driver was tired or just didn't see the red light. After that incident the driver turned off the electronic sign and we continued through the rest of the loop. Until the driver was switched out at Scissortail stop.

As soon as the new driver sat down the overhead messages started right up and the scrolling sign was back to normal.

Maybe a refresher course on the operation of the streetcar is needed so service is consistent between drivers.

Was the driver “running a red light” one of the intersections where there is a streetcar specific light? There are a few where all lights are red, except for the streetcar sign which gives it priority to clear the intersection while everyone else is stopped.

Was the driver “running a red light” one of the intersections where there is a streetcar specific light? There are a few where all lights are red, except for the streetcar sign which gives it priority to clear the intersection while everyone else is stopped.

No, the cross street lights were green while we blew through

Thought I’d share this interesting read about Enids streetcar system: https://transportationhistory.org/2019/01/07/a-small-city-streetcar-system-starts/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Thought I’d share this interesting read about Enids streetcar system: https://transportationhistory.org/2019/01/07/a-small-city-streetcar-system-starts/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Interesting that they outlawed it in 29 due to having other options. Wonder if they tore tracks up or just covered over?

No, the cross street lights were green while we blew through

Well thats one way to handle the whole signal prioritization issue!

Having a very hard time viewing those. Resolution is way too low. Can't even view if I zoom.

Rode the streetcar over the weekend with my family, and we enjoyed it. The longest wait time we had was 5 minutes, and only took us 20 minutes to get from North Hudson to Bricktown.

The streetcars were crowded, but I am anxious to see if the high ridership will maintain, once the free rides end on Feb. 1st & all the hype is gone. . Moreover, after speaking with other people, it seems like people are riding it as a form of entertainment & leisure & not actually a need to use.

Had an ideal streetcar experience last night before and after the Thunder game. Had dinner at 1492 and walked over to the midtown stop. The arrival time was stuck on 2 minutes for probably 5-7 minutes, but wasn't horrible. And one thing about the loud bell on a windless night is that you could hear the streetcar making its way through midtown and get a sense of where it was. The driver made very good time getting down to the Century Center stop. Didn't time it but if it was more than 7-10 minutes I would be very surprised.

After the game, exited the arena straight to a waiting car at the Scissortail Park stop, which is very close to the southwest exit of the arena. The car appeared to be waiting for people leaving the game, which I hoped/assumed would be the case. Getting back to midtown was a bit slower but I never felt the streetcar was trapped in post-game traffic. Ordered a lyft to meet us right by the North Hudson stop while we were still on the streetcar and then off to home we went.

I envisioned Thunder games being one of the primary times I would use the streetcar and if last night's experience was any indication it is a no brainer. Expands the number of convenient pre-game dinner options and is much more convenient than parking near the arena or getting in the uber/lyft line at the arena. The cars weren't as busy as I expected (I was expecting them to be packed) for a Thunder game (was able to find a seat to and fro) but most seats were taken and there were probably 10-15 people standing in the middle section of the car each way.

I'm beating a dead horse, but as time goes on I think it will be critical for riders to be able to determine when the next streetcar is arriving without having to go to the platform, whether that's on an app/live map/google maps or having tvs/boards with arrival times in nearby businesses (I do think signal priority is more important but this is a close second). I have to imagine bars and restaurants would gladly pay for that. Based on my experience last night Fassler/Dust Bowl having one for the midtown stop is an obvious example and I bet such tvs would pay for themselves in no time.

I also use for dinner options for Thunder games. Last night game I parked by ice rink, lucky to find a spot, rode the car to tap works then to Thunder game. With wait times it would of been about the same amount of time to walk but my friend has a hard time walking go the street car is going to come in very handy for us. Wasn't busy at all. At tapworks stop it said 4 minutes and was more like 10. I wish there was a way to track it. Like many others have said I would of just stayed inside the restaurant longer

Speaking of Parking last 2 Thunder games Embark has blocked off all parking on the west side of the Myriad Gardens , Are they getting tired of people parking over the white lines?

I'm beating a dead horse, but as time goes on I think it will be critical for riders to be able to determine when the next streetcar is arriving without having to go to the platform, whether that's on an app/live map/google maps or having tvs/boards with arrival times in nearby businesses (I do think signal priority is more important but this is a close second). I have to imagine bars and restaurants would gladly pay for that. Based on my experience last night Fassler/Dust Bowl having one for the midtown stop is an obvious example and I bet such tvs would pay for themselves in no time.

Just stick some Go Pros on each streetcar and boom - Streetcar TV is live across OKC!

Just stick some Go Pros on each streetcar and boom - Streetcar TV is live across OKC!

Great idea, which is why it won't happen.