Not done but I think it's because of the businesses wanting to wait?

Also it was a very baseline streetscape phase I think. Wasn't expected to be P180-like.

Not done but I think it's because of the businesses wanting to wait?

Also it was a very baseline streetscape phase I think. Wasn't expected to be P180-like.
Did you see the renderings? In my opinion, it was almost going to be more pedestrian friendly than P180 was. I'll work on getting the photographs and comparing them with the renderings. Like BChris said, it might not be done. idk

I know the little center median things in the street aren't done yet (ridiculous, IMHO, they're much more dangerous to leave unfinished with not very much cone-age/sign-age to tell you that you're about to lose a wheel, just spend another 2 weeks finishing them rather than leave them unfinished for months), not sure about the sidewalks, though.

At the request of me (executive director of the Western Avenue district) and the small business owners in the area, we asked that construction on the enhanced streetscape postpone until after the new year. The concern was that foot traffic and shopping in general would be inhibited during the holiday season. Though this pushes the timeline of the overall project a lot, it was the most logical thing to do to ensure those businesses survived.

The medians (they're officially called chicanes, but pain in my ass is also an appropriate name for them) are unfinished. Essentially they are in part waiting for the new year and in part waiting on a decision from the Western Avenue Association about where to cap them with cement. The original plan was to put a lighted sign in them welcoming you to the district and maybe some native grasses that don't require irrigation. Unfortunately, anything that goes in those chicanes (signs or otherwise) will be the financial responsibility of the association, a non-profit with very little funds to spare. Though we can certainly fundraise to get a nice sign placed in there, if that sign is (and most certainly WILL BE within a week) plowed into and wrecked, we have to pay to repair it.

Reviewing the original plans, the streetscape is nice in theory. It doesn't appear to have been executed well, however. As the director, I'm flummoxed as what to do. The one at 45th is too wide, the one at 41st sticks to far out so that turns from 41st to Western are near impossible.

The city has no safety or precaution plans for these chicanes. They don't plan on painting them reflective white or adding warning bumps or even to put up any kind of warning signs about a hazard in the road. Overall, the execution of this plan isn't thrilling me. Now, the sidewalks themselves, so far, are great. They are wide and the tree wells are refreshing. Patio space outside of Sushi Neko and the Barrel is amazing ... it's just those darn chicanes that really bother me.

I'd love to see them simply removed altogether and maybe we could approach the issue again down the road. I'm not sure what else to do. People run into them constantly, blowing out tires. It's not safe and it worries me.

If anyone is interested in working with me and several concerned property owners and board members of the association, I'd like to petition the city to have them removed. Thoughts?

^

Wow, thanks for the thorough update.

So, it's the consensus of the merchant group to completely remove the chicanes / medians?

Thanks for the update, Rachel. The chicanes I'm sure were intended to be traffic-calming and thus benefit the pedestrians in the area. It would be nice to see if they work as intended first. However as they stand they are kind of surprise speed bumps. I would highly recommend bringing the OUIQC back in to discuss options before going to the city so that they can maybe make some alternate recommendations from their initial plan seeing how things turned out in reality...

Blowing out tires on a sloped curb? Hard to believe but ok. Surprise speed bumps? Well I guess if you arent actually watching the road they can be.

I dont know, maybe drivers should actually watch the road and follow the speed limit. I dont see any issue with them other than they arent finished yet. A driver hitting the curb to make them pay attention and slow down is better than hitting a pedestrian.

Have you driven it? I do very often and even though I know they're there and I never exceed the speed limit on that stretch of street, they still surprise me. Yes they're slopped curb, but they are empty inside, so if you go over the sloped curb you end up in a ditch that you're then driving out of over a non-sloped curb. And if you look at them, it's very very obvious than many others are driving over them, whether for valid or invalid reasons. Rachel is correct in that whatever gets put there is going to get run over, at least at present.

If they would just get finished, I'm confident that they wouldn't be a problem. But the one on the south side of the street has been a half/curb for, what, 6 months now?

Signage, lighting, and reflective paint need to be put in and I seriously doubt at that point they will get run over. It's the lack of visibility of these obstacles from 250 feet away that causes some of the issues. A 3 foot, lit-up sign will be a pretty big deterrent. And if they're made out of a sturdy enough material, they should become a major impediment for a car to just go barreling through them.

Anyway: Rachael, could you perchance get us an estimate on what signage, lighting, and paint would cost for both ends of the strip based one whatever the current idea for signage is? Perhaps some OKC Talk peeps could help with more information.

A sign probably wouldn't last two days, but filling them with a native grass and/or wild flowers would be nice. Not using a reflective paint on the curbing seems like missing easy points.

A sign probably wouldn't last two days, but filling them with a native grass and/or wild flowers would be nice. Not using a reflective paint on the curbing seems like missing easy points.

A steel sign would :wink:

^^^ Placed in a 2 foot tall base of concrete.

How about runway lighting in the middle of them? Changing color LED's?

Plenty of crossings and medians have flashing lights in the street itself.

I just saw this in Warr Acres of all places.

I think if the chicanes were more visible, there would be much less of a worry about signs getting demolished. As I understand it right now, you can't see them until you're almost on top of them. Signs and reflective paint would very likely go a long way toward making them more visible, and making them work as designed.

Because of all the tire marks, they're more visible now than when Western first reopened.

I think if the chicanes were more visible, there would be much less of a worry about signs getting demolished. As I understand it right now, you can't see them until you're almost on top of them. Signs and reflective paint would very likely go a long way toward making them more visible, and making them work as designed.

Doubt it. How many times was the traffic circle in Midtown driven through? It is very visible and quite a bit larger than these chicanes. Honestly, drivers will have to acclimate to the chicanes, just like when the roundabout was introduced at 10th and walker.

Doubt it. How many times was the traffic circle in Midtown driven through? It is very visible and quite a bit larger than these chicanes. Honestly, drivers will have to acclimate to the chicanes, just like when the roundabout was introduced at 10th and walker.

Wait, what??? Driven through?

First of all, the chicanes are a bit challenged because of curbside deviations from the OUIQC plan that were pushed by some merchants, which compromised the overall design a bit. Second, they are not a finished product. I'd advise waiting until they are completed before passing judgment. Between run up striping and the plantings/final execution, they will end up being MUCH more visible to drivers, and should do a great job of making that stretch more walkable and safer for pedestrians. And finally, Rachel, I know first-hand that Shane at OUIQC would love to chat with you in person about your concerns if you would give him a shout.

How come other cities can have these things but drivers in Oklahoma City can't figure it out? I have seen the medians and never once had a close run in with them. I'm also not on my phone and paying attention to the road. I just don't get it. Why is Oklahoma City so special in that we're the first to try these kinds of things so let's take extra precautions to make sure the drivers and their cars are going to be okay for a project that is supposed to be about protecting the pedestrians.

In all fairness, as an unfinished product they are somewhat invisible. Also, people are so used to Western being a raceway that it will take a period of adjustment before they start to understand that pedestrians have some rights there, too. We are car-centric more than most cities, unfortunately. Eventually we will tip a little bit more multi-modal, but it will take time.

...id rather have speed humps

Wait, what??? Driven through?

Yeah, it had quite a few roll-throughs and curb jumps at first. I think OKC even had to re-do the curb a few times, and change the type of curb, to fix the issues.

Agree with Uptowner; speed bumps are a much better deterrent for speed control, imo.

11827

HUMP MAN! HUMPS ;) it's even got a nifty little crosswalk hash built right in.

Yeah, it had quite a few roll-throughs and curb jumps at first. I think OKC even had to re-do the curb a few times, and change the type of curb, to fix the issues. yeah I remember the first one being pulverized before they made 100ft of sidewalk. They just busted it out and repoured that sorry hunk of **** that sits there today.
11828

A couple of houses were demolished on the north side of the 900 block on 43rd Street. It appears these lots are owned by Turrentine, Inc. I believe this group/family also own Legacy Cleaners. Does anyone happen to know what they are planning to do on 43rd Street? The lots are behind Savory Spice Shop and across from Will Rogers.

So when is streetscape thing starting back up?

PS, they are installing some pretty cool signage on the bridge at the I44 interchange.

Looks like it. It's down to one lane in front of Freeman's.

Awesome!

Further delays: OKC Council pushes back decision on Western Avenue development

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record March 8, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY – Monte Turrentine’s yearslong plan to develop retail, restaurants and apartments on N. Western Avenue has been delayed another two weeks.

Turrentine’s request that the City Council rezone the area centered on his business, Legacy Cleaners, 4917 N. Western, to a planned unit development district met Councilman Ed Shadid’s disfavor. Shadid asked that a timeline of construction after the demolition of current buildings be clarified, but Turrentine said he can’t move forward until the zoning is in place; he gave 24 months as a general target.

Turrentine bought the dry cleaning building in 2001. Brokers approached him shortly thereafter, urging a relocation of Legacy to allow more business to grow in its place, he said. He began buying adjacent properties in 2005. Then, Turrentine was prodded to action just a few years ago by Chesapeake Energy’s efforts to build a compressed natural gas fueling station across the street and reduce available parking space for Legacy.

“This has always been my plan,” he said to Shadid’s questions about his intent. The Legacy building would be torn down, and the business would move to a new location.

Residents in surrounding neighborhoods such as Douglas Edgemere and Crown Heights have a history of protesting zoning cases, said David Box, Turrentine’s attorney. But on this matter they voiced support. It helps that Turrentine’s architects have ensured proposed building designs match the age of the area, he said, and minor adjustments such as fence height and parking lot driveways have already been approved by members of the Planning Commission.

The first floor of the new building will feature businesses such as restaurants and small shops, topped by a floor of residences. Other buildings planned nearby will be a mix of residential and office space. Three houses will need to be demolished; 17 residential units will be built in their place.

“We toned down some of the uses after meeting with the neighbors,” Box said. “But we were encouraged by the amount of support. … Western has seen its share of struggle, and neighbors felt this is going to be a good thing to spur improvements in some of the housing and spur further retail and restaurant uses.”

Smith Design Co. of Oklahoma City is the architect of the project.

Shadid asked for a one-month deferral, which failed to draw support from other council members. Instead, the zoning question was continued for two weeks.

Box said Turrentine is not prepared to discuss tenants until after Council approval.

Sex shops? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsxCs42-fAk
I understand the point of those things, but they're annoying. I drive the speed limit and pay attention to the road, and they still seem to sneak up on me. There's got to be a better way to slow traffic down than an arbitrary small median that you have to swerve around.

^

I agree about the sneaking up on you part but they also aren't finished and it should get better when they are.

Is that Greek restaurant that was supposed to go in the French Cowgirl location still happening?

Tried to go check out the sip yesterday now that it's had time to "air out." That did not happen as the tour de biere people had completely overrun the area with 500 people riding bicycles (and drinking heavily) for cancer research charity. So the lack of bike lanes was exaggeratedly obvious. I go to Twitter and see some chatter about it. Someone pointed out that the angled parking could have been changed to parallel or taken out completely since most business already have side and rear lots. Someone else comment that the angle parking kept and expanded because there already was no room for a bicycle lane.

Why do you folks suppose that was? My personal opinion was that it was a good hearted pro-business move to get the owners association and neighborhood on board. But I'm thinking if we're going to set precedent while we redesign our old infrastructure down historic corridors. It makes sense to go to every effort to make multi modal transportation a reality. Even if that means taking out one row of parking to expand the street to accommodate a bike lane. The same problem exists on Broadway, although the Broadway makeover was just paint vs westerns 's complete remodel. My wife and I went on a spokies date downtown last month and it becomes shocking how often you are forced onto the sidewalk to avoid certain doom.


Thoughts?

Is that Greek restaurant that was supposed to go in the French Cowgirl location still happening?

Yes, still moving forward, just slowly.

The proprietors own that building.

Looks like all the road work is finally complete here:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western090516.jpg

^^^^^^
Would expect them to now grind the existing asphalt and resurface. Once the new surface is properly striped approaching the chicanes they will become much less hazardous from a public perception standpoint. That process would only take a few days.

They need to stripe the sidewalk that cuts between the road and parking spots

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721e.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721f.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/western120721g.jpg

Beautiful pics Pete, post card worthy.

Beautiful pics!

F'ing gorgeous!

Drove through this last night. So happy to see it all lit up again!

Pete, are the apartments open in the photo above? I see a lot of lights. If not, when are they anticipating residents to begin taking occupancy?

Maybe I missed it, but did Weldon Jack move from SW/C NW 36th and Western? The building is being painted white and the upstairs (shipping container?) has been removed.

Maybe I missed it, but did Weldon Jack move from SW/C NW 36th and Western? The building is being painted white and the upstairs (shipping container?) has been removed.

I thought I saw a note posted saying they had moved, but when I go to their website and social media, it still lists that 36th & Western address.

Also, there have not been any permits filed for that property, so no idea what is happening there. The property has not sold recently, either.

I'll go by and see if I can figure it out.

I thought I saw a note posted saying they had moved, but when I go to their website and social media, it still lists that 36th & Western address.

Also, there have not been any permits filed for that property, so no idea what is happening there. The property has not sold recently, either.

I'll go by and see if I can figure it out.

I think they just moved from the SW corner of that intersection to the NE corner behind the consignment shop. Their instagram now lists them at 1005 NW 36th instead of 3621 N Western.

Maybe I missed it, but did Weldon Jack move from SW/C NW 36th and Western? The building is being painted white and the upstairs (shipping container?) has been removed.

They are still at 36th & Western, but in a temporary space on the NE corner. I think they plan to move to a permanent location in the district in the near future.

This is the old Weldon Jack building at the SW corner of NW 36th & Western.

They have removed the two stacked shipping containers at the south end. There are no building permits filed, so I don't know what new business will be taking over.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/36western121921a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/36western121921b.jpg

After 35 years, Gil's Clothing is closing at Western and Wilshire.

Last day will be March 12.

The grey and wood trim looked so much better than the white and black

After 35 years, Gil's Clothing is closing at Western and Wilshire.

Last day will be March 12.
Dang…where will I buy my Girbaud, Diesel and Lucky Brand jeans?!

Wow. Didn’t know that place was still open. In high school that is where we all either shopped or aspired to shop. One year I got a Gil’s gift certificate for Christmas and thought I was pretty damn cool.

BTW my post was totally tongue in cheek. I’m certain that Gil’s had stayed current on trends over the years and the only point I was making (if any) was that I hadn’t been there in a long, long time. Probably because *I* haven’t kept up with trends.

By coincidence I’ve lately been cleaning out closets and dramatically reducing my clothing footprint, and one thing I’ve not been able to part with is a shirt I bought there probably more than 30 years ago. I’ll never again be able to fit into it, and if I could I’d probably never again wear it in public. It’s an insane patchwork of patterns and solids; blues and oranges and other wild things. I probably never in my life felt more cool than I did wearing that hideous shirt into a nightclub circa 1989 or 1990.

BTW my post was totally tongue in cheek. I’m certain that Gil’s had stayed current on trends over the years and the only point I was making (if any) was that I hadn’t been there in a long, long time. Probably because *I* haven’t kept up with trends.

By coincidence I’ve lately been cleaning out closets and dramatically reducing my clothing footprint, and one thing I’ve not been able to part with is a shirt I bought there probably more than 30 years ago. I’ll never again be able to fit into it, and if I could I’d probably never again wear it in public. It’s an insane patchwork of patterns and solids; blues and oranges and other wild things. I probably never in my life felt more cool than I did wearing that hideous shirt into a nightclub circa 1989 or 1990.
I think we need a picture of the shirt. 😂

Dang…where will I buy my Girbaud, Diesel and Lucky Brand jeans?!

That's what I always remember, it's the place that sells Lucky jeans. I don't think I ever set foot in there, but was certainly aware of it.

I think we need a picture of the shirt. 😂
Haha zero chance of that happening. ZERO! 😂

The former Weldon Jack building appears to be using the two overhead doors for garage space. There was a Mercedes Sprinter van there this morning. Cars in the lot - no signage.