I think that major thoroughfares should be resurfaced with concrete at bare minimum. Some of them like Memorial Rd as well as Penn should also be widened to six lanes. Populated areas should have streetlights and possibly landscaped medians as well.

Well, you can't do that for a billion dollars - which should give you an idea of the tax burden created.

are you for real? Trolling?

No, being real. You're much younger than me, so maybe you don't remember just how bad our roads in OKC were at one time. Baghdad probably had better roads. No, not perfect, but better. The highways, which I drive on for work every day, are much smoother than at any time in memory (we did get stimulus money to scrape the concrete on I-44 and some other improvements). I-40 used to be bad from border to border, and now, once this section in Yukon is completed, will be about the best it's been in my lifetime. Not trolling, speaking from experience.

OKC roads are (overall) better now than I have ever seen also. Go back some years and you would understand.

OKC roads are (overall) better now than I have ever seen also. Go back some years and you would understand.

Agreed. I have made the observation many times just around my neighborhood. 23rd is a million times better than it use to be.. and so are many other roads in the city. 10 years ago was a HUGE difference

I'll echo the sentiments of the last three posts as well - the roads here are in the best shape they've been in in a long, long time.

Of course, who knows if they'll stay that way for long, but there has been noticeable improvement.

If there is a bad road in Edmond its probably because its in okc city limits. aka western all the way up to 192nd. at least they are finally getting some love

Roads in most cities are pretty bad.

They are certainly worse here in Los Angeles than in OKC, and we have incredibly mild weather and a much more dense tax base.

So, from the past two pages, the only thing I can tell is that the something big coming has to do with our roads. How am I doing so far?

So, from the past two pages, the only thing I can tell is that the something big coming has to do with our roads. How am I doing so far?

That is correct and our citizens are lazy and poor traveled with bad attitudes so I think it was decided we didn't deserve anthing big so it was all scrapped!.. sorry

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation received a little more than $200 MM out of the the state's 2014 $7 billion in spending. The big winners are education (common, career tech and higher ed) and health and human services.

Courtesty Wikipedia:

The Governor's proposed Executive Budget for 2014 totals $7 billion in spending. Figures shown in the spending request do not reflect the actual appropriations for Fiscal Year 2014, which must be authorized by the Legislature. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to Fiscal Year 2013 enacted budget. The budget request is broken down by the following expenditures:

Appropriations by Cabinet Department: $7 billion (+2%)
$3.4 billion - Education (+0%)
$1.4 billion - Health (+4%)
$815 million - Human Services (+6%)
$656 million - Safety and Security (+0%)
$209 million - Transportation (+1%)
$116 million - Finance and Revenue (-1%)
$85.0 million - Commerce and Tourism (+6%)
$84.6 million - Judiciary (+0%)
$35.7 million - Agriculture (-5%)
$35.7 million - Veterans Affairs (+0%)
$32.6 million - Legislature (+0%)
$17.8 million - Science and Technology (+0%)
$14.6 million - Environment (+0%)
$12.1 million - Energy (+0%)
$10.7 million - Military (+0%)
$8.5 million - Secretary of State (+1%)
$2.5 million - Governor and Lieutenant Governor (+0%)

"Something Big Coming" is now about roads. LOL!

"Something Big Coming" is now about roads. LOL!

That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing depending on which roads and what they wanted to do with them.

That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing depending on which roads and what they wanted to do with them.

But, I highly doubt Steve Lackmeyer would be reporting on our roads unless it has to do with the downtown proper area. And I don't consider roads entertainment, I am not sure about the rest of you.

No, being real. You're much younger than me, so maybe you don't remember just how bad our roads in OKC were at one time. Baghdad probably had better roads. No, not perfect, but better. The highways, which I drive on for work every day, are much smoother than at any time in memory (we did get stimulus money to scrape the concrete on I-44 and some other improvements). I-40 used to be bad from border to border, and now, once this section in Yukon is completed, will be about the best it's been in my lifetime. Not trolling, speaking from experience.Well, OKC roads are improving for sure. Literally, the only place I can think of that has worse roads than OKC is Denton. Tulsa's roads are absolutely awful, but at least they generally have turn lanes and landscaping; Tulsa is a joke though.

Edmond's roads seem to be among the best in the metro from what I've seen. I know it is arguable I'm biased, but that is from my observation.

A few suburbs which might have roads as bad as or worse than OKC's are El Reno, MWC, Jones, and Guthrie. Moore seems to have decent roads for the most part and Norman has excellent roads. When Main Street and Lindsey is completed, coupled with the HWY 9 and all of the I-35 interchanges, I would say Norman would have the better roads than Edmond.

Edmond has a couple bad roads, Broadway directly north of DT Edmond is horrible, and I know there are one or two more, but aside from a few side roads that barely have any traffic, I'm not sure what bad roads there are in Edmond. Edmond seems to resurface roads years and years before they need it. They have plans to widen every single road north of Danforth to 4 lanes, divided, concrete, and landscaped median. Eventually, the plan is to have Covell widened to six lanes all the way through the city which I found out is why they have the lanes so wide.

Like I said though, I do believe OKC is really hopping the bandwagon trying to improve their roads, there is just so much, I guess it will take awhile.

That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing depending on which roads and what they wanted to do with them.new 10 lane highway loop around Edmond... every road north of Kilpatrick widened to six lanes... I-35 widened to six lanes in each direction... great stuff!!! ;)

You mean 10 lane loop through my place. Would not make me happy.

You mean 10 lane loop through my place. Would not make me happy.ahhh... they'll build a couple 100 story skyscrapers.... you will have a huge view of city on the 60th floow, you'll love it!! ;)

Back to the original topic of this thread, I hope deals that have been in the works start getting announced before long. This town has seen months of talking and speculation about various developments, be it mystery towers, whatever will make KC/Dallas jealous, a full service hotel downtown, etc, yet nothing has been announced. I realize real estate deals take time but it has been very quiet for a while now.

Well, OKC roads are improving for sure. Literally, the only place I can think of that has worse roads than OKC is Denton. Tulsa's roads are absolutely awful, but at least they generally have turn lanes and landscaping; Tulsa is a joke though.

Edmond's roads seem to be among the best in the metro from what I've seen. I know it is arguable I'm biased, but that is from my observation.

A few suburbs which might have roads as bad as or worse than OKC's are El Reno, MWC, Jones, and Guthrie. Moore seems to have decent roads for the most part and Norman has excellent roads. When Main Street and Lindsey is completed, coupled with the HWY 9 and all of the I-35 interchanges, I would say Norman would have the better roads than Edmond.

Edmond has a couple bad roads, Broadway directly north of DT Edmond is horrible, and I know there are one or two more, but aside from a few side roads that barely have any traffic, I'm not sure what bad roads there are in Edmond. Edmond seems to resurface roads years and years before they need it. They have plans to widen every single road north of Danforth to 4 lanes, divided, concrete, and landscaped median. Eventually, the plan is to have Covell widened to six lanes all the way through the city which I found out is why they have the lanes so wide.

Like I said though, I do believe OKC is really hopping the bandwagon trying to improve their roads, there is just so much, I guess it will take awhile.

Wait. What? Oh, I guess you're not talking about "roads," you're talking about streetscapes. In that case, we have room for improvement. But our ROADS are better than they've been in ages, and I can guarandamtee they're better than Tulsa's. I was there for a wedding recently and was astonished by the poor state of that city's roads -- even in the ritzy midtown areas. Just awful.

Maybe Finally there is plan to finish the outer metro loop from mustang to norman. and east back up to I-40 in southwest okc to Choctaw and back up to northeast okc and connect to the Kilpatrick turnpike on I-35.

Back to the original topic of this thread, I hope deals that have been in the works start getting announced before long. This town has seen months of talking and speculation about various developments, be it mystery towers, whatever will make KC/Dallas jealous, a full service hotel downtown, etc, yet nothing has been announced. I realize real estate deals take time but it has been very quiet for a while now.

I hope they get underway soon as well because I don't know if this so called 'robust economy' has any legs to it. A lot of financial people seem to think we maybe have a 2 year window and then things start to go south again.

Before the end of the year we can expect to see:

1. More detailed plans for the Stage Center site.
2. Proposals for the parcel south of Stage Center.
3. Multiple bids for First National Center, along with redevelopment plans.
4. Likely announcement of new tower at Main & Hudson.
5. Completion of convention center site purchase and final design.

I hope they get underway soon as well because I don't know if this so called 'robust economy' has any legs to it. A lot of financial people seem to think we maybe have a 2 year window and then things start to go south again.

If the economy does crash again, anything that hasn't broken ground will likely be cancelled. This is the time for OKC to try to cover as much ground as it can.

If the economy does crash again, anything that hasn't broken ground will likely be cancelled. This is the time for OKC to try to cover as much ground as it can.

This is true and prescient. This cycle is the fourth I've been through since 1982.

But, I highly doubt Steve Lackmeyer would be reporting on our roads unless it has to do with the downtown proper area. And I don't consider roads entertainment, I am not sure about the rest of you.

He's posted articles and videos with far less solid information before. Frankly, i don't pay much attention to his stuff anymore. It feels like we know more about a project here before he posts it and we have more info on it available here. He sometimes fills in some details from interviews, but doesn't exactly break the news these days.

So far mainstream economists aren't talking recession yet so hopefully it holds off a bit longer than two years. One thing I learned from 2008 is you can't put all your eggs in the doom and gloom basket. I was very hysterical about what was happening at the time and yes as bad as the recession was, it didn't get anything like the doom and gloomers had said it would. Life today for the most part isn't much different than prior to the recession.

Before the end of the year we can expect to see:

1. More detailed plans for the Stage Center site.
2. Proposals for the parcel south of Stage Center.
3. Multiple bids for First National Center, along with redevelopment plans.
4. Likely announcement of new tower at Main & Hudson.
5. Completion of convention center site purchase and final design.Pete, as far as retail, do you think we'll see Trader Joe's, Gander Mountain, and/or WinCo announce and OKC location(s) by the end of the year?

I hope they get underway soon as well because I don't know if this so called 'robust economy' has any legs to it. A lot of financial people seem to think we maybe have a 2 year window and then things start to go south again.duuuuude I hear you on that. I really hope things stay good for awhile

Pete, as far as retail, do you think we'll see Trader Joe's, Gander Mountain, and/or WinCo announce and OKC location/S?

WinCo for sure.

Glimcher / TJ's are on their own schedule.

He's posted articles and videos with far less solid information before. Frankly, i don't pay much attention to his stuff anymore. It feels like we know more about a project here before he posts it and we have more info on it available here. He sometimes fills in some details from interviews, but doesn't exactly break the news these days.

I think that's a tribute to how developed OKCTalk has become. I don't have the numbers (I'm sure Pete does), but I'd guess this site is a lot more active than it was just a few years ago. There are a lot of people who are very well informed who post here. It says a lot about how hard Steve works that he's able to break any kind of story. It's one man vs a huge network. It's too bad there's some tension between the two.

So far mainstream economists aren't talking recession yet so hopefully it holds off a bit longer than two years. One thing I learned from 2008 is you can't put all your eggs in the doom and gloom basket. I was very hysterical about what was happening at the time and yes as bad as the recession was, it didn't get anything like the doom and gloomers had said it would. Life today for the most part isn't much different than prior to the recession.

Well some dramatic steps were taken to ensure it wasn't as doomish as it could have been. Still, it was the worst contraction since the Great Depression, so nothing to minimize. We are fortunate it wasn't worse.

duuuuude I hear you on that. I really hope things stay good for awhile

plupan, I remember you making a recent comment in another thread basically saying that anyone who that the economy was good was crazy. Have you changed your mind about that?

So far mainstream economists aren't talking recession yet so hopefully it holds off a bit longer than two years. One thing I learned from 2008 is you can't put all your eggs in the doom and gloom basket. I was very hysterical about what was happening at the time and yes as bad as the recession was, it didn't get anything like the doom and gloomers had said it would. Life today for the most part isn't much different than prior to the recession.

I would just concur with soonerguru, but add that it is one of those "speak only for yourself" kind of events. People all across this country lost significant value in their homes, many actually lost their homes and life hasn't been the same since. The ramifications were widespread and dramatic for many. In Oklahoma we didn't have it nearly as hard as other parts of the country, but we still need to remember that it truly was doom and gloom for countless numbers of people. To reiterate what soonerguru said - it's certainly nothing to minimize.

I would just concur with soonerguru, but add that it is one of those "speak only for yourself" kind of events. People all across this country lost significant value in their homes, many actually lost their homes and life hasn't been the same since. The ramifications were widespread and dramatic for many. In Oklahoma we didn't have it nearly as hard as other parts of the country, but we still need to remember that it truly was doom and gloom for countless numbers of people. To reiterate what soonerguru said - it's certainly nothing to minimize.

I was laid off twice during the recession and was severely underemployed for three years out in Charlotte, a city that actually got it worse than much of the country. I realize how bad the recession was. However, I never went hungry. I never had to stand in soup lines. We didn't see Zimbabwe-style hyperinflation like some predicted we would. The streetscapes remained peaceful and the mass looting and riots consisting of hordes of desperate, starving people never happened. Things are different for some people, but life has gone on much as it always had.

plupan, I remember you making a recent comment in another thread basically saying that anyone who that the economy was good was crazy. Have you changed your mind about that?I said I hope things stay good.

Which one of you guys did this ?



11:34


Comment From Hugh G Rexshun
Hi



11:34

Steve Lackmeyer: Hi!

Does that say what I think it does?

Which one of you guys did this ?



11:34


Comment From Hugh G Rexshun
Hi



11:34

Steve Lackmeyer: Hi!

Ha. ha. ha. thats funny..

Saw that. :wink:

Which one of you guys did this ?



11:34


Comment From Hugh G Rexshun
Hi



11:34

Steve Lackmeyer: Hi!

I saw it when it came across the chat but never made the connection. Ha-larious...

Bellaboo…Major props on the placement...

Bellaboo…Major props on the placement...

I thought this thread had the correct title.....

I thought this thread had the correct title.....

Too funny.

That is awesome. Didn't look at the name when I saw it in the chat. :)

wow...just wow. LOL

Can someone please enlighten this OKC noob who this Steve is? Every other post seems to mention his name on this forum. Is he a city planner or on some board in the city? Where does he get his information?

Can someone please enlighten this OKC noob who this Steve is? Every other post seems to mention his name on this forum. Is he a city planner or on some board in the city? Where does he get his information?

Steve Lackmeyer, business reporter for the Oklahoman.

Are they going to revive the


Energy Tower


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGiJ0JWaOm0

http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif "Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif

Steve would you please let us know what it was?

I think we know what it was now (I kid, I kid...)

I think we know what it was now (I kid, I kid...)

I believe the Boardwalk development is what it always has been. Think about it. As great as many of the proposals in OKC have been (including those that didn't get built), none of them were on the level of being a development that would make Dallas or Kansas City jealous. Even developments like the ClayCo/OG&E proposal or the original plan for 4th and EK Gaylord would be a game changer for OKC, but not so much in Dallas.

The Boardwalk development on the other hand actually will draw a jealous gaze from much larger cities if it gets built.