Could be worse, could haven been a bridge to nowhere. Its just an intersection leading to a confusing UHAUL fork in the road.

Contracts awarded to complete Oklahoma City Boulevard and SH-74 corridors in OKC

https://www.ok.gov/triton/modules/newsroom/newsroom_article.php?id=277&article_id=38467

Rendering of the Boulevard from the above press release:
http://www.odot.org/newsmedia/press/2017/17-038-1.jpg

Press Releases
Monday, December 4, 2017

Contracts awarded to complete two major Oklahoma City corridors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2017
PR# 17-038

Final work to complete two long-awaited improvements on the Oklahoma City Boulevard in the city’s downtown area and the SH-74 corridor in northwest Oklahoma City will begin in spring 2018 thanks to action by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission at its Dec. 4 meeting.

“The department is excited to meet these milestones and make good on our promise to complete the corridors for two areas that are seeing significant growth and change. Completion of corridors is of paramount importance to our mission,” said Oklahoma Department of Transportation Executive Director Mike Patterson. “These improvements will increase safety and access to both areas. The SH-74 corridor expansion highlights the department’s commitment to improving pavement conditions in rural areas that are transitioning to more urban-like conditions.”

Commissioners voted to award a contract to Allen Contracting Inc. and Shell Construction Inc. of Oklahoma City for an up to $27 million project to construct the two remaining core sections of the Oklahoma City Blvd. in downtown Oklahoma City. These interior sections between Western Ave. and Shields Blvd./E.K. Gaylord Blvd., including a bridge over Western Ave., will be built within the footprint of the old I-40 Crosstown bridge and will reconnect the downtown area with the relocated interstate via the already-completed west and east end connections. Work is expected to take about one and one-half years to finish, and the contract includes financial incentives for early completion. During construction, drivers can expect traffic impacts at the city streets intersecting the new boulevard, with ODOT and the City of Oklahoma City coordinating closely to minimize inconvenience to downtown drivers.

Following the 2012 opening of the new at-grade I-40 Crosstown south of downtown, the old Crosstown bridge was deconstructed to make way for the new boulevard to be built by ODOT as part of the Crosstown project. After completion, it will be used by the City of Oklahoma City as a new city street reconnecting downtown with the new interstate alignment. The west end connection between I-40 and Klein Ave. was completed in 2013 and the east end connection to I-40, I-235 and I-35 was completed in 2016. Construction of the first middle section of the new boulevard between the east end connection and Shields Blvd./E.K. Gaylord Blvd., including the BNSF railroad bridge over the roadway, also was completed in 2016. Including this final phase, the overall cost estimate for the new I-40 Crosstown, the Oklahoma City Boulevard and its connections totals about $720 million.

Once completed, the four-lane boulevard will become a city street operated and maintained by the City of Oklahoma City, which acquired all necessary right-of-way and relocated utilities prior to construction. This project also includes necessary repairs to highway lighting along the entire I-40 Crosstown corridor, which was damaged and rendered inoperable by vandalism and wire theft.

The commission also awarded a contract to T.J. Campbell Construction Company of Oklahoma City for an up to $22 million project for the final phase of reconstruction and widening of SH-74 (Portland Ave.) from two to four lanes in northwest Oklahoma City. This phase will widen the roadway to a four-lane divided highway from just north of N.W. 164th St. to N.W. 206th St. (Covell Rd.), completing the expansion of the corridor between Memorial Rd. and Waterloo Rd. This final phase of SH-74 expansion will help support future traffic in this rapidly-growing and developing part of the metro area. On average, more than 21,000 vehicles travel SH-74 in this area each day, far exceeding the capacity of the existing two-lane highway. As part of this project, all affected intersections will be reconstructed with turn lanes and traffic signals.

The highway will remain open during construction as this new 3-mile segment will be built on a new alignment just east of the existing roadway, however ODOT strongly urges motorists to find alternate routes, such as I-35, to help alleviate congestion. The contract includes financial incentives for early completion of the work, which is expected to take more than one year.

State Highway 74 was first widened to four lanes with a center turn lane between 206th St. (Covell Rd.) and Waterloo Rd. beginning in the mid-2000s to address major bridge deficiencies. An interim traffic improvement project to add dedicated turn lanes at N.W. 150th St., N.W. 164th St and N.W. 178th St. was completed in 2013. In 2016, ODOT completed widening of SH-74 from Memorial Rd. to north of N.W. 164th St., including construction of a brand-new interchange with a bridge and ramps at N.W. 150th St. and new service roads between Memorial Rd. and N.W. 164th St. Including this final phase, the total estimated cost to expand the SH-74 corridor in this area is nearly $136 million.

This entire area is going to change more rapidly than any previous urban area in OKC.

In just a few years, the upper park, convention hotel, convention center, parking garage and boulevard will all be complete and you can bet there will be some private development by that time as well.

And if the Producers Coop starts development, you will have a massive amount of improvements in that immediate area.

Will be really fun to watch this happen on a large scale.

You would think that rendering indicates the final plans...

Some interesting things:

1. Streetcar is in protected lane on the north side of this stretch
2. There is no mid-block crossing between Hudson and Robinson, although there is one at Harvey across Reno just to the north and a bump-out shown on the south side of the boulevard at that point. Perhaps the plan is to add it once the REHCO property to the north is developed
3. There is no landscaping in the median.
4. No bike lanes whasoever

You would think that rendering indicates the final plans...

Some interesting things:

1. Streetcar is in protected lane on the north side of this stretch
2. There is no mid-block crossing between Hudson and Robinson, although there is one at Harvey across Reno just to the north and a bump-out shown on the south side of the boulevard at that point. Perhaps the plan is to add it once the REHCO property to the north is developed
3. There is no landscaping in the median.
4. No bike lanes whasoever

The lack of bike lanes jumped out to me immediately. Weren't those assured? How is this not just going to be another pedestrian-unfriendly 5-lane monstrosity like so many other roads? The lack of landscaped medians is similarly disappointing.

The lack of bike lanes jumped out to me immediately. Weren't those assured? How is this not just going to be another pedestrian-unfriendly 5-lane monstrosity like so many other roads? The lack of landscaped medians is similarly disappointing.

Are you surprised? This boulevard has been a cluster from the beginning.

I think the streetcar in its own lane is correct per the actual location of where they located that section of rail since it is already installed. Unless I am just not picturing it correctly:

http://i.imgur.com/SZyrWrj.jpg

I'm sure that is an accurate rendering because it's dated December 2017 and I had not seen that one previously.

This entire area is going to change more rapidly than any previous urban area in OKC.

In just a few years, the upper park, convention hotel, convention center, parking garage and boulevard will all be complete and you can bet there will be some private development by that time as well.

And if the Producers Coop starts development, you will have a massive amount of improvements in that immediate area.

Will be really fun to watch this happen on a large scale.

I agree. Comparing what is currently there to the rendering somewhat reminds me of the comparison of the old Bricktown photos from pre-MAPS to today's Bricktown. While there is plenty to criticize about the boulevard, it along with the convention center and hotel are going to transform what is currently an eyesore into something pretty special.

However... It does not accurately depict how the streetcar tracks split at the boulevard and Hudson to head down Hudson to the maintenance facility.

You can see that split in the lower center of this photo:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/scissortail112217.jpg

Also not the correct convention center hotel in the rendering...

Anyway, if this rendering reflects the plans, so much for any hint of this being a "world class" boulevard.. didn't earlier renderings contain bike lanes and a landscaped median, at least in this section??

Regardless, I'm excited for the area to transform, it's just so dang disappointing such a choad of a road is cutting right through the middle of it.

Thanks for that pic, Pete. That's a nice wye. I drive downtown every few weeks just to view the tracks cause they don't really post any progress pictures like I think they would (like with their continuous construction updates (on the OKC Streetcar Twitter account).

Here's another interesting thing about that rendering... That is the Marriott's proposed convention hotel -- exactly as they submitted.

But of course, Omni was the winning proposal and their rendering was completely different from that.

Here's another interesting thing about that rendering... That is the Marriott's proposed convention hotel -- exactly as they submitted.

But of course, Omni was the winning proposal and their rendering was completely different from that.

Pete,. I am having trouble picturing how hard/easy it will be to get from the myraid gardens to the upper park. Can you help me out?

Pete,. I am having trouble picturing how hard/easy it will be to get from the myraid gardens to the upper park. Can you help me out?

What do you mean? You will walk the sidewalks on either Hudson for the northwest entrance, Harvey (if it will still exist) for the northern center entrance, or Robinson for the northeast entrance.

With several projects and under planning discussions there has been a bunch of references to the "Harvey Spine", which was mentioned when creating the Devon atrium and walkway to and through the Myriad Gardens.

Harvey is currently open between Reno and the proposed boulevard but of course REHCO owns all those blocks and will eventually develop it all.

Even when the convention center plans were drawn for the REHCO site, they went to great effort to preserve the Harvey Spine, even though it was just for pedestrians.

So, my guess is that any future REHCO development will also somewhat preserve the Harvey Spine which would allow people to pass all the way through the Devon atrium, through the Myriad Gardens and the REHCO development and then down through Scissortail Park, over the Skydance Bridge and all the way to the river.

Contract signed for final leg of Oklahoma City Boulevard

By: Catherine Sweeney The Journal Record December 4, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma transportation officials signed a $27 million contract for the last leg of the Oklahoma City Boulevard project, which is intended to improve downtown’s access to the interstates and alleviate traffic in the area.

The project, which began its first round of construction in March 2015, includes a new city street in Interstate 40’s old footprint that will connect E.K. Gaylord Boulevard-Shields Boulevard to new ramps at I-40, Interstate 235 and Interstate 35. The contract, which the Oklahoma Transportation Commission signed on Monday, is the last installment in a series. It went to Allen Contracting Inc. and Shell Construction Inc. of Oklahoma City. It authorizes construction on the center portion of the project, which connects Klein Avenue to Shields/E.K. Gaylord Boulevard.

“The boulevard and us finishing this last project is a culmination of what started in the ’90s,” said Brenda Perry, a spokeswoman for the department.

The Department of Transportation rerouted I-40, moving it away from the area to where it sits today. That route opened to traffic in 2012. She said officials agreed to mitigate that move and its affect on transportation within the city by planning this project, which will mainly run along the old highway’s route.

Once the multi-year project is complete, the new city-operated street will run from east to west spanning four lanes. The project’s renderings show pedestrian traffic and, yards away from the street, a city streetcar route. That portion of the project is still in planning stages.

State Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, represents the area. He said that some of his constituents had pushed for the project to implement more walkability features and feel less like another version of the Northwest Expressway, but critics said those adjustments would slow traffic. Bennett said officials found a good
compromise.

“I understand ODOT’s goal is to get people from A to B as quickly as possible,” he said. “It will be good in that people who are maybe coming through Oklahoma City will choose to take the Boulevard and see Oklahoma City before heading off to the west or the east.”

State Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, represents the area. He said that some of his constituents had pushed for the project to implement more walkability features and feel less like another version of the Northwest Expressway, but critics said those adjustments would slow traffic. Bennett said officials found a good compromise.

“I understand ODOT’s goal is to get people from A to B as quickly as possible,” he said. “It will be good in that people who are maybe coming through Oklahoma City will choose to take the Boulevard and see Oklahoma City before heading off to the west or the east.”

This kind of thinking is why our legislature is so unprepared to lead OK into modern times. Just lazy thinking and no leadership. Let’s get him voted out. He doesn’t get it.

This kind of thinking is why our legislature is so unprepared to lead OK into modern times. Just lazy thinking and no leadership. Let’s get him voted out. He doesn’t get it.

Lazy thinking is a perfect way to describe it. Too many in the legislature have no interest critically thinking through issues, and this is a perfect example of it. Forrest is a very nice guy who, unfortunately, often doesn't think for himself.

The only time someone "passing through" is going to decide to take the Boulevard instead of continuing on I-40 is if there is a wreck or something that they can bypass. This only further proves that this Boulevard wasn't built for the people who are actually going to interact with it.

http://newsok.com/article/5574882?utm_source=NewsOK.com&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=ShareBar-Twitter


“There was a lot of conversation during the design process that they did not want the median,” Wenger said. “They didn’t want it to be in competition with the park. They wanted to make sure it was very passable so pedestrians did not have to cross over the top (of the median).”

Who thinks the road median will "compete" with the park? What in the world??? Why not include a wide sidewalk cut out of the median like so many other cities do on their main thoroughfares? And, of course, the real irony of forcing bikes to share the sidewalk with people is that if the sidewalks are as busy as the renderings would have us believe they will be, effective cycling will be difficult if not impossible.

Hiring Hargreaves appears to have been a serious miscalculation on the part of the city (if they were, in fact, involved in this).

All the comments coming out on the boulevard decisions are really absurd. They want bicyclists riding on sidewalks in the core of the city?!? Is this 1970s planning? No one will take responsibility for the decisions either. This has been an epic failure every step of the way. It's time for the City of OKC to find new leadership from people who understand what makes cities great.

^


So who is they?

Well, Wenger couldn’t provide with any names, other than this was an outcome from discussions among the various project consultants (park, streetcar, convention center).

This is just Wenger and city staff bs-ing.

Happens all the time which is one of the reason I harp on hard reports on various projects that show original scope, time and budget and then contrast that to what actually gets delivered.

It's the job of City Council to demand such accountability but they provide zero check or balance because almost all just go along with what is presented before them without even asking questions.

So I ask – was this another request by the folks at Hargraves? You remember Hargraves, the firm hired by the city to design the park but did nothing with the historic Union Station? They also opposed having the streetcar travel along the boulevard because they hope the street can be closed as part of a hope that the annual Festival of the Arts will be relocated to Scissortail Park. Or maybe you heard how their designs for the lower segment of the park includes no parking, no way to get there?

It’s the firm that is creating an amphitheater and restaurant at the new park, duplicating what we already have at the Myriad Gardens?

This Hargraves ax-grinding has been going for years.

How about holding City Hall and City Council accountable? They have final say-so on everything. In fact, the key players were just on the Oklahoman's Downtown in Review panel.

The Oklahoman is just way too cozy with the people the city entrusts with these oversight responsibilities and it shows up in all their reporting.

This forum and the resources shared through it - is legitimately the only place I can find anything about these leadership and project failures that we keep getting exposed to. The Oklahoman doesn't provide any actual investigating that helps inform the public. The readers there are clueless on everything if you see any of the comments ("Why are we building this stupid trolley? Give this money to the teachers!")

This boulevard is officially a joke and this forum knew it over five years before its construction. I have tons of friends who have no idea what the boulevard is, who took part in the design, and what its purpose is. All they know is "the construction downtown right now is total BS".

From the perspective of a cyclist, if it isn't clear where I'm supposed to ride, then I'll stay in lanes with vehicular traffic and remain clear of pedestrians. This is especially true of a congested urban area such as this one, where cars & bikes move at approximately the same speed, and the increased numbers of pedestrians pose a greater threat to bicyclists (and vice-versa).

If you want to see the hazards of bikes & pedestrians on a shared path, I suggest a visit to Lake Hefner. I know too many people who have been injured in the confluence of bikes, walkers, runners, rollerbladers, strollers and dogs.

This forum and the resources shared through it - is legitimately the only place I can find anything about these leadership and project failures that we keep getting exposed to. The Oklahoman doesn't provide any actual investigating that helps inform the public. The readers there are clueless on everything if you see any of the comments ("Why are we building this stupid trolley? Give this money to the teachers!")

This boulevard is officially a joke and this forum knew it over five years before its construction. I have tons of friends who have no idea what the boulevard is, who took part in the design, and what its purpose is. All they know is "the construction downtown right now is total BS".

Really proud of the fact the "Better Boulevard" movement started here and had at least some impact on this project.

But in the end, City Hall can pretty much do what they want and I have thought for a long time there is not nearly enough accountability on their part.


Think about how every little issue in state and federal government is under the magnifying glass of hundreds and thousands of reporters, all hoping to expose fraud, corruption and incompetence.

Who does that for the City of OKC? All I see is PR about how great everything is and zero independent investigation and research, just repeating what is being told by the very people you are supposed to be watch-dogging.

It's why I've personally taken up several issues even at the risk of being labeled a 'hater'.

This forum and the resources shared through it - is legitimately the only place I can find anything about these leadership and project failures that we keep getting exposed to. The Oklahoman doesn't provide any actual investigating that helps inform the public. The readers there are clueless on everything if you see any of the comments ("Why are we building this stupid trolley? Give this money to the teachers!")

This boulevard is officially a joke and this forum knew it over five years before its construction. I have tons of friends who have no idea what the boulevard is, who took part in the design, and what its purpose is. All they know is "the construction downtown right now is total BS".

This is an excellent and underappreciated point. The Oklahoman, the state and the city's, primary source of news is failing at its job to inform the public of issues of importance related to the City of OKC. They've done a great job when it comes to state issues on education, criminal justice, and health, in my opinion. But the coverage of the city is inexplicably bad and vacuous. When I click on headlines related to city information, it's either a puff piece or it's has no information besides the very basics. When major news organizations fail in this manner, the public doesn't understand decisions being made, can't hold leaders accountable, and can't adequately participate in the civic process. I don't know if the reporters at The Oklahoman are lazy (I doubt it) or they want to maintain relationships with city officials (more likely) or they don't have the resources to properly do their jobs (conceivable).

I get so much better information from OKCTalk. It's informative, detailed, and provides previously unknown context. It's now the first place I go when I wake up to read the news related to OKC. I truly wish The Oklahoman were a stronger investigative and reporting entity. If it were, perhaps this Boulevard wouldn't have turned into such a massive mess. Can you imagine how much more of a disaster it would have been without OKCTalk? Oh god.

If people weren't worried about the lack of real reporting on the City before, the recent incident regarding the public incentives for the Omni Hotel is something that was so egregious, it should concern all and bring the bigger issue to the fore. IMO, it is a microcosm of things that have troubled me since I started closely following local issues about 5 years.


Brief summary of the Omni incident:

1. Through the Alliance for Economic Development (a body recently formed which is not subject to state meeting or record laws) the city actively negotiated terms for the Omni convention hotel and those terms had not been previously revealed.

2. I came to understand the terms would be on the agenda for approval for a particular meeting that was scheduled for a Tuesday of the following week.

3. Law dictates that agendas be posted 48 hours in advance, and therefore I knew the deadline for posting would be the previous Friday afternoon.

4. On that Friday I see the agenda hit the City system, immediately find the item regarding the Omni and download the presentation.

5. Quickly perusing it, I put in a call to Cathy O'Connor who heads the Alliance as I had several questions, specifically about the cost to finance the $85 million Omni was requesting so they could receive it before they ever started work.

6. After placing the call I noticed that the Oklahoman had already posted a full story about the Omni and the incentives, complete with interviews. It was clear this story had been written sometime earlier, perhaps days.

7. The Oklahoman's story did not include a cost to finance the $85 million.

8. Cathy O'Connor returned my call and I immediately asked her why she had provided this important civic information to the Oklahoman long before it was made public. She provided no real answer and when I asked if I would be given the same opportunity in the future she said "I don't know" which I took as an indirect way of saying 'no'.

9. I also asked O'Connor about the finance cost and was told, "We have never included that in our presentations" and then when pressed she said she didn't have the exact figure. In attempt to get some sort of perspective on the amount, I asked if the interest would push the total cost to more than $100 million? She said yes but declined to give further specifics.

10. Through Ed Shadid I was able to get a quick and precise answer to that question from the City's finance director. The sum? A staggering $50 million.

11. I went back through my notes and found that exact figure had been discussed in private meetings with the city council; a tactic the City frequently uses to float ideas and business without being subjected to open meeting laws by keeping the meetings below a quorum (I've discussed this tactic with the municipal counselor but that's a whole other tangent and something I may eventually challenge through the legal system at a later time). Cathy O'Connor was the one who had provided that precise $50 million figure in the small-group council meetings several weeks before.

12. I report the $50 million additional cost to taxpayers but the Oklahoman's story was already out and none of the other local outlets reported financing costs.

13. Subsequent reports by the Oklahoman have only mentioned the $85 million figure, not the full $135 million including interest.


This is a big deal and IMO clearly demonstrates an intentional effort to deceive the public, mainly by the city but the Oklahoman has been complicit as well.


Here is the underlying point: How would anyone know if something very bad was happening at City Hall? Not saying there is, just that there is no way we wold know. And I've posed that question to many civic leaders and they have all agreed.

This is a bad situation for a functioning democracy.

The Oklahoman is just way too cozy with the people the city entrusts with these oversight responsibilities and it shows up in all their reporting.

I'm sure this is no surprise, but I know from a friend who works for the Oklahoman that this frustration is shared by many of the reporters. They operate with a strong amount of editorial control.

I'm sure this is no surprise, but I know from a friend who works for the Oklahoman that this frustration is shared by many of the reporters. They operate with a strong amount of editorial control.

I also know that some reporters there use that as a blanket excuse for not doing their job properly.

And if it's such a draconian environment, then exercise some integrity and stop contributing to a very unethical journalistic process and leave.


Don't mean to be harsh but I've been under the opinion that that excuse is a huge rationalization for continuing to work there while they keep cashing their paychecks.

I don't disagree and was not offering it up as an excuse, but more of an aknowledgement of how the Oklahoman operates. As for moving on, well, the post journalism career path is typically Starbucks so I'm a little more sympathetic there. I mean, in Oklahoma where is a reporter going to go? The Lost Ogle?

I don't disagree and was not offering it up as an excuse, but more of an aknowledgement of how the Oklahoman operates. As for moving on, well, the post journalism career path is typically Starbucks so I'm a little more sympathetic there. I mean, in Oklahoma where is a reporter going to go? The Lost Ogle?

Yes, The Lost Ogle. Or OKCTalk, Red Dirt Report, the Gazette, Journal Record, Free Press OKC, or start you own business or do freelance work.

Tons and tons of traditional journalists have lost their jobs over the last couple of decades and few starve to death. I know a bunch and they've all found ways to pay the bills.

It's the nature of the shifting workforce that as some jobs become antiquated there are many more that spring up as a result. I've done a ton of different things in my career.


I don't have any sympathy for someone who continues to take a paycheck from an organization they themselves have declared to be highly unethical. I quit a job over this exact issue.

All the comments coming out on the boulevard decisions are really absurd. They want bicyclists riding on sidewalks in the core of the city?!? Is this 1970s planning? No one will take responsibility for the decisions either. This has been an epic failure every step of the way. It's time for the City of OKC to find new leadership from people who understand what makes cities great.

Agree

All the comments coming out on the boulevard decisions are really absurd. They want bicyclists riding on sidewalks in the core of the city?!? Is this 1970s planning? No one will take responsibility for the decisions either. This has been an epic failure every step of the way. It's time for the City of OKC to find new leadership from people who understand what makes cities great.

I do agree, but I don't think the city of OKC is the problem here. The boulevard is and has always been an ODOT thing. ODOT, as we all know, is still stuck in the 1970s.

If people weren't worried about the lack of real reporting on the City before, the recent incident regarding the public incentives for the Omni Hotel is something that was so egregious, it should concern all and bring the bigger issue to the fore. IMO, it is a microcosm of things that have troubled me since I started closely following local issues about 5 years.


Brief summary of the Omni incident:

1. Through the Alliance for Economic Development (a body recently formed which is not subject to state meeting or record laws) the city actively negotiated terms for the Omni convention hotel and those terms had not been previously revealed.

2. I came to understand the terms would be on the agenda for approval for a particular meeting that was scheduled for a Tuesday of the following week.

3. Law dictates that agendas be posted 48 hours in advance, and therefore I knew the deadline for posting would be the previous Friday afternoon.

4. On that Friday I see the agenda hit the City system, immediately find the item regarding the Omni and download the presentation.

5. Quickly perusing it, I put in a call to Cathy O'Connor who heads the Alliance as I had several questions, specifically about the cost to finance the $85 million Omni was requesting so they could receive it before they ever started work.

6. After placing the call I noticed that the Oklahoman had already posted a full story about the Omni and the incentives, complete with interviews. It was clear this story had been written sometime earlier, perhaps days.

7. The Oklahoman's story did not include a cost to finance the $85 million.

8. Cathy O'Connor returned my call and I immediately asked her why she had provided this important civic information to the Oklahoman long before it was made public. She provided no real answer and when I asked if I would be given the same opportunity in the future she said "I don't know" which I took as an indirect way of saying 'no'.

9. I also asked O'Connor about the finance cost and was told, "We have never included that in our presentations" and then when pressed she said she didn't have the exact figure. In attempt to get some sort of perspective on the amount, I asked if the interest would push the total cost to more than $100 million? She said yes but declined to give further specifics.

10. Through Ed Shadid I was able to get a quick and precise answer to that question from the City's finance director. The sum? A staggering $50 million.

11. I went back through my notes and found that exact figure had been discussed in private meetings with the city council; a tactic the City frequently uses to float ideas and business without being subjected to open meeting laws by keeping the meetings below a quorum (I've discussed this tactic with the municipal counselor but that's a whole other tangent and something I may eventually challenge through the legal system at a later time). Cathy O'Connor was the one who had provided that precise $50 million figure in the small-group council meetings several weeks before.

12. I report the $50 million additional cost to taxpayers but the Oklahoman's story was already out and none of the other local outlets reported financing costs.

13. Subsequent reports by the Oklahoman have only mentioned the $85 million figure, not the full $135 million including interest.


This is a big deal and IMO clearly demonstrates an intentional effort to deceive the public, mainly by the city but the Oklahoman has been complicit as well.


Here is the underlying point: How would anyone know if something very bad was happening at City Hall? Not saying there is, just that there is no way we wold know. And I've posed that question to many civic leaders and they have all agreed.

This is a bad situation for a functioning democracy.

Pete for Governor!!!

I do agree, but I don't think the city of OKC is the problem here. The boulevard is and has always been an ODOT thing. ODOT, as we all know, is still stuck in the 1970s.

Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think OKC has control over this project, especially the design elements of grade level parts of the boulevard.

Pete for Governor!!!

No, Pete for Mayor!

The people making comments about Forrest Bennett are 100% off-base. He is not one of the long-tenured lazy thinkers you are railing against and want to throw out; he is a very recent addition at the capitol, a SCHOOLTEACHER who came to the capitol for the same reasons: to oust the old stuck-in-the-mud thinking. He is a major proponent of education and...TRANSIT. If fact, he puts his money where his mouth is and RIDES THE CITY BUS TO WORK DAILY. The comments he made about compromise were completely political in nature, because occasionally you have to pick which hill you are willing to die on. That is an unfortunate reality.

The people making comments about Forrest Bennett are 100% off-base. He is not one of the long-tenured lazy thinkers you are railing against and want to throw out; he is a very recent addition at the capitol, a SCHOOLTEACHER who came to the capitol for the same reasons: to oust the old stuck-in-the-mud thinking. He is a major proponent of education and...TRANSIT. If fact, he puts his money where his mouth is and RIDES THE CITY BUS TO WORK DAILY. The comments he made about compromise were completely political in nature, because occasionally you have to pick which hill you are willing to die on. That is an unfortunate reality.

I was going to say something similar.

I've been really impressed with Forrest and his comments were about 'compromise', meaning he advocated for all the things being discussed here but in the end the city is the one making the final decisions, even though this is an ODOT project.

Once the city has the "keys" we can fight for some changes, most really involve spray-sanding off some paint and applying new paint. It's really not the end of the world. One change I would like the city do ASAP is install a midblock crosswalk similar to what is on Sheridan in front of Devon,

The people making comments about Forrest Bennett are 100% off-base. He is not one of the long-tenured lazy thinkers you are railing against and want to throw out; he is a very recent addition at the capitol, a SCHOOLTEACHER who came to the capitol for the same reasons: to oust the old stuck-in-the-mud thinking. He is a major proponent of education and...TRANSIT. If fact, he puts his money where his mouth is and RIDES THE CITY BUS TO WORK DAILY. The comments he made about compromise were completely political in nature, because occasionally you have to pick which hill you are willing to die on. That is an unfortunate reality.

Capitulating doesn't change the culture, its just a part of it. If you run to change things, then show you have the mind and spine to CHANGE THINGS. Riding the bus doesn't prove he understands urban design. His expressed thoughts just send an okay message to same-o same-o thought processes.

I totally respect you as a poster - maybe the most balanced and pragmatic one on the board, but don't accept this stuff as okay.

I'm pretty optimistic this boulevard thing will work itself out. The traffic counts anticipated by the state engineers have no chance at being exceeded. Let ODOT build their white elephant, and I bet after 5 years or so the city will be able to fix the paint, install bollards, etc and introduce real bike lanes and additional traffic calming measures.

I'm pretty optimistic this boulevard thing will work itself out. The traffic counts anticipated by the state engineers have no chance at being exceeded. Let ODOT build their white elephant, and I bet after 5 years or so the city will be able to fix the paint, install bollards, etc and introduce real bike lanes and additional traffic calming measures.

I hope you're right but they are building this thing to move lots of traffic and typically, traffic will find the thoroughfares and fill them accordingly.

I've read so many thoughts, and shared the sentiment that the Boulevard may take pressure off other Downtown streets and we could potentially add bike lanes and other infrastructure in those areas? No reason we can't have a project that installs protected bike lanes on Western, Shartel, Walker, Hudson, Robinson going N/S and then the same at 10th, 6th, Robert Kerr/2nd, and Reno going E/W.

I've read so many thoughts, and shared the sentiment that the Boulevard may take pressure off other Downtown streets and we could potentially add bike lanes and other infrastructure in those areas? No reason we can't have a project that installs protected bike lanes on Western, Shartel, Walker, Hudson, Robinson going N/S and then the same at 10th, 6th, Robert Kerr/2nd, and Reno going E/W.

Not completely sure, but that kind of thing may have been mentioned in slackmeyer's chat today (almost everybody that commented was amazed there were no bike lanes on the blvd), check it out at newsok.com.

FWIW (probably not much), a petition has been made to demand bike lanes be added.

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bikesonoklahomablvd

Capitulating doesn't change the culture, its just a part of it. If you run to change things, then show you have the mind and spine to CHANGE THINGS. Riding the bus doesn't prove he understands urban design. His expressed thoughts just send an okay message to same-o same-o thought processes.

I totally respect you as a poster - maybe the most balanced and pragmatic one on the board, but don't accept this stuff as okay.
Thanks for the kind words. While I love the idea of blind unyielding idealism, sometimes the reality in politics is that you have to take your lumps and live on to fight another day. I believe Forrest is working very diligently to create change at the capitol, but of course the deck is thoroughly stacked against him.

I've read so many thoughts, and shared the sentiment that the Boulevard may take pressure off other Downtown streets and we could potentially add bike lanes and other infrastructure in those areas? No reason we can't have a project that installs protected bike lanes on Western, Shartel, Walker, Hudson, Robinson going N/S and then the same at 10th, 6th, Robert Kerr/2nd, and Reno going E/W.
DEFINITELY part of the ongoing discussion. By the way, several years ago we asked for some minor pedestrian-focused adjustments on Reno and part of the reason our request was denied is because of the idea that the boulevard implementation would change traffic patterns and perhaps eventually allow for a more pedestrian-friendly approach along Reno. Currently the thinking is that traffic flow before/after events at Chesapeake precludes slowing traffic on Reno in any way. Bricktown/Downtown stakeholders will be watching this transition very closely.

Thanks for the kind words. While I love the idea of blind unyielding idealism, sometimes the reality in politics is that you have to take your lumps and live on to fight another day. I believe Forrest is working very diligently to create change at the capitol, but of course the deck is thoroughly stacked against him.

Having been exposed a fair amount to how 23rd St. works I guess I am a little cynical about it changing vs. the representative changing. If one side is unyielding, then the other is the only one compromising. Sometimes a mental and political grenade needs to disrupt business as usual and persons of strong conviction have to sometimes be defiant in their defense of their real constituency and of right. If this isn't important to hold fast on, what is? We aren't getting our say about education, infrastructure, support of r&d, economic responsibility, tax system modification, etc. If you aren't getting anything on the bigger issues, what do you wait for? It's not like fighting this is going to create political opportunity to make change, but it might make things quieter.

After over 40 years of watching the lack of progress on 23rd, I wonder why are we still playing nice and when we get representatives that actually have a spine with some imagination, intelligence and leadership?

Saw this is Lackmeyer's chat today:

"Guest said:
thoughts on the change of bike lanes on the OKC Boulevard? Seems confusing to drivers and bikers to go from bike lanes to a bike/walk path. seems like the city should just stick to bike lanes in the road.

Steve Lackmeyer replied:
I want to know who had them eliminated and why."

I almost literally lol-ed and thought "Then do some investigative reporting and FIND OUT!"

I was in U-Haul today returning a truck and saw a large contingent of people taking a tour of the building. Based on the way they were posturing and the questions they were asking, they were there trying to understand how U-Haul operates the building and the parking lot that is in debate. An employee confirmed they were there to observe and discuss how to come to a resolution.

Hopefully fix the boulevard is on Maps 4. IIRC once it’s built ODOT turns it over to the city and the city can then remake it how they see fit.

I was in U-Haul today returning a truck and saw a large contingent of people taking a tour of the building. Based on the way they were posturing and the questions they were asking, they were there trying to understand how U-Haul operates the building and the parking lot that is in debate. An employee confirmed they were there to observe and discuss how to come to a resolution.

That must have been the court-appointed commissioners who are charged with determining a fair market value as part of the City's eminent domain filing.

I didn't read the entire thread, so forgive me if this has already been addressed, but I'm curious what's going to happen once they get OKC Blvd completed and it begins handling a full traffic load.

Right now, you can get on OKC Blvd just west of Western, and it it dumps you off onto I-40 around Agnew. At that point, if you want to get onto westbound I-44, you have about 1/2 mile to cross 5 or 6 lanes of traffic on I-40. It's already tough to do with the small amount of traffic using that small piece of OKC Blvd. I can't imagine doing it once the Boulevard is open and carrying max traffic. It will be impossible during rush hour.

I didn't read the entire thread, so forgive me if this has already been addressed, but I'm curious what's going to happen once they get OKC Blvd completed and it begins handling a full traffic load.

Right now, you can get on OKC Blvd just west of Western, and it it dumps you off onto I-40 around Agnew. At that point, if you want to get onto westbound I-44, you have about 1/2 mile to cross 5 or 6 lanes of traffic on I-40. It's already tough to do with the small amount of traffic using that small piece of OKC Blvd. I can't imagine doing it once the Boulevard is open and carrying max traffic. It will be impossible during rush hour.

They should allow people to try and merge those 6 lanes over to go south on I-44. People wanting to do that should get on I-40 and Western and then have plenty of time to get over.

I tried to use the BLVD to go from film row to Bethany after work once. Never again. Now I just take Main St to May. Much easier and quicker. That merge is horrific.