I went to the "NW Corridor Study Meeting" tonight held by EMBARK at OCU. Somewhere between 60 and 120 people were there or came through. EMBARK had a informal meet and greet before the formal presentation in Meinder's Hall.

Apparently, we were one of five US cities to receive money for a planning grant to cover analysis of the area from the downtown EMBARK transit center up Classen and NW Expressway to roughly Meridian.

I will post pictures and the map that they sent out in the press release. I also have many thoughts about the study, the study results, and BRT in general. Kudos to the people involved in the study including the EMBARK's chief Transit Planner Larry Hopper, EMBARK staff, the OKC Planning Department, ACOG, and the OU Institute for Quality Communities.

One of the things that struck me, is by having OUIQC involved, illustrations and details were created that dealt with many chaotic and dangerous intersections affecting pedestrians and bicyclists.

Generally there are many "pro's and cons" related to BRT and it's effectiveness. However I am glad that they are giving this corridor attention and analysis that it deserves. Particularly in advance of the next GO Bond, MAPS 4, or potential FTA funds that may enable implementation in the next few years.

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11313&stc=1http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11314&stc=1http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11315&stc=1

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11316&stc=1

And probably my favorite. This is a dangerous intersection!

Are the EMBARK people calling this BRT?

The City's official press release Just the facts. And I think I know where your headed with this. Not remotely like true BRT like in Bogota, Columbia.

August 13 Community Meeting
Concept Transit Plan For NW Corridor To Be Presented

(Aug. 11, 2015) – EMBARK invites the public to a community meeting and open house on Thursday, August 13 at 6 p.m. to learn about a concept transit plan for the NW Corridor.

The Oklahoma City Planning Department, Oklahoma City County Health Department, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments and EMBARK will present on the concept plan which identifies the potential for multimodal transportation in the NW Corridor. In this plan, the NW Corridor is defined as the area that runs along North Classen Boulevard and Northwest Expressway. The goal of the concept plan is to focus on increasing mobility and healthcare access through multimodal public transportation options.

The corridor is the longest and most intensely developed urban corridor in the city, containing about 120,000 jobs, 75,000 residents and three hospitals. Studies have recommended the NW Corridor for bus rapid transit (BRT), a high-amenity transportation system that mimics a light rail system. While the concept plan will examine how BRT service could be integrated in the area, it will also evaluate potential multimodal improvements in the area such as bicycle and pedestrian connections and signalized pedestrian and cycling crossings.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 13 in Meinders Hall at Oklahoma City University, located at 2601 N. McKinley Ave and is accessible via EMBARK Route 023/23N(stops 3937 or 4006) as well as Route 005 from stop 3781. The public is invited to attend the open house to view the maps of the NW Corridor from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. and participate in a discussion from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information, contact Larry Hopper, EMBARK’s planning manager at 405-297-3935 or Larry.hopper@okc.gov.

About EMBARK

EMBARK is a division of the Central Oklahoma Transportation & Parking Authority. COTPA, a public trust administered by the City of Oklahoma City, is responsible for providing safe, efficient and convenient public transportation to the citizens of the greater Oklahoma City area.

To learn more about EMBARK and view bus schedules and routes, visit www.embarkok.com (http://www.embarkok.com/) or call (405) 235-RIDE (7433) for personal assistance from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. To learn more about carpooling or to be matched with someone in your area, visit www.getaroundok.com (http://www.getaroundok.com/).

Media Contact: Michael Scroggins, Public Information Officer
Office: (405) 297-2107 Mobile: (405) 837-9510
michael.scroggins@okc.gov (michael.scroggns@okc.gov)

"True" BRT, as far as I know, never actually done in the United States properly. You have to ask yourself. is it possible to do here or is the "compromise" a significant enough improvement over the bus routes in these areas as they stand today. And also the pedestrian improvements.

Streetfilms | Bus Rapid Transit: Bogotá (http://www.streetfilms.org/bus-rapid-transit-bogota/)

I really wanted to attend that meeting but had a conflict. Thanks for the update.

I'll need to check out our new BRT system here in Jax but my understanding is that it will be 55 miles of dedicated bus-only lanes on 5 lines.

My concern is if it will be functional or not. So what if one can get to the next bus stop faster if there is nothing at the next bus stop except a giant parking lot. Without walkable density it simply won't work as a mass transit system. I guess people can use it to commute downtown.

Concept NW Corridor Plan Community Meeting - EMBARK (http://embarkok.com/about/calendar/2015-09-29/concept-nw-corridor-plan-community-meeting)

I think BRT could work well along this corridor. I know there is a big difference in population density between OKC and Pittsburgh, but PIttsburgh has one of the largest BRT systems in the US. It works just like a light rail system, mostly in its own dedicated lanes, and even has technology to advance traffic lights to keep the system moving. It rarely has to interfere with traffic, plus, construction costs a fraction of what light rail construction would cost. Until a fully functional regional rail system is implemented in OKC, BRT is the way we should be going.

I'll need to check out our new BRT system here in Jax but my understanding is that it will be 55 miles of dedicated bus-only lanes on 5 lines.

My concern is if it will be functional or not. So what if one can get to the next bus stop faster if there is nothing at the next bus stop except a giant parking lot. Without walkable density it simply won't work as a mass transit system. I guess people can use it to commute downtown.

This. NW Expwy is about as unwalkable as it gets, so there would be zero point in using a BRT. Nothing against that part of town as that's how 99% of OKC was built. And I'm not sure why people would use it commute downtown either? Downtown in a few years is going to have a skyline dominated by parking garages.

I'm not sure where the presentation is, though I'm certain it is out there, but what we were shown at the ACOG CAC meeting last week by Embark regarding the BRT study was promising and factored in pedestrian access as well as other reasons why to choose that corridor, in particular because of the employer/jobs density, as well as the shopping hot spots. Seemed reasonably well thought out. While I'm not saying this is the most ideal corridor for this transit approach (in the world), it might be the best corridor OKC has to offer when considering all those factors in addition to the room needed to make dedicated bus lanes. I know Reno is noted as a possible BRT route option in the 2005 fixed guideway study, but I'm not sure it has the same kinds of jobs density along it, though I do think there's other merits to that route.

I'm not sure where the presentation is, though I'm certain it is out there, but what we were shown at the ACOG CAC meeting last week by Embark regarding the BRT study was promising and factored in pedestrian access as well as other reasons why to choose that corridor, in particular because of the employer/jobs density, as well as the shopping hot spots. Seemed reasonably well thought out. While I'm not saying this is the most ideal corridor for this transit approach (in the world), it might be the best corridor OKC has to offer when considering all those factors in addition to the room needed to make dedicated bus lanes. I know Reno is noted as a possible BRT route option in the 2005 fixed guideway study, but I'm not sure it has the same kinds of jobs density along it, though I do think there's other merits to that route.

I mean at least a BRT is even a consideration, which is massive progress. The problem is if you invest the resources into something which is doomed to fail anyway, you pretty much kill any chance of being able to pour more money into other transit projects, even if they would have a much better shot of working. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing on NW Expwy that is built around the pedestrian. It's not even safe to walk across the Penn Square mall parking lot (ok I'm being somewhat facetious but my point still stands). I'd much rather see this type of investment go into the core, which for now is pretty much the only place in OKC where people consistently walk places and don't have the expectation of just driving their F350 everywhere and parking for free at their destination (and granted that's not even true, judging by how many people complain about the "parking shortage" in midtown on this forum on regular basis).

Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing on NW Expwy that is built around the pedestrian. It's not even safe to walk across the Penn Square mall parking lot (ok I'm being somewhat facetious but my point still stands).

That is my point. The plan presented included improving pedestrian crossings and transit access in key areas.

If we're going to spend money on mass transit in an area, that area needs to be retrofitted into a more pedestrian friendly place. Otherwise it doesn't do us any good at all. We'd be wasting our money.

I think you could turn the area of NW Expressway and May into a nice urban center. There are a few skyscrapers there, surrounded by a sea of parking. But honestly that's going to need a lot of work. I don't really see market forces causing it to change anytime soon. It would have to be a massive public investment, and our tax dollars are probably better spent in the core. Probably the best plan would be to establish some sort of design review board for the area, change the zoning codes to promote mixed use, and then wait 20 years.

One thing to keep in mind is that any sort of BRT routes and Rail routes are going to change how the overall system functions.

Once you establish a BRT route, you no longer run routes all the way downtown that can just be transferred over to the BRT or Streetcar route. So you can make the BRT route effective as a means of transit by connecting the BRT route with a May/Expressway circulator. Since the area is not yet walkable, you have the circulator that is taking people around to all the important areas between May and Lake Hefner Parkway. From there, you can serve lots of people who live downtown or near the BRT line but who work at Integris, in any of the variety of office buildings etc.

Obviously a focus needs to be made on urbanization where urbanization is possible, but this is going to require parking garages in parts of the city where we want to retrofit. I wouldn't mind seeing the city develop an initiative where we subsidize parking garages in places where surface parking provides a great opportunity for suburban retrofitting. I think about the Home Depot, Best Buy parking lot. If you build a 3 to 5 story garage to cover parking for the area, then you create space for apartments, more retail, etc. Same with several other massive parking lots in the area.

But we have to start retrofitting somewhere, and we may as well start where there's already successful commercial and add urban housing to the mix.

Maybe I'm an extremist, but I don't see how parking garages would help anything. At the end of the day, they do the same thing that surface lots do - which is encourage people to drive - and not walk or use any form of mass transit. Penn Square Mall has a massive parking garage attached - doesn't make that part of town any more walkable.

This is why it's so mind-boggling why the city is wasting so much money building parking garages but at the same time the streetcar is going forward. Build one or the other. If you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any.

You build parking garages to open up real-estate to be developed.

You build a parking garage somewhere in the Home Depot/Best Buy parking lot and then build 4 to 6 story mixed use developments that house 150 to 300 residential units, some office and more retail on top of the rest of the current surface parking. You could fit at least a Maywood Phase II sized development on that parking lot if you added a garage that could provide parking for the whole area.

Would still be a massive waste of money IMO. That real estate is open to be developed anyway. How many of those parking spots in the Home Depot/Best Buy lot are taken at any given time? Nationally at least, half of all parking spots in the US go unused at any given time. And will parking be free in the garage? I assume so, given OKCers' aversion to 1) paying for parking and/or 2) walking more than two feet from their cars to their destination. So why spend such a large chunk of money on a garage if that money will never be recouped? Much better uses for that money,

Would still be a massive waste of money IMO. That real estate is open to be developed anyway. How many of those parking spots in the Home Depot/Best Buy lot are taken at any given time? Nationally at least, half of all parking spots in the US go unused at any given time. And will parking be free in the garage? I assume so, given OKCers' aversion to 1) paying for parking and/or 2) walking more than two feet from their cars to their destination. So why spend such a large chunk of money on a garage if that money will never be recouped? Much better uses for that money,

Incentivizing means requiring certain things before just giving the money. I'm not saying we should just build a bunch of garages and see what happens. It would function very much like a TIF. People apply for it complete with a full proposal of what they want to accomplish and the city releases the money only once everything is completed.

Nobody is going to just choose to build on top of that parking lot, because realistically only half of the area is not enough to justify having to 1. eat the expense of creating the market because right now, these land owners are not actively looking for buyers, and 2. There is no economy of scale. If you only have half the area because the rest of the parking is actually necessary, you're not going to get enough additional living space to increase density in a way that changes the market forces in that area.

And I'm not saying we should start in on that project in the next 5 years, but it needs to part of a longer term vision. We need to retrofit the Belle Isle mass parking lot first anyway.

But if we're going to declare it a waste of money now and forevermore, than we are essentially saying that we are going to give up on OKC. At some point, we're going to have to pay the money to fix our mistakes.

You guys are having the classic discussion many have with suburban retro-fitting. I struggled with idea for a long time but concluded it isn't worth the cost in most place. It' better to just write it off as a mistake and let it collapse under its own financial weight than spending billion to fix it. Lessons cost money, good lessons cost lots of money.

You guys are having the classic discussion many have with suburban retro-fitting. I struggled with idea for a long time but concluded it isn't worth the cost in most place. It' better to just write it off as a mistake and let it collapse under its own financial weight than spending billion to fix it. Lessons cost money, good lessons cost lots of money.

For the most part I agree, but where there is strategically placed retrofitting you might make an exception. For example, the Kings Crossing development sits along the busiest transit corridor and is currently suburban in nature. This would be a great opportunity to retrofit the site with urban principles.

Additionally, the OUHSC area is not beyond rescue at this point. A freeway cap over 235 connecting the area to AA/Deep Deuce would make that particular place a strong candidate for retrofitting.

The first two areas we should look at retrofitting are Penn Square Mall and OUHSC. The HSC area just needs housing and retail. There's a lot of bad street interaction with the buildings that are there right now, but there's good density. Things are close to each other and there are a lot of people who work in that small area. We won't have a streetwall anywhere over there for at least 30 years, too many buildings are pushed too far back. But there are a ton of surface parking lots there, so there's ample room to build good urbanism in there with it. If we start making a concerted effort to redevelop that area, it would be worth it to run the streetcar over there and connect that area with the rest of downtown.

If we proceed with the idea of running the streetcar up Classen to the Chesapeake campus, we're going to pass right by Belle Isle/Penn Square Mall. Making this area more pedestrian friendly will be a must. Penn Square is incredibly profitable, so I doubt they want to give up their massive surface parking lots. But that's an area that has to get improved if we're putting a streetcar stop there. There's tremendous potential, and adding the convenience of access to Penn Square from downtown is huge. Like it or not, it's still one of the best shopping areas in OKC, and streetcar access to it will make living downtown more appealing. You've got the same shopping choices the suburban guys have without ever having to get in your car.

However, this means that going up NW Expressway gets pushed even further back. There are places with better upside, with better access, that require attention first.

I'll need to check out our new BRT system here in Jax but my understanding is that it will be 55 miles of dedicated bus-only lanes on 5 lines.

My concern is if it will be functional or not. So what if one can get to the next bus stop faster if there is nothing at the next bus stop except a giant parking lot. Without walkable density it simply won't work as a mass transit system. I guess people can use it to commute downtown.

I wonder if the intent was to collect passengers from some of the other lines for faster access downtown.

You should attend the public meeting tomorrow at 5:45 at the Tower Hotel.

You should attend the public meeting tomorrow at 5:45 at the Tower Hotel.

Any report out of that meeting?

It was a very long meeting. Was almost 8 before we were out (actually it might have been after 8, I've slept since then). Lots of questions asked, most of them meaningful. It was pretty much the same presentation that I had seen at ACOG, with a few added speakers and a somewhat deeper dive on a few points. The Q&A panel at the end (all the speakers basically) was pretty informative. Probably the best thing I saw was the Embark employees going around at the end proactively asking people if all their questions were answered.

One question that was asked and answered (and I must paraphrase)...

Q: Are there going to be sidewalks built along NW Exp?

A: Actually, the better approach would be to prioritize building out the sidewalks in the nearby neighborhoods leading to those transit stops (those don't exist either) which would draw in the ridership, rather than providing an alternate transport means parallel to the transit route.


Again that was my paraphrase. I thought that was a fair point. I'm sure the end state has those sidewalks in along NW Exp, but agreed what good are those if the neighborhoods along NW Exp can't walk to the transit stops OR to any parallel sidewalks that might exist.

I'm hearing there is consideration being given to including some form of Express Bus/BRT service for the Northwest Expressway corridor similar to what was proposed in this study as a transit piece for a MAPS 3 Extension/Maps 4.

If done right, it could be a beneficial step forward toward development of a regional transit system. The 2005 Fixed Guideway Study included Express Bus/BRT service for that corridor as part of the system plan, and having recently driven out and back on Northwest Expressway at rush hour, I can testify that the traffic congestion was nearly as bad as what I regularly experience on I-35 and the Broadway Extension.

However, it's my understanding that true BRT development can sometimes cost almost as much as Light Rail. If that were the case, you'd get significantly more benefit in terms of ridership and transit-oriented development with a Light Rail or Rapid Streetcar for that corridor.

Just posted by Mayor Holt on Facebook:

(If there's a better thread for this, feel free to move)



BREAKING OKC TRANSIT NEWS:

Senator Jim Inhofe has just announced that Oklahoma City has received the $14.3M federal grant we applied for to construct OKC’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. This line will go from downtown up North Classen and then up Northwest Expressway to Meridian. ‬

In layman’s terms, BRT is a mode of transit where a bus essentially mimics many of the attributes that make trains popular (but at a fraction of the cost). It’s the ideal transit method for several of our corridors, including this one. See a map and some renderings below.

Over a decade ago, our city envisioned a new transit system to include better bus service, a downtown streetcar, bus rapid transit and commuter rail. Earlier this year, we approved Sunday bus service for the first time. Last month, we joined the state’s first Regional Transit Authority, the first step towards commuter rail. Next week we’ll open the streetcar, and today comes this announcement. Much work to do, but 2018 will definitely go down as the best year for OKC transit in modern memory.

My kudos to Embark and my thanks to Senator Inhofe and the U.S. Department of Transportation! We look forward to turning this dream into reality!

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/47322945_1221207361365907_346203148928417792_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=fd77664eec713249bef9e67d78c4a2ae&oe=5C97A4B1

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/47686491_1221207358032574_553752804942938112_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=104&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=a8271859e404f4c360d27c8dd06f78a6&oe=5C969150

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/47398076_1221207381365905_7789587042916106240_n.jp g?_nc_cat=111&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=3663dae8e3503b033c801b452971c0f0&oe=5C9CAE64

Definitely like it but wish it went to Rockwell

Significant announcement by Mayor Holt starting from this tweet: https://twitter.com/davidfholt/status/1070803530422747137


BREAKING OKC TRANSIT NEWS: Senator @JimInhofe has just announced that OKC has received the $14.3M federal grant we applied for to construct OKC’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. This line will go from downtown up N Classen and then up NW Expressway to Meridian.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtxCIkfUUAAKOJk.jpg:large

In layman’s terms, BRT is a mode of transit where a bus essentially mimics many of the attributes that make trains popular (but at a fraction of the cost). It’s the ideal transit method for several of our corridors, including this one. See a couple of renderings below...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtxDAY1V4AIODYD.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtxDAY2UUAAeIof.jpg:large

Over a decade ago, our city envisioned a new transit system to include better bus service, a downtown streetcar, bus rapid transit and commuter rail. Earlier this year, we approved Sunday bus service for the first time....

... Last month, we joined the state’s first Regional Transit Authority (RTA), the first step towards commuter rail. Next week we’ll open @OKCStreetcar, and today comes this. Much work to do, but 2018 will definitely go down as the best year for OKC transit in modern memory.

My kudos to @EMBARKOK and my thanks to Senator @JimInhofe and the @USDOT! We look forward to turning this dream into reality! #1OKC

Definitely like it but wish it went to Rockwell

Make your voice heard - it would add 2 miles but I bet they could add it in the future! Is traffic past Meridian still pretty dense? We are looking at dedicated Bus Lanes all the way to Meridian, but the system past Meridian should still benefit from a speed perspective.

This is a really great project especially since it starts Downtown and will connect to the Streetcar.

Omg!

It's coming!!!!!

Congrats OKC on your FIRST Mass Transit route (funded)!!! And first federal funded transit for OKC (modern times). !!!

I'd LOVE to also see BRT to WRWA on the short, something the city could fund as well as an extension of the NWX line further to Piedmont (come on Piedmont, partner with the RTD).

BRT in the West Metro makes sense. Commuter Railin the N-S and E corridors also makes sense! BIG, HUGE first step. HUGE!

14.3 million is quite a bit of money. Hopefully they purchase the new zero emissions, electric buses.

BRT Basics https://nbrti.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BRT-Basics.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZl1N6bTp_M


Dedicated ROW: https://youtu.be/YOusvK7Eu9s

Awesome news! An intermodal hub...a modern streetcar...an RTA...and now a BRT line...wow! The hard work, support and efforts of many over the years has us well on our way to a great transit future!

14.3 million is quite a bit of money. Hopefully they purchase the new zero emissions, electric buses.

Also some $13M matching locally. Hopefully we can also get some state funds and voila.

EMBARK Northwest Corridor Concept Plan (https://embarkok.com/assets/files/planning/2030%20Fixed%20Guideway%20Plan/NWMMCP_2017%20Final-pdf.pdf)

Northwest Corridor Presentation (https://embarkok.com/assets/files/planning/NW%20Corridor%20Concept%20Plan/NW%20Corridor_Presentation_8-13-15-pdf.pdf)

IQC Northwest Corridor Memorandum (https://iqc.ou.edu/project/embark/)

Just so we are clear while this is a good step it is not really BRT

Also not the first federa transit dollars for okc. In fact federal money put in part of the streetcar track

I’m sure I missed it, but is there a timeline for implementation of this line?

Please partner with INTEGRIS and get this done!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4871/45492490724_6d90bef867_o.png (https://flic.kr/p/2cj1Uym)
BRT Independence & NW Expressway (https://flic.kr/p/2cj1Uym) by lazio85 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/77483833@N04/), on Flickr

Just so we are clear while this is a good step it is not really BRT

Also not the first federa transit dollars for okc. In fact federal money put in part of the streetcar track

How is it "not really BRT"? Because it won't have it's own dedicated lane along the entire route?

Just so we are clear while this is a good step it is not really BRT

Boulder is correct...the current planning is for BRT "lite", which is a nice step up from regular bus service, but not true BRT. BRT "lite" involves outside-curb stations with BAT lanes, but does not involve dedicated operating lanes or a fixed guideway. Beyond the stations, the bus operates in traffic.

Notes from Seattle: Bus Rapid Transit "lite" (https://ggwash.org/view/32756/notes-from-seattle-bus-rapid-transit-lite)

Make your voice heard - it would add 2 miles but I bet they could add it in the future! Is traffic past Meridian still pretty dense? We are looking at dedicated Bus Lanes all the way to Meridian, but the system past Meridian should still benefit from a speed perspective.

This is a really great project especially since it starts Downtown and will connect to the Streetcar.

Meridian does seem to be an odd place to make a cut-off. Anyone who's driven down NW Expressway further than that could attest to that. But, like you said, it's a start. But, if they aren't planning on dedicated lanes for these buses, I feel like that's just going to make traffic worse in those areas.

There is a big group of lower income apartments on the south side of NWEX to the west of MacArthur; the Lyrewood area.

Many of those residents would benefit from at least getting this service that far.

If it did go out as far as Rockwell then it would be a huge get for us out in Yukon/Piedmont area. We could park way out and ride in!!

Please partner with INTEGRIS and get this done!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4871/45492490724_6d90bef867_o.png (https://flic.kr/p/2cj1Uym)
BRT Independence & NW Expressway (https://flic.kr/p/2cj1Uym) by lazio85 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/77483833@N04/), on Flickr

Is there even enough room in front of Starbucks to build this?

This is about NW Expressway and the city taking it over from ODOT, but it also mentions BRT, so I thought I would put it here:

OKC to take over ownership of Northwest Expressway

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record January 28, 2019

OKLAHOMA CITY – Most of Northwest Expressway doesn’t really operate like a highway anymore, so perhaps Oklahoma City should take over its upkeep from the state Department of Transportation.

At least that’s the reasoning behind a City Council agenda item scheduled for consideration Tuesday, Public Works spokeswoman Shannon Cox said. The six-lane road – three in each direction, with a grassy median – is typically recognized in the metro area as running from Penn Square Mall to the northwest edge of the city. But that is just a section of its original designation: State Highway 3. And most of SH-3 doesn’t typically handle metro traffic loads.

“Because of development in the area and all the stoplight signals over time, it’s become more of an arterial street or corridor,” Cox said. “It’s a matter of practicality. … We’ll maintain it just like all our other city streets.”

The Transportation Department and City Hall came to a mutual agreement that the section of SH-3 between State Highway 74 and Hefner Road best serves residents under the municipality’s jurisdiction. As part of the property transfer agreement under consideration by the City Council, ODOT will seek approval from the state Transportation Commission to work on several construction projects along that stretch of SH-3 to bring it up to city standards before handing it over. Once that happens, the section will be removed from the National Highway System.

Under the agreement, ODOT will provide professional engineering services for all items except upgrading traffic signal controllers, which will be the city’s responsibility. ODOT also agrees to provide 100 percent of the construction costs for roadway resurfacing and restriping.

SH-3 actually begins at the Colorado state line at Boise City and runs concurrent with several other highways throughout its length, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. When it splits from U.S. Highway 81, the road becomes known as Northwest Expressway in the metro area. Near Will Rogers World Airport, SH-3 is transferred onto Interstate 240 and then Interstate 40. Miles after it leaves the metro, SH-3 becomes Highway 32 as it crosses into Arkansas.

Cox said decades ago the city accepted the portion of Northwest Expressway nearest the mall, so the new deal is largely just an extension and recognition of population growth.

The shift of ownership should also make it easier for Oklahoma City Hall to develop a bus rapid transit, or BRT, line along the corridor, she said. At the end of 2018, officials announced that the city had received a federal grant of $14.3 million to develop a BRT along Northwest Expressway to Meridian Avenue after a short leg from downtown. Planning Manager Larry Hopper said the grant will receive matching funds from the city –$10.8 million in bond debt and $2.2 million in sales tax proceeds have already been approved by voters.

The nature of a BRT is similar to dedicated mass transit rail, Hopper said, increasing passenger capacity and schedule reliability by establishing priority over other vehicles in normal traffic flow. Other systems across the country show a dedicated bus lane is one possible element; traffic signal synchronization is another. Construction and parking lot development will be necessary over the next several years.

BRT Open House
https://twitter.com/EMBARKOK/status/1096180478686756871

We should maybe merge this thread with this other one?

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=44738

First public meeting or open house(I don't know if that's the same thing?): https://embarkok.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=cd7e1c13aba753d775d7205b6&id=7b8c377ece

Update on this project from the COTPA agenda:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fixedguideway040319.jpg

So, what's the haps on this project these days?

in the maps meeting today it was stated it's in the engineering/design phase

https://journalrecord.com/2019/08/12/land-purchase-planned-for-okcs-first-bus-rapid-transit-station/

So, just testing the waters on general inclination of thoughts re BRT, are we headed toward using pantograpghs/overhead lines, articulated buses, and new dedicated lanes or dedicated pull outs for individual stops

So, just testing the waters on general inclination of thoughts re BRT, are we headed toward using pantograpghs/overhead lines, articulated buses, and new dedicated lanes or dedicated pull outs for individual stops

this form of "Brt" is just pull outs at stops and extra lanes at a few intersections .... the rest is just in lanes with normal traffic ...

this form of "Brt" is just pull outs at stops and extra lanes at a few intersections .... the rest is just in lanes with normal traffic ...

The median of NWE should be turned into a bus highway with signal preemption and flyovers at major intersections as to not disrupt vehicle traffic. This would also set the stage for LRT conversion in the future much like the Orange Line in the SFV(LA METRO). I'd compromise and let Classen go from 6 to 4 lanes as long as it was widened to include protected bike lanes.

NWE could be a scaled down version of this road in Buenos Aires:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Av.+9+de+Julio,+Buenos+Aires,+Argentina/@-34.6061252,-58.3840385,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x95bccacfdd1fa037:0xf1b1f 26b0eab3053!8m2!3d-34.6061252!4d-58.3818498

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/aerial-view-de-julio-avenue-sunset-buenos-aires-argentina-119492930.jpg

The Classen portion more akin to this minus the urban fabric obviously

https://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/chicago_photo/2013/02/cta-cdot-unveil-loop-renderings-1361407279302.jpg/extralarge.jpg