New projects proposed for Oklahoma River/Stockyards

[Patrick]

I was wondering when the next wave of projects would occur on the Oklahoma River. I'm still waiting for boat docks, fishing piers, more boat ramps, etc.

And that extension of the south Bricktown canal to reach close to Zone G, for easier loading and unloading of taxis on both sides. This would also put the current rail road tracks on a trestle, allowing Bricktown water taxis to flow closer to zone G.


-----------------
"Revival ahead for metro stockyards?


By Scott Coppenbarger
NEWS 9

The following is a script from a NEWS 9 broadcast

Dreamers are looking across the Oklahoma River.

NEWS 9 report

Today, a city committee approved $54 million worth of projects along the riverfront.

Here's what you could see in the five year plan:


A $9 million dollar water taxi system.

A $6.5 million extension of the Bricktown Canal.

Links to Fair Park and the Riverside neighborhood, plus public boating and fishing facilities.
Scott Coppenbarger tells us the stockyards are planning a revival for the first time in about 100 years.

Gone are the glory days of the Oklahoma City Stockyards, a bustling business community that built a city in its own right.

Today, in a quiet meeting of the Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, members adopted a $54 million wish list of river projects that could make stockyard dreams come true.

A boat dock would bring in tourists from water taxis who would walk the streets and spend money in a $3 million retail project built by the Oklahoma National Stockyards Company.

The city manager says projects like the boat dock aren't guaranteed.

Even so, the uncertainty is met with progress."

[Luke]

I thought the big boats running between bricktown and meridian were supposed to start this spring. Obviously, that didn't happen. Does anyone know when that is going to start? There is a boat dock at Regatta Park (that's zone G, right?). Is there a dock at Meridian yet? According to that article, the other built aren't built yet.

And where's this canal extension going to go?

[Patrick]

I thought the big boats running between bricktown and meridian were supposed to start this spring. Obviously, that didn't happen. Does anyone know when that is going to start? There is a boat dock at Regatta Park (that's zone G, right?). Is there a dock at Meridian yet? According to that article, the other built aren't built yet.

And where's this canal extension going to go?

Hey Luke.....

Unfortunately, everything has been delayed. The city recently approved water Taxi to run those operations, and operations probably won't start until next year.

Boat docks haven't been built yet, as the complete master plan for the Oklahoma River hasn't been fulfilled. I'm not quite sure where the city is going to get the funds to complete the master plan. But, the Master Plan called for many boat docks, more boat ramps, more picnic areas, more parks, etc.

Zone G is the portion of the canal that comes from Regatta Park at the river, north to the water fall.......its separated from the South Canal by railroad tracks and about 300 feet. The canal extension plans would extend the south canal to almost touch Zone G, although the two won't join due to elevational differences. The railroad tracks will be placed on a trestle over the canal. The two segments will be close enough so you can get off a water taxi, walk over to Zone G, and catch a river taxi.

The city had considered starting rides on the river sooner and simply running trolleys from Zone G to the south canal, and vice versa, but I doubt anyone would go to that mcuh trouble to ride the river boats. Thus, I think they're going to wait until the extension is complete.

[venture]

Am I the only one who finds the renaming of the Canadian to the "Oklahoma River" for a few miles one of the dumbest PR stunts and a huge waste of time? Its like renaming part of the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Texas because it borders Texas.

[chrisok]

Absolutely

[Pete]

Luke, I don't think they are planning to run the river shuttle service until they connect the river to the Bricktown canal, which hasn't even started yet.

[BDP]

Am I the only one who finds the renaming of the Canadian to the "Oklahoma River" for a few miles one of the dumbest PR stunts and a huge waste of time?

No. I believe this is the work of a few individuals with a bizarre insecurity complex. It is also a bad PR move, if that was its intent. I remember being assured by a state representative when it was first proposed that it would not happen. A year later, it had happened.

BTW, none of the Stockyards improvements are funded at this time.

[mranderson]

"I remember being assured by a state representative when it was first proposed that it would not happen. A year later, it had happened."

A perfect example of why not to say never. Personally, I like the name. I just wish the entire river was the Oklahoma river. Not just seven miles.

[BDP]

I just wish the entire river was the Oklahoma river.

Really? I just think it's so weird and kind of embarrassing that we felt the need to do it. If it was originally named that, iI probabaly wouldn't even think about it. I just wonder if people in New Orleans try and change the name of the Mississippi River. Or if people in California feel the need to change the name for the Colorado River. For some reason someone figured that the portion of river in Oklahoma City in Oklahoma Country in the state of Oklahoma should be called the Oklahoma River, just to be sure no one gets confused about where they are.

[Patrick]

Really? I just think it's so weird and kind of embarrassing that we felt the need to do it. If it was originally named that, iI probabaly wouldn't even think about it. I just wonder if people in New Orleans try and change the name of the Mississippi River. Or if people in California feel the need to change the name for the Colorado River. For some reason someone figured that the portion of river in Oklahoma City in Oklahoma Country in the state of Oklahoma should be called the Oklahoma River, just to be sure no one gets confused about where they are.

I don't think it would be so bad if the entire river was renamed the Oklahoma River. I will admit, naming just a portion of it is weird though.

Personally, I see no reason to call the N. Canadian River, Canadian! Heck, Canada is nowhere close to here.

By the way, the river that feeds the Riverwalk is the San Antonio River. Just thought I'd throw that in.

[HOT ROD]

sort of funny

[Popsy]

I hope that a system to clean the debris out of the river is in place before they start the river boats. I stopped yesterday at a new parking area on the river just east of Meridian and the debris in the water on the north bank in that area was terrible. The area at the waterfalls in the boat house park that was built on Byers was even worse. It seems this trash must come from the tributaries along the river as Lake Overholser should keep it from floating down from any further up stream. I wonder if the River Development Authority has made any plans for this or even thought of it. It would be extremely embarrassing for any tourist to see this area as it is now.

[Proactive Volunteer]

I hope that a system to clean the debris out of the river is in place before they start the river boats. I stopped yesterday at a new parking area on the river just east of Meridian and the debris in the water on the north bank in that area was terrible. The area at the waterfalls in the boat house park that was built on Byers was even worse. It seems this trash must come from the tributaries along the river as Lake Overholser should keep it from floating down from any further up stream. I wonder if the River Development Authority has made any plans for this or even thought of it. It would be extremely embarrassing for any tourist to see this area as it is now.

It is my understanding that the city storm water runoff drains into the river which explains that after a rain, we see more trash in the river. Seems to me, we need to either find a way to sain the trash before it goes into the river and also find some proactive ways to address the city's litter problems.

[Patrick]

It is my understanding that the city storm water runoff drains into the river which explains that after a rain, we see more trash in the river. Seems to me, we need to either find a way to sain the trash before it goes into the river and also find some proactive ways to address the city's litter problems.

If we had a real street cleaning system in this city, like other major cities, we wouldn't have this problem. Seeing a street cleaner in OKC is rare. Yes, we have them, but not enough.

[metro]

Its hard to judge based on yesterday only Poppy. You have to take into consideration we have had two major storms in the last few days with winds between 50-110 mph. This force of wind could of easily blown debris into the river as well as debris from the Dell construction site. Despite even if this may be true, Oklahoma does have a major litter problem that needs to be reversed.

[Luke]

I've been to Regatta Park at least once every few weeks for the past several months and I've only seen litter in it twice. Nevertheless, perhaps a daily morning sweep of the most visible areas of the river is in order.

[soonerguru]

My girlfriend and I were talking about how dumb renaming the river was today, actually. Ray Ackerman, God Bless him, was obsessed with renaming the river, for what reason I don't know. He had enough stroke to get it done, but it is ridiculous, especially considering only the part that flows through OKC. I'm a bit of a historian myself, and find it stupid to mess with the history of the great river with no apparent value trade-off. Whatever.

When this older generation of OKC people finally passes on, we will be able to focus on things that truly matter and make this a great city.

[BDP]

Personally, I see no reason to call the N. Canadian River, Canadian! Heck, Canada is nowhere close to here.

It's about as close as some parts of the Mississippi River are to Mississippi. Same as the Colorado. Australia is pretty darn far from India, but it borders the Indian Ocean. I wonder if those Aussies argue about changing that?

By the way, the river that feeds the Riverwalk is the San Antonio River. Just thought I'd throw that in.

What was it called before?

[HOT ROD]

Keep in mind though, OKC does have a Canadian county!

eh, --

[Luke]

I can understand why someone would passionately support changing it from North Canadian to Oklahoma River. But, I don't understand why someone would be so passionate about NOT changing it. It just seems like one of those not-big-deal kind of things that they changed it.

[windowphobe]

And anyway, it's not the only name change for the North Canadian; in northwest Oklahoma, it's known as the Beaver River.

[venture]

I think the main thing with a lot of this is...this is a river, not a highway or bridge. This is something that has had a certain name for a long period of time. It is almost like going and changing the name of Texas County in the panhandle to Sooner County just because some politician feels a certain way about football.

[BDP]

I can understand why someone would passionately support changing it from North Canadian to Oklahoma River. But, I don't understand why someone would be so passionate about NOT changing it. It just seems like one of those not-big-deal kind of things that they changed it.

Because it's retarded. It's is a sign of insecurity. I mean, seriously why would anyone care that it's called the North Canadian? If it really is because Canada is nowhere near us, that is most embarrassing of all. It seems everyone else in the world can deal with things not being named after themselves. What's our problem? The guy who first wanted to change it said it was because the name would confuse people? WHAT!? That is embarrassing, too.

In addition, it is not free. We spent money and time to make this idiotic and meaningless change that actually hurts our image instead of improve on it. We paid so that something could be named the same as EVERYTHING else around it! This on top of all the money we're spending trying to make it an attractive and viable place to go. And we'll never be able to hide that it was an act of total immaturity, because they didn't change the name of the whole thing, just the section closest to the people with the biggest complex.

We live in a state where people thought it was a good idea to put 'Oklahoma is OK' right there on the license plates. PR is certainly not our strength. Many suggest that fact has hurt us over the years. So, I don't see why one would be surprised about people being passionate about avoiding those kinds of mistakes again.

Seriously, try and explain the change to anyone outside of Oklahoma City and look at their faces as you do it.

[Patrick]

I think one of the main reasons for changing the name of thatthat portion of the river was similar to the reason why we changed the name of our baseball team. We spent a lot of money on a new ballpark, thus, we thought it was worthy to start with a fresh new name for our baseball team. Same thing with the river. We just spent a lot of money renovating that section of the river so we felt it worthy to start fresh with a new name for that segment of the river, to set it apart from the old dried up N. Candian river. And by the way, the Oklahoma River is quite different from the N. Candian River. The N. Candian still has to be mowed every summer...the Oklahoma River is filled with water.

[Pete]

Initially, I didn't see the value in the name change.


However, now when you say the Oklahoma River, you know it's the 7 mile stretch that runs from Eastern to Portland and has lakes, biking/hiking paths and all types of new development.

It's a quick way to identify that stretch which is completely different than any other part of the 'river'. In retrospect, I think it was a very wise move.