Lindsey Street

[Geographer]

I thought I would go ahead and start a thread since the city will be re-doing Lindsey street from the interstate to (at least) Berry. What would you like to see?

5 lanes with middle turn lane?
4 lanes?
2 lanes with bike lanes/street parking?
2 lanes with bike lanes/street parking and a median?
2 lanes with bike lanes and non-interrupted sidewalks all the way down Lindsey?
Dedicated space for bus pull-offs?
Replace intersection lights with roundabouts?


Personal preference: 2 10' car lanes with a bike lane on each side. Roundabouts replace the street lights at 24th/Lindsey, McGee/Lindsey, and Berry/Lindsey. The Roundabouts would help congestion along Lindsey as cars would not have to wait for lights, but simply merging into a roundabout. This Lindsey street project has an opportunity to be a model street for Norman and the surrounding areas...since it is a gateway into the city/university...this is all personal preference though. Revamping Lindsey Street is a MUST though. Retail Space per square foot has fallen recently in the shopping centers along Lindsey. A new, complete, streetscape could revamp the corridor and put reinvestment/renovation into the strip centers along the corridor.

EDIT: Last week, President Boren voiced his support for re-doing Lindsey from Berry into campus as long as it can be done "tastefully"....meaning two lanes/sidewalks, etc...as long as it does not destroy the current tree canopy, etc.

[jedicurt]

my preference would be 3 lanes, one each way with a dedicated turn lane, bike lanes on each side, and dedicated spaces for bus pull-off

[Geographer]

I'm not sold on the dedicated middle turn lane. I think a median that's well landscaped would do wonders for the street scape as a whole. Left turns into businesses aren't absolutely essential, especially if you have roundabouts at intersections where you can easily enter the roundabout and make a U-turn.

But I am totally with you on the bike lanes and dedicated space for bus pull offs, if there's enough space and the city doesn't have to purchase a ton of right-of-way...which is where it could get costly.

[Geographer]

I prefer 2 lanes, no median, bike lanes, and angled parking (if possible). Back in parking is even better.

Reverse Angle parking is fantastic. It's much safer....having the street parking would also set the stage to move buildings along lindsey closer to the street. I am not sure that would be able to get approved though, given the vast amount of parking lots along Lindsey.

[kevinpate]

I feel uncertain how a roundabout containing any meaningful center space would be possible in light of what presently exists, in particular the newest housing at the se corner of that intersection.

#trainable; #notopposedmerelyconcerned

[venture]

I feel uncertain how a roundabout containing any meaningful center space would be possible in light of what presently exists, in particular the newest housing at the se corner of that intersection.

#trainable; #notopposedmerelyconcerned

Kevin I agree with you on the space available for the centerpiece of the roundabout. I think a lot is going to come down to number of lanes going around it. They could probably put some art piece that goes over traffic, but then you have to worry about truck clearance. Though I would not be opposed to restricting height of vehicles coming down Lindsey. It would also permit tasteful pedestrian bridges that aren't going to need to be 20' high. However, I also worry about it destroying the look of campus in that part too. Something will have to be done at some point with the all the lights through campus since that can be a big bottleneck.

[ou48A]

I feel uncertain how a roundabout containing any meaningful center space would be possible in light of what presently exists, in particular the newest housing at the se corner of that intersection.

#trainable; #notopposedmerelyconcerned

Since there won't be any center turn lanes at Lindsey and Jenkins this would offer much of the necessary room.

They could also take some space from the corners of the intersection. OU will be tearing down the building on the NE corner.
A small reconfiguration of the intersections approaches could add additional room.

There are many examples of sculptors / art work have been added to enhanced the OU campus over the past 15 to 20 years.


Because of the very close proximity to the coaches statues and Heisman statues this would be an extremely great location fit for a Sooner Schooner sculptor.

The city of Norman has added art work along its trails and some streets. The bridges over I-35 are also examples of city supported art work. As with the above examples this would with out any question add value to the location and along Lindsey street.

The bottom line is if its worth tearing out the existing street to construct a roundabout, its worth doing right by putting up OU themed art work or the roundabouts on Lindsey are just basically another intersection.

[rezman]

I prefer 2 lanes, no median, bike lanes, and angled parking (if possible). Back in parking is even better.

Reverse parking would be cool to see more of, but there are so many people who can't park straight in a parking space driving forward let alone trying to back into one.

[gamecock]

Reverse parking would be cool to see more of, but there are so many people who can't park straight in a parking space driving forward let alone trying to back into one.

I know this is off topic, but sadly this is something I have noticed here relative to other places I have lived...or maybe it's just a sign of the times...but a lot of people don't even try to make sure they're in the lines...they pull in and if they got it right, they got it right...if not, oh well...I have left notes on people's cars encouraging them to park in the lines...and I have squeezed into parking spaces just to prove a point...it's maddening....

[Geographer]

Something like this would be really cool too for Lindsey at I-35. Where you have the on/off ramps that come into two roundabouts on either side of the interstate.

roundabout.jpg

[kevinpate]

venture79: Difficult if not impossible to limit big rigs on Jenkins and/or Lindsey. If nothing else, many Division I bands, and I assume teams, transport gear via 18 wheel tractor/trailer rigs.

ou48A: Again, not opposed, merely concerned. It's one thing to mount a statute of an OU president, athlete or one of the many excellent coaches, and quite another to erect a 2X life size Sooner Schooner (or some other significant symbol) that is as large or larger in girth than height.

[ou48A]

venture79: Difficult if not impossible to limit big rigs on Jenkins and/or Lindsey. If nothing else, many Division I bands, and I assume teams, transport gear via 18 wheel tractor/trailer rigs.

ou48A: Again, not opposed, merely concerned. It's one thing to mount a statute of an OU president, athlete or one of the many excellent coaches, and quite another to erect a 2X life size Sooner Schooner (or some other significant symbol) that is as large or larger in girth than height.

I think there may be more land on the Hedington Hall side that would be available for a roundabout than you may believe.
As far as big rig trucks there are not a lot that travel in this area but the police could block off traffic just as they already do on some occasions...but there are other streets available.
Most of the visiting marching bands had been parking their buses on the South Oval. But I'm not sure how that will be handled since part of Asp has been turned into a walk way now?

[jedicurt]

As long as U-turns at intersections (either by roundabout or traffic light) are allowed and encouraged, then i would be okay with a median or a no left turn policy if there is no median. I just know that if you allow left turns, there will be big issues for traffic backups. that is why i support a middle turn lane.

[Roger S]

From an engineering viewpoint I love the concept of RAP but at the same time my wife can barely back her car out of our garage without taking the house down and I know she's not alone in her inability to back a vehicle.

So how often would I be coming back out to my vehicle to find out that a well seasoned citizen or someone like my wife has backed into my vehicle?

[Geographer]

From an engineering viewpoint I love the concept of RAP but at the same time my wife can barely back her car out of our garage without taking the house down and I know she's not alone in her inability to back a vehicle.

So how often would I be coming back out to my vehicle to find out that a well seasoned citizen or someone like my wife has backed into my vehicle?

I suppose so, but from a safety standpoint, I would rather "pull into traffic" than "back out into traffic", as what happens with standard angle parking. I don't think people be able to back into a parking spot would be a giant issue though.


EDIT: Added a photo of reverse angle parking, just so everyone knows exactly what it looks like....where you back in and have some extra space between the parking space and where the driving lane actually starts. parking.jpg

[Roger S]

I suppose so, but from a safety standpoint, I would rather "pull into traffic" than "back out into traffic", as what happens with standard angle parking. I don't think people be able to back into a parking spot would be a giant issue though.

You have more faith in the skills of Oklahoma drivers than I do.

[Geographer]

You have more faith in the skills of Oklahoma drivers than I do.

haha...I can be optimistic sometimes

I just know that people don't like backing out directly into traffic on main street...you're literally back into a driving lane on Main...and if there's a parked car next to you that's blocking your view then it's a crapshoot backing out.

[Roger S]

I just know that people don't like backing out directly into traffic on main street...you're literally back into a driving lane on Main...and if there's a parked car next to you that's blocking your view then it's a crapshoot backing out.

That's exactly why I like the concept of RAP. And I suppose in the long run the damage from someone backing into me compared to the damage of someone clipping me doing 30-40 MPH is going to be a lot less extensive....... Unless they run into me doing 30-40 MPH while I'm backing into my parking space.

[BoulderSooner]

isn't it already decided that it will be 2 lanes each direction with a turn lane .. and new sidewalks ..

[Geographer]

isn't it already decided that it will be 2 lanes each direction with a turn lane .. and new sidewalks ..

It is not totally decided. There was a meeting last week with Dan Burden (walkable and livable communities expert) which was attended by a few council members, engineering firm hired for the lindsey project, mayor of Norman, President Boren, etc. The workshop was specifically about a "Livable Lindsey Street" and what the design should be.

[HangryHippo]

Here's my preference:

1) A beautifully landscaped center median
2) Lindsey St. is 2 lanes each way with U-turns allowed at the signaled intersections with 24th Ave, McGee, Berry, Flood, and Chautauqua
3) Dedicated areas for buses to pull off
4) Uninterrupted wide sidewalks the entire length of Lindsey

[Just the facts]

let me say that I am presently surprised by this change of design criteria. When the bond issue was being discussed and voted on the desire was for Lindsey to move as many cars as possible as fast as possible between Berry and I-35.

http://www.okctalk.com/norman/31544-...age-today.html

http://www.okctalk.com/norman/27534-...g-forward.html

[Geographer]

let me say that I am presently surprised by this change of design criteria. When the bond issue was being discussed and voted on the desire was for Lindsey to move as many cars as possible as fast as possible between Berry and I-35.

http://www.okctalk.com/norman/31544-...age-today.html

http://www.okctalk.com/norman/27534-...g-forward.html

Yeah, I am surprised as well, but I think that people and city leaders are beginning to understand that we don't want to "robinson our lindsey street" (I'm coining that phrase hah). It was encouraging to see local leaders involved in last week's workshop.

Here is the video from the workshop, towards the end of the video are some examples of what Lindsey could look like.





Malta, New York
malta.JPG

[Geographer]

Lindsey Stakeholder's meeting today about the new lindsey street scape project...I believe a public meeting will be held on Thursday with different workshops.

[BG918]

Lindsey Stakeholder's meeting today about the new lindsey street scape project...I believe a public meeting will be held on Thursday with different workshops.

Are you going? I really like your ideas for Lindsey, especially the roundabouts. Put some fountains in the middle and you have a really nice entrance into the city and university.