Quote Originally Posted by Plutonic Panda View Post
Does anyone think OKC will ever get a true light-rail system. I mean a commuter would be great, don't get me wrong. But, I want something this is built for its own purpose. Not just expanding what we have now and adding new cars to the tracks. I'm sure a light-rail is much faster than a commuter rail.
It all comes down to money. A light-rail system betweeen OKC, Edmond, Norman and Midwest City would cost $3-4 BILLION...commuter rail $300-400 MILLION. Most cities are now choosing to go with commuter rail due to the extremely high costs of light rail, which in most cases is simply not an affordable option unless the federal government is paying a considerable portion of the bill. Dallas, Salt Lake City, Denver, St. Louis and other cities received substantial federal funding for their light rail systems. Unfortuately, getting large amounts of federal rail transit funds is not an easy task in today's political and budgetary world. Which means we're most likley going to have to depend on ourselves and other local taxpayers to fund the system. Kansas City tried to get their voters to approve funding for a light rail system a number of years ago and failed miserably. Just recently though, Kansas City has rolled out a new rail transit plan based on a commuter rail system. That plan has gained broader support and goes to the voters later this year for approval.