Streetcar

[AP]

I can't wait for our trolley

[Bellaboo]

Went to visit Kansas City a while back and while looking for 'Brioche' bakery, stumbled on the KC trolley, and rode the loop. A nice starter system, looking forward to OKC's
The person at Brioche said the trolley was bringing people from the suburbs that wouldn't come, or never have been to Downtown....

Their streetcar is a total of 2.2 miles, OKC's will be over 3 times that length.

[jstaylor62]

Please forgive my laziness for not wanting to search through 274 pages ...

But has there been any mention of the fare rates for the streetcar yet? Are they simply going to use the existing Embark bus system fares?

[shawnw]

When I went to a streetcar fare study public meeting on 4/26/17, fares had not yet been determined, but that certainly could have changed since then.

[Pete]

[ChaseDweller]

The way that's designed, the front (North) side of the building looks like a big drawer. I kind of want to push it in.

[Ross MacLochness]

The way that's designed, the front (North) side of the building looks like a big drawer. I kind of want to push it in.

lol

[Pete]

It does look one of those drawers at the drive-thru bank teller.

[betts]

I would agree, but most of us won't be looking at it from above!

[Pete]

I would agree, but most of us won't be looking at it from above!

Right, of course... Certainly didn't mean to criticize the design.

Actually really cool to see the tracks leading into it starting to take shape.

[Mott]

the Kansas City street car was free, how would you spell that in Oklahoma? LOL

[Anonymous.]

Engineer says 15 months away from operation. And we should receive our first car by the end of October.

[Zuplar]

Thought some might like this video.

[LocoAko]

I don't know if this is the place for it, but I have to express my disappointment (read: rant) with how many negative comments I'm hearing about the streetcar. Over the past few months I've heard a number of disparaging remarks saying it is a waste of money, a "toy" for the rich people in the city to play with, etc. This morning on my way to work I had on 93.3 Jake FM and they just ripped into it -- saying no one was going to ride it except drunks, they'd have to waste more time and money pulling the tracks back up, no one even lives down there, "we're not San Francisco, we have Uber and can walk", etc. With those attitudes about the value of public transit I'm worried complaints about lack of ridership will become a self-fulfilling prophecy -- but I also thought I remembered hearing that the streetcar polled to be one of the most popular MAPS 3 projects (?). What gives? I don't know if this is necessary, but is there any way to change public perception about the streetcar and educate people about its worth? Would people see more value in it if it were more expansive and therefore practical for more people? Coming from the East Coast I'm biased toward the value of public transit but these feelings are seemingly not shared by many here. I want to see it succeed but with these attitudes seemingly everywhere I'm a bit nervous.

[Pete]

^

Remember this is just the first phase of what is likely to become a greatly expanded network.

If/when extended to the health sciences center and capitol, OCU / Plaza and Capitol Hill, then we'll really have something. But that will take time.

[Pete]

Took this on Sunday showing the tracks pretty much completed in east Bricktown. The sections on Sheridan to the west are still under construction but close to finished.

[turnpup]

I don't know if this is the place for it, but I have to express my disappointment (read: rant) with how many negative comments I'm hearing about the streetcar. Over the past few months I've heard a number of disparaging remarks saying it is a waste of money, a "toy" for the rich people in the city to play with, etc. This morning on my way to work I had on 93.3 Jake FM and they just ripped into it -- saying no one was going to ride it except drunks, they'd have to waste more time and money pulling the tracks back up, no one even lives down there, "we're not San Francisco, we have Uber and can walk", etc. With those attitudes about the value of public transit I'm worried complaints about lack of ridership will become a self-fulfilling prophecy -- but I also thought I remembered hearing that the streetcar polled to be one of the most popular MAPS 3 projects (?). What gives? I don't know if this is necessary, but is there any way to change public perception about the streetcar and educate people about its worth? Would people see more value in it if it were more expansive and therefore practical for more people? Coming from the East Coast I'm biased toward the value of public transit but these feelings are seemingly not shared by many here. I want to see it succeed but with these attitudes seemingly everywhere I'm a bit nervous.

You know, I was shocked last week when a good friend of mine started going on about how stupid an idea it was to put in a streetcar. She questioned why the city would waste money putting back something it had spent tons of money taking out, etc. In the spirit of not getting into an argument, I just politely disagreed with her and expressed my own excitement about it. It was bizarre how much vitriol she had toward it.

[Pete]

You know, I was shocked last week when a good friend of mine started going on about how stupid an idea it was to put in a streetcar. She questioned why the city would waste money putting back something it had spent tons of money taking out, etc. In the spirit of not getting into an argument, I just politely disagreed with her and expressed my own excitement about it. It was bizarre how much vitriol she had toward it.

I'm starting to see more of this on social media as well.

I'm sure there will be a bigger backlash when the cars get rolling and people take the opportunity to photograph empty or nearly empty cars, which will happen at least some of the time.

[dcsooner]

You know, I was shocked last week when a good friend of mine started going on about how stupid an idea it was to put in a streetcar. She questioned why the city would waste money putting back something it had spent tons of money taking out, etc. In the spirit of not getting into an argument, I just politely disagreed with her and expressed my own excitement about it. It was bizarre how much vitriol she had toward it.

It's the mindset of Oklahomans that continues to impact the City/ States ability to move forward in a progressive manner stimulating growth and prosperity. Some people don't want change and will do all they can to impede progress.

[Martin]

i don't really hear the "why put in something we've already torn out" argument in my circles. the issue that i hear discussed most often is something along the lines of: "why didn't we just choose buses that would have been cheaper to buy, install, and maintain and are not physically tied to any specific route"

[d-usa]

There is still a dominant mindset that respectable people own cars, and only drug addicts and degenerates use public transit.

[d-usa]

i don't really hear the "why put in something we've already torn out" argument in my circles. the issue that i hear discussed most often is something along the lines of: "why didn't we just choose buses that would have been cheaper to buy, install, and maintain and are not physically tied to any specific route"

I’ve only recently discovered the concept of trolleybuses, and I was thinking that maybe we could have considered them.

[Pete]

I’ve only recently discovered the concept of trolleybuses, and I was thinking that maybe we could have considered them.

The issue is that permanent lines are the only way to spur development, and we've already seen countless projects pop up along the routes once they were announced and virtually all of them cited the permanent streetcar lines as a contributing reason for going forward.

[Anonymous.]

The only thing I can tell people is to just wait and see. I think the general perception of the streetcar is extremely undervalued.

This is why I emphasize how important it is that the streetcar be free at the beginning and for as long as possible. People won't attempt to ever ride if there isn't a convenient way to do it. For example, ordering an Uber/Lyft from Bricktown to Midtown takes about 1-2 minutes to arrive and only costs about $6-7. If the streetcar requires annual passes or specific payment methods or is too expensive for a simple one-way ride - then the streetcar will fail. You need to make it the easiest and cheapest mode of transportation, it is the only way to win over ridership.

[d-usa]

The issue is that permanent lines are the only way to spur development, and we've already seen countless projects pop up along the routes once they were announced and virtually all of them cited the permanent streetcar lines as a contributing reason for going forward.

Trolleybuses seem fairly permanent, they draw their electricity from the same type of overhead wires as the streetcar. In some of the cities using them they share portions of their routes with traditional streetcars.

They are not the “fake street car” trolleys we have had roaming brick town in the past.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybus

I wonder if they might be an option for expanding the streetcar into areas where rail isn’t practical?