Belle Isle Library

[ABryant]

That is huge! I never heard of a library having 3 floors! I will have to visit sometime

You should try to do research in a University library.

[Rover]

That is huge! I never heard of a library having 3 floors! I will have to visit sometime

Then you need to visit the downtown OKC library.

[Timshel]

They are under construction on a new sidewalk along the north side of NW Expressway that will connect the new north-bound BRT stop at Penn Square to the Belle Isle Library, which is one-half mile away.

The southbound BRT station will be on the south side of NW Ex and west of Penn, right in front of the OAK apartments under construction.

I hope there's more to the story/they're not finished, but it appears that there was a typical OKC-type miss when it comes to finishing this sidewalk. Rather than connecting to the library's sidewalk they appear to have cut it short on the other side of the street, not connecting it to the crosswalk and requiring a fair walk through the grass to get to the library's sidewalk. Hopefully there's more to the story, but if not, a true moment!

[Pete]

^

James Cooper told me they plan to completely rework the Villa/NW Expressway intersection to add appropriate crosswalks and other pedestrian-friendly improvements.

Not sure of the time frame but I'm sure they'll tie in the new sidewalk during that project. It's desperately needed. It may be the worst pedestrian crossing in the entire city.

[Timshel]

Couldn't agree more and good to hear.

[Pete]

Work has started on new pedestrian crosswalks at NW Expressway & Villa:

[Brett]

Crosswalk signal lights have finally been installed at NW Expressway & Villa.

[rte66man]

I was disappointed to see there's no BRT stop in front of the library.

[HOT ROD]

I was disappointed to see there's no BRT stop in front of the library.

That's not the point of BRT.

[Pete]

The pedestrian crossing signals have been installed at this intersection but they have yet to create a crosswalk and it's going to be a challenge to get cars to stop behind where the new crossing will need to go:

[TheTravellers]

Going to need extra signage: "Stop here -> on red light", "Do Not Block Crosswalk", "Yield To Pedestrians" Great to see this finally happening, even though it's decades after it should've been done...

[Urbanized]

Surely Public Works will lay down a wide continental crosswalk there. Proper striping will make it intuitive to stop before the crosswalk.

[BoulderSooner]

Surely Public Works will lay down a wide continental crosswalk there. Proper striping will make it intuitive to stop before the crosswalk.

i would think it they were going to do that the would have made the curb cut ins round the entire corner .. which seem like what they should have done ..

[Pete]

Nice job by the City to restripe and complete the crosswalks at NW Ex & Villa:

[Mott]

Nice job by the City to restripe and complete the crosswalks at NW Ex & Villa:

Reminded of Dirty Harry, ‘do you feel lucky?’

[HOT ROD]

interesting sidewalk pattern on the NW corner. just one crosswalk to the other, nothing going down the block. ...

[Oski]

interesting sidewalk pattern on the NW corner. just one crosswalk to the other, nothing going down the block. ...

It'll take time.

[Dob Hooligan]

interesting sidewalk pattern on the NW corner. just one crosswalk to the other, nothing going down the block. ...

I think that is the SE corner. And it looks like the east-west sidewalk is set up on the north side of the expressway and the north-south runs along the west side.

[Urbanized]

It's a good start, but those crosswalks would be much better if they were 2-3 times deeper. Would have required a bit more investment in the ramps (crosswalks and ramps are supposed to essentially match in width) but would have been far more safe for persons crossing the street. With the speeds on NW Expressway routinely approaching 55 or even 60 mph you need to have a physical environment that makes slowing down and stopping more intuitive for drivers. I drove over these crosswalks just yesterday, and they appear and disappear quickly at even the posted 45 mph. The faster you go the shorter and more narrow your field of vision.

[Pete]

Notice they've added sharrow markings on both sides of Villa.

I know the plan is to have a continuous bike route along Villa but since it doesn't go through I-44 to the south, it will have to job over to Youngs in order to get underneath the interstate.

[Mississippi Blues]

It's a good start, but those crosswalks would be much better if they were 2-3 times deeper. Would have required a bit more investment in the ramps (crosswalks and ramps are supposed to essentially match in width) but would have been far more safe for persons crossing the street. With the speeds on NW Expressway routinely approaching 55 or even 60 mph you need to have a physical environment that makes slowing down and stopping more intuitive for drivers. I drove over these crosswalks just yesterday, and they appear and disappear quickly at even the posted 45 mph. The faster you go the shorter and more narrow your field of vision.

All of this. I drive this stretch pretty much everyday and if I’m in a flock of traffic just moving with the flow, I’ll look down and be at 55 mph with a few people passing me at 60+ mph. When on my own or being faithful to the posted 45 mph, there might be one or two cars that I can see going the same speed as me but there’s always a group of cars that pass me by like I’m on a lawn mower.

Villa is the only light between Independence and Penn (1.5 miles) so it always feels like it’s a race to try to beat the light at Villa, especially when heading westbound as Villa and Penn are closer together. (0.5 miles Penn-Villa; 1.0 miles Villa-Independence)