OKC Regional Transit System

[Thunderbolt]

It makes sense when you think about it. I have no inside scoop or anything, but here's my thoughts: Routing the Airport line this way takes advantage of two other activity centers that can help drive ridership on this line, as I imagine airport traffic alone will not be enough to justify the expense. Those two activity centers are the Meridian Ave Hospitality Corridor and the Fairgrounds. As long as the RTA is careful about keeping the number of intermediate stops low so that trip times to the airport are reasonable, this should help ensure there is sufficient ridership to maintain the line - and it gives both airport arrivals and visitors staying in the hotels on Meridian easy access to downtown and the rest of the transit network. It'd also help funnel traffic to and from the airport during big events like the State Fair, etc.

Stops at Santa Fe Hub, Fairgrounds, Meridian Hotels (maybe 2 stops), WRWA Rental Car and WRWA terminal would be the most reasonable.

[mugofbeer]

Stops at Santa Fe Hub, Fairgrounds, Meridian Hotels (maybe 2 stops), WRWA Rental Car and WRWA terminal would be the most reasonable.

No stop for Mathis Bros.?

[BoulderSooner]

Stops at Santa Fe Hub, Fairgrounds, Meridian Hotels (maybe 2 stops), WRWA Rental Car and WRWA terminal would be the most reasonable.

that is 45 min to an hour from down town to the airport ..

uber is 16 min ...

that won't get used ..

[gopokes14]

45 minutes?? How slow do you think the train is going? 10 MPH?

[FighttheGoodFight]

10 miles of track with 11 stops on the Chicago ME line takes 25 minutes.

[Jake]

45 minutes?? How slow do you think the train is going? 10 MPH?

Looking forward to our horse drawn-trains.

[burksooner]

that is 45 min to an hour from down town to the airport ..

uber is 16 min ...

that won't get used ..

I just flew last week and Uber was quoting me $45 for a ride from downtown to the airport, so even if it was 45 minutes (which is not accurate) I'd happily use that over a $90 roundtrip.

[BoulderSooner]

45 minutes?? How slow do you think the train is going? 10 MPH?

with no stops the light rail from sante fe station to the airport on the route is 30 min ... this thread is talking about 5 stops on the route .. 2-3 min a stop you are getting close to 45 with no traffic .. (and there will be traffic) ..

that is the point .. and why this choice over heavy rail is so so poor ..

[BoulderSooner]

I just flew last week and Uber was quoting me $45 for a ride from downtown to the airport, so even if it was 45 minutes (which is not accurate) I'd happily use that over a $90 roundtrip.

i took an uber to the airport the other day from North edmond and it was 37 dollars .. so I don't know where your price is from ..

[BoulderSooner]

I just flew last week and Uber was quoting me $45 for a ride from downtown to the airport, so even if it was 45 minutes (which is not accurate) I'd happily use that over a $90 roundtrip.

please explain how this will be less then 45 min ?

[EBAH]

People fly in for the State Fair? Really? We live at 36th/May and we won't even drive to it, we have so little interest in it.

Yeah, they actually do a lot, but it's all like Ag, livestock convention stuff, like "American Association of ______ Breeders"

Also yeah I will absolutely a train to the airport, for real, and MAN what an awful place to be introduced to OKC, it's the literal worst part of town, in like so many ways, just miserable unshaded, not walkable, very run down, very broken and dated and terrible. It's really like the source of pretty much all mega bad opinions of our city from Visitors, I just can't even fathom being stuck somewhere like that on a trip.

[Jake]

..and MAN what an awful place to be introduced to OKC, it's the literal worst part of town, in like so many ways, just miserable unshaded, not walkable, very run down, very broken and dated and terrible. It's really like the source of pretty much all mega bad opinions of our city from Visitors, I just can't even fathom being stuck somewhere like that on a trip.

Having stayed at many of the hotels off Meridian for business travel, I agree that it desperately needs some sprucing up. It's a particularly ugly part of town.

[Jake]

..and MAN what an awful place to be introduced to OKC, it's the literal worst part of town, in like so many ways, just miserable unshaded, not walkable, very run down, very broken and dated and terrible. It's really like the source of pretty much all mega bad opinions of our city from Visitors, I just can't even fathom being stuck somewhere like that on a trip.

Having stayed at many of the hotels off Meridian for business, I agree that it desperately needs some sprucing up. It's a particularly ugly part of town. The vast majority of the city in general needs to really invest in making itself look a bit nicer.

[Jersey Boss]

i took an uber to the airport the other day from North edmond and it was 37 dollars .. so I don't know where your price is from ..

Doesn't Uber use dynamic pricing unlike a taxi that has set pricing based on mileage?

[TheTravellers]

Yeah, they actually do a lot, but it's all like Ag, livestock convention stuff, like "American Association of ______ Breeders"
...

Makes sense, hadn't thought of that set of folks, thought it was mainly horse/livestock shows where they had to drive with a big trailer attached with their horses/livestock, and the regular fair. Didn't know there were convention-type things held there without animals...

[Mesta Parker]

No stop for Mathis Bros.?

Why a stop at the rental car facility? There is already a free bus from the airport and very few people traveling by rail to the airport are going to stop to rent a car.

[Cocaine]

Im kinda curious. Why don’t they choose a route that goes through the neighborhoods on the south side with a stop at OCCC then the airport. It would actually get heavy use instead of just a tourist light rail line. Maybe they could even have it go through down downtown and stop at the capitol and OU.

[citywokchinesefood]

Im kinda curious. Why don’t they choose a route that goes through the neighborhoods on the south side with a stop at OCCC then the airport. It would actually get heavy use instead of just a tourist light rail line. Maybe they could even have it go through down downtown and stop at the capitol and OU.

This to me makes the most sense. In many other cities the rail to and from the airport is not some sort of an express route but more a part of the local transit system. If timing and speed is your number one priority in OKC a private car service is going to beat any public transit ever and will continue to do so for the next 50 years. For the vast majority of cities in the US that is the case. It is the nature of the beast, we have a huge amount of land area to cover and most of our cities were not built when walking was the primary method of transportation. The line that has been purposed should have 2 regular stops and a seasonal stop. The seasonal stop would be a the fairgrounds, and the regular stops would be at the meridian hotels and the airport itself.

[baralheia]

People fly in for the State Fair? Really? We live at 36th/May and we won't even drive to it, we have so little interest in it.

A lot of people who travel in for events at the Fairgrounds tend to stay at those hotels, from my understanding - but I think very few fly in. Still tho, the idea is if someone wanted to stay at the Meridian Ave hotels (regardless of how they got there) then they'd have easy access to the Fairgrounds via transit.

Also I just re-read what you quoted and I'm an idiot, I mistyped the first time. Instead of saying "to and from the Airport", I meant "to and from the Fairgrounds". Apologies.

[baralheia]

routing it that way makes it not a reasonable time to go to the airport .. so very very few will use it to go there at all ..

By car that exact route (from the Santa Fe Hub streetcar station to the Airport via Reno then Meridian, just under 10 miles) takes just about 20 minutes, per Google Maps. Add a few minutes per each intermediate stop, and that's still well within a reasonable timeframe for transit from downtown. Of course that will vary somewhat depending on which type of vehicle they select, but even so, that passes the sniff test for me. I really don't believe it will be a problem.

with no stops the light rail from sante fe station to the airport on the route is 30 min ... this thread is talking about 5 stops on the route .. 2-3 min a stop you are getting close to 45 with no traffic .. (and there will be traffic) ..

You're thinking about this all wrong. What I've proposed is 4 stops in total - the originating stop in downtown where you'd board this service, then one stop at the Fairgrounds, one stop at roughly SW 15th & Meridian, then the end of the line at the airport. Only the two intermediate stops affect overall travel time.

Though looking at the map, an argument could be made to add a stop near Reno & Klein to serve the Farmer's Market district - especially if trains only stopped at the Fairgrounds stop during special events.