Moore Bond for Telephone Rd

[bombermwc]

Looks like Moore is asking for its next bond money to be used to make Telephone Rd 4 lanes from S 34th to the Moore/Norman border about a mile south of 34th.

https://www.koco.com/article/dollar6...grows/62628121

I've driven this plenty of times but it never seems busy to me. Am I just not driving it at the right time? Compare that to actual 34th or some of the 2 laners in NE Moore. Seems like we have a lot of immediate needs that should be taken care of instead of something like this that is for "future capacity". It just doesn't feel like this is needed unless it's trying to address something for someone that works in the city happens to be living near....basically local pork barrel.

There was also a comment about it coming after the last bond, but that it might make property tax go up. So are they doing a millage election here too or did the city pass a tax rate change? I'm not sure how they can do those things together at the same time.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Looks like Moore is asking for its next bond money to be used to make Telephone Rd 4 lanes from S 34th to the Moore/Norman border about a mile south of 34th.

https://www.koco.com/article/dollar6...grows/62628121

I've driven this plenty of times but it never seems busy to me. Am I just not driving it at the right time? Compare that to actual 34th or some of the 2 laners in NE Moore. Seems like we have a lot of immediate needs that should be taken care of instead of something like this that is for "future capacity". It just doesn't feel like this is needed unless it's trying to address something for someone that works in the city happens to be living near....basically local pork barrel.

There was also a comment about it coming after the last bond, but that it might make property tax go up. So are they doing a millage election here too or did the city pass a tax rate change? I'm not sure how they can do those things together at the same time.

I believe Norman was also expanding 34th to 4 lanes going into Moore but is on pause with the turnpike going through Indian Hills?

[Jeremy Martin]

I have to think that this is future planning for the turnpike. They thinks lots new folks will be heading into Moore. Rumor has it that Ikea is looking at the area around i35 and Indian hills.

[Boop]

I am going to vote yes on it, it needs 4 lanes anyway

[bille]

When I first learned of this bond a couple months ago the city manager told me the reason it’s coming up now is 100% because of the turnpike. Earlier this year OTA told Moore (and norman) that in 2027 they will dumping the Indian Hills bridge traffic onto Telephone and recommended widening the road to support the extra traffic.

Otherwise Moore wasn’t planning on widening it until at least the next “scheduled” round of road bonds projects.

[bombermwc]

But they aren't replacing the India Hills bridge with Turnpike, so why does that make sense?

[bille]

The Indian Hills bridge has been slated to be rebuilt for years (before the 34th street bridge was even built). The high stack interchange going in at I35 and Indian Hills will negate the current bridge, it’ll need to go away eventually anyway. It seems like they’ll be working the interchanges of the East-West connector in Newcastle and Norman first and then connecting them before continuing east.

[bombermwc]

That doesn't make sense. The current bridge is for street traffic. The bridge created for the turnpike would be for turnpike traffic. They've already said that there won't be frontage roads, so it wont be close enough to be able to replace Indian Hills. Now that entire interchange may look different from today, but i haven't seen anything that indicates they plan on replacing a city street with only the turnpike road. I dont think anyone would be on board with that at all.

It's need will absolutely not be negated. Those two roads would serve very different purposes and the turnpike is not there to replace Indian Hills. I can see why if you're looking at the OTA plan, why you would say this, but IH is not being removed. If you look along the path of it, it stays hugging the connector basically the entire length of the path. Unless you're giving that traffic a free pass to get on and off, then it doesn't replace it. Not all of that land is also up for being bought on both sides. It would be helpful if they would release a better map showing what goes and stays, what the stack will be fully like/etc.

[bille]

I agree that after Norman balked at the previous layout (in turn screwing locals out of convenient access at multiple locations) shifting the turnpike it has made it more challenging determining just how this all shakes out.

Perhaps the old two lane bridge that’s been slated for replacement for a decade won’t be removed but the reason given for the abrupt addition of the bond to widen Telephone is due to traffic increasing in the area as a result of turnpike work in the area.

[Jeremy Martin]

The OTA will build the needed on/off ramps. The developers that are helping to move this along need them. You for sure will be able to get on/off at I35. I'm not a fan of the way that the OTA operates but the East/West connector will be a good thing for Moore IMO. Telephone will be very busy once the turnpike is completed.

[bombermwc]

I dont disagree, i think it will actually be a good thing. I think we've wasted a lot of time and energy fighting something that is going to happen eventually anyway and it's going to cost us all more in the long run with the way things are going. We all lose in the end.

I do wish they would release a revised plan that shows what is actually going to happen though.

i hate that we have so many tolls roads, but if ODOT is not going to create new roads, then someone has to. And ODOT can't do it if we dont get more money going to them. No on wants taxes, but that's how we pay for things.