Streetcar

[okclee]

Did you see how much money other cities and states will be receiving?

Example:

Charlotte $691 MILLION!!! Six Hundred and Ninety One Million!!!

Thanks Uncle Sam!

[mheaton76]

Did you see how much money other cities and states will be receiving?

Example:

Charlotte $691 MILLION!!! Six Hundred and Ninety One Million!!!

Yea, ouch right?! But, I think that's for the Charlotte - Raleigh line that is a priority corridor in round one. We're way further down on the priority list. But still, we're in the game, and hoepfully we can keep building momentum, albeit at a slower pace.

[Rover]

Did you see how much money other cities and states will be receiving?

Example:

Charlotte $691 MILLION!!! Six Hundred and Ninety One Million!!!

Thanks Uncle Sam!

Charlotte....hmmmm....isn't that where Bank of America is headquartered? Now then, why would Charlotte have any clout?

[Architect2010]

And they have successful rail services in their city that are well established. Something OKC does not. No surprise there.

[HOT ROD]

yeah, Charlotte is further along and has plans ready to go - unlike OKC. I imagine once OKC gets a system up (the downtown streetcar) and we finalize our plans for Commuter Rail and get designs in place; we'll receive funding as well.

I hope they use the money to get another train, so that there could be two (or more) runs daily on the DFW-OKC route. Maybe Oklahoma would use it's share for the OKC-Kansas expansion.

Good news nevertheless.

[okclee]

Anyone see a "RED State", "BLUE State" type of funding theme going on here?

[HOT ROD]

not really, I see it as places that are ready to go - got funded.

In fact, Oklahoma/OKC got more than when there was a Republican in office. .....

[nomadokla]

not really, I see it as places that are ready to go - got funded.

In fact, Oklahoma/OKC got more than when there was a Republican in office. .....

Thank you HOT ROD! okclee, this isn't a red state/blue state thing...

[metro]

Did you see how much money other cities and states will be receiving?

Example:

Charlotte $691 MILLION!!! Six Hundred and Ninety One Million!!!

Thanks Uncle OBAMA!

Fixed.

[Kerry]

Are there any maps that show the street car routes that used to exist in OKC? The curve in Mesta Park at Shartel and 18th is there because the street car went around that corner.

[okclee]

Doug's Blog has it all.

[Platemaker]

Yep Kerry, made one of those too.
The green lines are interurbans.... they extend to Guthrie, Norman, and El Reno.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en...3fb33501bf0e9a

[Kerry]

Yep Kerry, made one of those too.
The green lines are interurbans.... they extend to Guthrie, Norman, and El Reno.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en...3fb33501bf0e9a

How cool would it be to have that layout still.

[okclee]

That is sad to look at that map and to think , What If?

[Kerry]

That is sad to look at that map and to think , What If?

I try not to do that. It would make me cry.

[Superhyper]

I try not to do that. It would make me cry.

Amen. At the very least we can work hard to try and get back to that vision though. One day we WILL be a top city with an excellent transit infrastructure. A big part of that is working to lay the foundation and show the fed's and everyone else that we have a solid plan and the will to implement it. Unfortunately we're still behind in that regard, which is why places like Charlotte are getting more attention and funding but that can be changed.

[Kerry]

Of course, I use OKC history to laugh in the face of people that say OKC can't support rail. It is like 1889 to 1960 never happenend in their minds.

[Hutch]

Here's the link to the Federal Transit Administration's Historical Data page for those who are interested:

http://www.fta.dot.gov/funding/data/...cing_7195.html

Here's the link to the FTA's 1997-2007 federal transit funding summary for 39 major metropolitan areas:

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/TABLE_H-4_HISTORIC.xls

Scroll down to the bottom and right of the spreadsheet to see the totals. Including the Fixed Guideway Modernization (FG) and New Starts (NS) programs listed on this data sheet, as well as other FTA transit funding programs, there has been more than $100 billion in federal transit funding provided to these and other cities since 1997, primarily for the development and expansion of rail transit systems. Oklahoma City received none of that funding.

Modern rail transit systems spur economic development, attract new businesses and residents, create jobs, increase property values and grow tax bases. The cities that have obtained federal funding and developed rail transit understand that fact very well. Hopefully, Oklahoma City is finally on its way to joining those cities in developing rail transit and to receiving its fair share of federal rail transit funding.

[okclee]

Q&A with Richard McKown (Ideal Homes President and future downtown developer) : Streetcar project called a must for downtown Oklahoma City's development

Oklahoman Comment on this article 3
Published: November 5, 2010

Q: During a discussion this week hosted by the Urban Land Institute, you were asked what Oklahoma City could do to boost downtown development and you answered "get tracks on the ground." What did you mean by that?
Advertisement

A: I think the modern streetcar (part of MAPS 3 improvements for downtown) and having the tracks in the street is the most important thing the city can do to encourage downtown development — residential, office, retail — you name it. I've lived in two major cities with streetcars or rail-based transit. It's huge; it's absolutely what we need to be doing. It will change everything for Oklahoma City.

Q: What would you say to those who say there isn't a proven need for streetcars downtown?


Read more: http://newsok.com/qa-with-richard-mc...#ixzz14RcBEXaR

[Steve]

I posted this in the history, but thought some of you who don't browse that section might find this interesting - 60 minutes of color film of the old Interubans and OKC streetcars from the 1940s:
http://www.retrometrookc.org/the-geo...lection-videos

[Kerry]

Steve, you need to do a story in the Sunday, Oklahoman showing the old Oklahoma City street car system Platemaker mapped out, but do it in a way that gives the appearance that this is what is being planned. Then drop the fact that it was already done 50 years. A lot of people in OKC today don't even know OKC had an extensive street car system. Write the whole thing, including ridership numbers (presented as projections), as if it is the future, and then spring it on them that it was in the past. We did it once, we can do it again.

[David Pollard]

Fabulous videos! When I was growing up in OKC in the 60's all I ever saw was the occasional hint of an old rail line on brick-lined streets downtown. So wonderful to see parts of our heritage brought to life that way... love the music. When (not if) the light rail line actually goes into OKC, it would be great if some of the old cars could be retro-fitted to run on the new tracks, if of-course any of the old cars still exist. They have done this here in Amsterdam with historical trams and it is a big success. Tourist can travel around town, just for the ride; there are corporate events on the trams and people even getting married! This would surely be a big hit in OKC as well.

[Kerry]

David, the steet car system in OKC is going to modern. The system you describe is historical. The OKC system will be more for local and business, and less for tourist.

[Urban Pioneer]

Interesting video posted to Steve Lackmeyer's blog this morning about modern streetcars made in America.

http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/

[okclee]

Is Okc looking into buying American Made Streetcars?

Would this help in receiving federal money if Okc were to buy American?