Friends for a Better Boulevard

[skanaly]

Lol. No. One of our mutual posters is being imaginative. This is not the work of ODOT.

Well dangit...I loved this concept!!

[SoonerBoy18]

If the convention center will be west of the arena where people currently park for Thunder games, where are they going to park now?

[ljbab728]

It's a gorgeous rendering except for the part that everyone knows I don't like. LOL

[soonerguru]

If the convention center will be west of the arena where people currently park for Thunder games, where are they going to park now?

Still fixated with parking I see. Take a cab.

[SoonerBoy18]

Still fixated with parking I see. Take a cab.

Lol just a thought

[Spartan]

If the convention center will be west of the arena where people currently park for Thunder games, where are they going to park now?

Well, here's an idea: If you see a good spot along the Boulevard for a parking lot, let us know. I could use a good chuckle..

[BoulderSooner]

Maybe the CC hotel should be at that location. Would free up more room at the site stricly for the CC, maybe keep them from going underground.

some of those that are planing the CC thing the the hotel has to be physically attached to the CC, and not just by a ramp

[Just the facts]

some of those that are planing the CC thing the the hotel has to be physically attached to the CC, and not just by a ramp

Then they might want to start thinkiing about a bigger piece of land.

[rcjunkie]

If the convention center will be west of the arena where people currently park for Thunder games, where are they going to park now?

In one of the many, unused spots in Bricktown and Downtown, and walk a a few more blocks.

[Larry OKC]

some of those that are planing the CC thing the the hotel has to be physically attached to the CC, and not just by a ramp

That is what the ULI folks stated

Then they might want to start thinkiing about a bigger piece of land.

Or build the C.C. hotel on top of the C.C...didn't you suggest this in another thread a while back?

[Tier2City]

Street Fight
Opposition to initial plans for the downtown boulevard call a bridge counterproductive.

http://okgazette.com/oklahoma/articl...eet-fight.html

[Bellaboo]

Kind of ironic, here a few years back, people were fighting to 'keep' the Walnut Ave bridge, and the city wanted it at grade. Now the people want to keep the road at grade and the city wants to build a bridge.

[OKCisOK4me]

Yeah, but there wasn't one person that wanted to keep the old Crosstown for historic preservation.

[soonerguru]

Gazette article pretty much sucked.

[OKCisOK4me]

Gazette article pretty much sucked.

"Wenger said the west end of the boulevard will remain slightly elevated."

^^^This is especially ghetto.

So 7/8ths of the new boulevard are going to be 100% new and then that last little leg west of Western is going to remain elevated? It's SOOOOOO butt ugly. Those crappy looking steel beams that look like they're falling apart like the other actual parts of the old Crosstown. SMH...I understand that it would be hard to get to ground level before Pennsylvania but it would be nice, that beyond that, if they blocked off Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana; have an intersection with Blackwelder; and block off all access ramps before Western Avenue.

I'm sorry, but it's otherwise going to look stupid.

[soonerguru]

Wenger does come a across like a tool in this article -- a regular Jim Couch Jr.

[soonerguru]

"Wenger said the west end of the boulevard will remain slightly elevated."

^^^This is especially ghetto.

So 7/8ths of the new boulevard are going to be 100% new and then that last little leg west of Western is going to remain elevated? It's SOOOOOO butt ugly. Those crappy looking steel beams that look like they're falling apart like the other actual parts of the old Crosstown. SMH...I understand that it would be hard to get to ground level before Pennsylvania but it would be nice, that beyond that, if they blocked off Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana; have an intersection with Blackwelder; and block off all access ramps before Western Avenue.

I'm sorry, but it's otherwise going to look stupid.

I cannot believe these idiots ever thought this was a good idea, even pre-MAPS I.

[Larry OKC]

From the Gazette article:

At any rate, he said, the project is ultimately ODOT’s. Wenger said there has never been a suggestion by ODOT that the city take the lead to lay out what should go in the area.

Does Mr. Wenger really believe the male bovine excrement he is spewing? In that same section of the article, ODOT Chief Engineer Gary Evans:

Ultimately, it would be the city’s call on what to place in that area, Evans said.

Then there was this from Steve's blog (7/16/12)
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...ity-boulevard/

“Our goal is to complete this project by the end of 2014. You have to hit certain mile stones to make that happen, and we’ve been in talks with the city to make that happen. There should be no surprise we are working expeditiously to make these connect complete to downtown. We’ve been at this quite a long time. We’re moving forward because no one has told us to stop. And why would we stop?” - Oklahoma Department of Transportation Director Gary Ridley

And ODOT said quite a while back (9/4/10) that they wouldn't build something the City didn't want (alluded to in the Oklahoman ad for Steve's article "The Downtown Boulevard...the City may NOT WANT!".

In Steve's blog repost "FYI to Eric Wenger" (6/28/12)
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...o-eric-wenger/

“We’re not going to build something the city doesn’t want,” Ridley said ,,, “When we build the boulevard, we will work with the city to build something they can use,” Ridley said. “And we will design something they will want — within reason. Obviously all the extra amenities (landscaped medians, lighting, sidewalks and signage) are a separate issue.” Cornett noted city voters already approved bond funding for such improvements, key to making the boulevard a gateway to downtown. ... “Postcards of the future will be the park and the boulevard,” Cornett said. “It needs to be a place and not just a street where we see how fast we can get cars around.”

That reminder was almost a month ago, so where is Mr. Wenger getting this stuff? I believe Steve stated that Mr. Wenger and City Manager Jim Couch have been the ones in discussions with ODOT about this...why haven't they told ODOT to STOP?

Supposedly we have a City Council that determines policy and it is up to the City Manager and those under him to implement said policy. Can only presume that the Couch & Wenger have not been given clear direction by the Council. Why hasn't the Council taken action and directed them to tell ODOT to STOP?

[Snowman]

"Wenger said the west end of the boulevard will remain slightly elevated."

When he says things it makes it sound even worse, like it will be elevated enough that you will not be interacting with other streets but low enough that nothing could go under, thus serving neither purpose.

[soonerguru]

From the Gazette article:


Does Mr. Wenger really believe the male bovine excrement he is spewing? In that same section of the article, ODOT Chief Engineer Gary Evans:


Then there was this from Steve's blog (7/16/12)
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...ity-boulevard/


And ODOT said quite a while back (9/4/10) that they wouldn't build something the City didn't want (alluded to in the Oklahoman ad for Steve's article "The Downtown Boulevard...the City may NOT WANT!".

In Steve's blog repost "FYI to Eric Wenger" (6/28/12)
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...o-eric-wenger/


That reminder was almost a month ago, so where is Mr. Wenger getting this stuff? I believe Steve stated that Mr. Wenger and City Manager Jim Couch have been the ones in discussions with ODOT about this...why haven't they told ODOT to STOP?

Supposedly we have a City Council that determines policy and it is up to the City Manager and those under him to implement said policy. Can only presume that the Couch & Wenger have not been given clear direction by the Council. Why hasn't the Council taken action and directed them to tell ODOT to STOP?

You know, I like Mayor Cornett, but this quote should be studied:

“Postcards of the future will be the park and the boulevard,” Cornett said. “It needs to be a place and not just a street where we see how fast we can get cars around.”

Think about what he is saying, what he is suggesting, and what it implies. It paints a picture of something wonderful, fabulous. A real, living, breathing, memorable gateway to our city.

Then think about this abortion that Gary Ridley and ODOT have proposed: an extended insterstate exit, with elevated, earthen road cutting off our natural western gateway to downtown OKC, the Classen Blvd. / Western Corridor.

In my mind, as an active voter, the Mayor needs to follow through on this big time, to ensure it does not destroy the investment we've made collectively in our downtown, or his legacy will be crap.

There will be no postcards for sale of this disastrous ODOT design. It's up to the Mayor and Council to avert this tragedy.

[soonerguru]

From the Gazette article:


Does Mr. Wenger really believe the male bovine excrement he is spewing? In that same section of the article, ODOT Chief Engineer Gary Evans:


Then there was this from Steve's blog (7/16/12)
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...ity-boulevard/


And ODOT said quite a while back (9/4/10) that they wouldn't build something the City didn't want (alluded to in the Oklahoman ad for Steve's article "The Downtown Boulevard...the City may NOT WANT!".

In Steve's blog repost "FYI to Eric Wenger" (6/28/12)
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...o-eric-wenger/


That reminder was almost a month ago, so where is Mr. Wenger getting this stuff? I believe Steve stated that Mr. Wenger and City Manager Jim Couch have been the ones in discussions with ODOT about this...why haven't they told ODOT to STOP?

Supposedly we have a City Council that determines policy and it is up to the City Manager and those under him to implement said policy. Can only presume that the Couch & Wenger have not been given clear direction by the Council. Why hasn't the Council taken action and directed them to tell ODOT to STOP?

And to your point: I will be watching Meg Salyer, Pete White, Greenwell, Ryan, Marrs, and others. If they don't jump up ODOT's ass and tell them to stop they are going to face a powerful, citizen-driven campaign to oust them from Council.

[Spartan]

Pete White will. I wouldn't hold your breath on the others.

[Spartan]

You know, I like Mayor Cornett, but this quote should be studied:

“Postcards of the future will be the park and the boulevard,” Cornett said. “It needs to be a place and not just a street where we see how fast we can get cars around.”

Think about what he is saying, what he is suggesting, and what it implies. It paints a picture of something wonderful, fabulous. A real, living, breathing, memorable gateway to our city.

Then think about this abortion that Gary Ridley and ODOT have proposed: an extended insterstate exit, with elevated, earthen road cutting off our natural western gateway to downtown OKC, the Classen Blvd. / Western Corridor.

in my mind, as an active voter, the Mayor needs to follow through on this big time, to ensure it does not destroy the investment we've made collectively in our downtown, or his legacy will be crap.

There will be no postcards for sale of this disastrous ODOT design. It's up to the Mayor and Council to avert this tragedy.

I think we should do postcards of ODOT's legacy in downtown.


Come visit wonderful OKC! We have a highway!! lol

[soonerguru]

Pete White will. I wouldn't hold your breath on the others.

From what I've heard, Pete White will not be at Tuesday's meeting, when ODOT will be presenting this atrocity.

[soonerguru]

What an amazing -- and pertinent -- story from NPR. This should be a must read for the city council, city staff, ODOT, and all of the stakeholders involved with the boulevard project. I have some takeaways to share, but would rather have your input.

A City Faces Its 'Berlin Wall': An Interstate Highway
by ZACK SEWARD, WXXI


A sign for Interstate 81 sits under an overpass in Syracuse, N.Y. City officials and residents are debating what to do about an aging stretch of the highway that cuts through the city.

Interstate 81 runs through the heart of Syracuse, N.Y., where a 1.4-mile-long elevated stretch of the highway is known locally as "the viaduct." Like many road projects built in the middle of the last century, I-81 is bumping up against the end of its life span. While officials say it's still safe to drive on, the highway is crumbling in parts.

Now, the region is starting to think about what Syracuse might look like without the viaduct, which both speeds traffic through the city and divides the community along economic and racial lines. If the viaduct is torn down, Syracuse would join San Francisco and Milwaukee, where the removal of urban highways over the past two decades has spurred development. Still, it's early in the process.

Syracuse's 'Berlin Wall'

Read More

http://www.npr.org/2012/07/24/155917...hway?sc=17&f=2