Canal to River Connection

[ljbab728]

My guess is that it was as you described, a writer's lapse. I've certainly seen nothing official to make me think otherwise.

[Larry OKC]

May be but they keep making the same lapse if that is the case...

[Spartan]

Is there anything to corroborate this new 4-lane rumor?

[Snowman]

Is there anything to corroborate this new 4-lane rumor?

It comes up in several meetings, here is the most recent on, they start talking about the boulevard about three quarters of the way through the video.

http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/mtgview...doctype=AGENDA

[jungmuny]

Even more important than a seawall to me in terms of encouraging traffic growth (maybe not development) is getting the sodded banks irrigated. I caught a glimpse of the Devon Boathouse lawn on the news when the surfing building was announced and even it looked a little parched. This juxtaposition of parched grassy areas with a river just doesn't jive. If the city put up the money to irrigate the river banks so that plant life could be supported, I don't think they realize how many people would be willing take part in a mass tree-planting effort. Just one bobcat with an auger extension could easily get 100 trees planted in a day. I'm not going to plant trees though if I know they will be killed from drought and neglect.

[Steve]

To my knowledge, the boulevard's width is still officially six lanes and I'm not aware of any amendments being sent yet to the FHA to reduce it to four lanes.

[Snowman]

Even more important than a seawall to me in terms of encouraging traffic growth (maybe not development) is getting the sodded banks irrigated. I caught a glimpse of the Devon Boathouse lawn on the news when the surfing building was announced and even it looked a little parched. This juxtaposition of parched grassy areas with a river just doesn't jive. If the city put up the money to irrigate the river banks so that plant life could be supported, I don't think they realize how many people would be willing take part in a mass tree-planting effort. Just one bobcat with an auger extension could easily get 100 trees planted in a day. I'm not going to plant trees though if I know they will be killed from drought and neglect.

The sodded sloping banks are temporary, eventually they will be similar terraces as is in from of the Chesapeake finish line tower. If it was recent footage it is the beginning of February the grass is dormant, alternatively it could be old stock footage used which is generally before the building was complete. Anything permanent around Devon now has irrigation and the others will after the buildings are in place. While you may be referring to tree planing in other areas along the river, the areas around the boathouses on the north side was planned to have large open space to be there and is utilized for Regattas, they already have done a large scale tree plantings years ago on the south side. A couple people have mentioned wanting the boathouse area to look more natural but that is not what they desire, are planing or working to.

[jungmuny]

I was talking mostly along the trail, where it seems like they favored evergreens over shade trees. I have no idea what they were thinking with that. An evergreen is the perfect thing for a predator to hide behind, while a shade tree provides shade and no hiding places. You could say it is a wind break, but if someone is running or riding a bike they are already experiencing wind. If there was a pressing need for evergreens, they should not be within arms length of the trails, as many are.

[BoulderSooner]

To my knowledge, the boulevard's width is still officially six lanes and I'm not aware of any amendments being sent yet to the FHA to reduce it to four lanes.

per city staff (russell claus) the blvd design committee has pretty much decided that the Blvd will be 2 driving lanes in each direction and 1 outside parking lane in each direction ...

[OKCisOK4me]

per city staff (russell claus) the blvd design committee has pretty much decided that the Blvd will be 2 driving lanes in each direction and 1 outside parking lane in each direction ...

What happened to the center median that was either going to accommodate for landscaping or future street car service?

[Larry OKC]

never mind... this is about the Canal/River extension and not the Boulevard....back to your regularly scheduled topic

[BoulderSooner]

What happened to the center median that was either going to accommodate for landscaping or future street car service?

i will get back to topic ... but there still will most likely be a median ... but not for the street car .. the street car is in lanes with traffic ..

[OKCisOK4me]

i will get back to topic ... but there still will most likely be a median ... but not for the street car .. the street car is in lanes with traffic ..

One last comment off topic.... I can't wait til the streetcar goes in and then we start getting those videos posted on Youtube of stupid OKC drivers turning left in front of streetcars like you see in other cities. Can't wait to get my laugh on!

[MDot]

One last comment off topic.... I can't wait til the streetcar goes in and then we start getting those videos posted on Youtube of stupid OKC drivers turning left in front of streetcars like you see in other cities. Can't wait to get my laugh on!

I watch the videos of the people down in Houston doing that.

[Pete]

Went to the Regatta festival on Friday night and decided to park in the lot near the Land Run Monument and take the new walkway to the riverfront.

We not only avoided the big crowd and parking crunch right down by the boathouses, it was a very easy and nice little stroll. The landscaping and walkways are very nice and the underpass is ablaze with sharp LED light sticks. Completely safe and well-done.

And of course, provides a very important pedestrian link between Bricktown/downtown and the river.


And the festival was very well-done. The lighting system is excellent, all the new playground and exercise equipment looks sharp, really liked the Compass Rose sculpture, they had tons of food tents and we sat in the beer garden with a great view of the river and the fireworks at the end.

The potential of that area is just starting to be realized and it's exciting to thing about the rest of the boathouses, the zip line, the indoor surf park and the massive white water facility.

And I have to say, sitting there at the river, seeing all the neon from the boathouses and other structures and then looking back to the skyline... It was simply stunning.

[AP]

Went to the Regatta festival on Friday night

Really wish I could have made it out with you guys.

[OKCisOK4me]

Went to the Regatta festival on Friday night and decided to park in the lot near the Land Run Monument and take the new walkway to the riverfront.

So is the pathway cleared for traffic below the UPRR tracks? I saw plastic blockades in the way in that KFOR report.

[bradh]

Sorry I missed you out there Pete, had the whole fam (well, all 3 of us) out there cheering on my wife's former coworkers.

[Pete]

So is the pathway cleared for traffic below the UPRR tracks? I saw plastic blockades in the way in that KFOR report.

Yes, open and from what I could tell, complete.

[OKCisOK4me]

Yes, open and from what I could tell, complete.

Well, I guess UP isn't so hard to deal with. No one ever responded to the email I sent though.

[Pete]

Just went by and its closed off again.

[Paseofreak]

Read somewhere, maybe the DOK, that an agreement had been reached only for the duration of the Regatta.

[OKCisOK4me]

Read somewhere, maybe the DOK, that an agreement had been reached only for the duration of the Regatta.

Union Pacific was soooooooooooooo nice for one weekend!

[Paseofreak]

Well, yes, they were. If you read how the city and bridge designers screwed up the design and "took" available overhead clearance (in the DOK. Find the link over in the Riverfront Development or Boathouse Row threads) from them, I'd say they were mighty nice. I used to process right of way encroachment permits for CSX for a while, and you'd be astounded at the number of folks, including municipal officials that think that railroads are federally run or subsidized. They are all private, publicly held commercial concerns. They are not being good stewards to their stockholders by compromising flexibility in future development by rolling over and giving it away. The city should have hired competent designers and worked the process aggressively to obtain approval and permits beforehand. It is pretty well known to most civil design firms.

[OKCisOK4me]

Well, yes, they were. If you read how the city and bridge designers screwed up the design and "took" available overhead clearance (in the DOK. Find the link over in the Riverfront Development or Boathouse Row threads) from them, I'd say they were mighty nice. I used to process right of way encroachment permits for CSX for a while, and you'd be astounded at the number of folks, including municipal officials that think that railroads are federally run or subsidized. They are all private, publicly held commercial concerns. They are not being good stewards to their stockholders by compromising flexibility in future development by rolling over and giving it away. The city should have hired competent designers and worked the process aggressively to obtain approval and permits beforehand. It is pretty well known to most civil design firms.

All that aside, let's think about this for a second...

The construction to lay the new line for that underpass was one of the first I-40 projects completed, so it was done at least 3 years ago. They were aware of what the reason for the bridge was for. Why get all butthurt over it now?