Edmond Hires Downtown Consultant!

[Plutonic Panda]

Lot of great things in this article and hopefully this will lead to greater things. A pedestrian bridge, rail transit, traffic circles!!!! Great for downtown Edmond. Really hope this gains some steam.

Another idea is to make downtown more pedestrian friendly with fewer cars. An illustration showed cars parking diagonally down the middle of the street with the current two lane traffic on both sides reduced to single lanes.

The proposed Pedestrian Bridge is also part of the master plan, Forrest said. The bridge would be east of the railroad tracks crossing West Edmond Road where it would link to more parking, he said.

The Downtown Master Plan considers water features and a possible railway transit station being studied for an area south of Edmond Road and west of Broadway, said Forrest, a commercial Realtor. A traffic circle is recommended to be at Fifth Street and Broadway to signal people they are entering the downtown district, Forrest said.

City plans to hire downtown consultant » Local News » The Edmond Sun

[Just the facts]

Very cool. Now they need to rethink their convention center location.

[Plutonic Panda]

Very cool. Now they need to rethink their convention center location.

Yes!!!!!!! The site work for the convention center is underway, so I don't think that will happen unfortunately. Hopefully though, we will get some nice mixed used buildings downtown. That would be awesome!

If it were me, I'd say shut down the portion of Broadway through downtown Edmond and put a street car through it and make it a car free downtown with 3-8 story retail and residential buildings through-out with a connection to UCO. Doubt that will happen though. Things are looking bright though! I do wish they would've put the convention center downtown though :/

I've also thought it would be cool if they would expand the farmers market and make a full time market place and hopefully they will put bike lanes downtown. They are already narrowing Chowning Ave. from four lanes to two and adding bike lanes! Great start.

[catch22]

Glad to see a suburb taking some steps to urbanize their centers.

[Spartan]

Edmond has huge potential. They have really made some bold baby steps lately, and they're now well ahead of Norman IMO. Still have a ways to go and a lot of progress to make, but they're now connecting a string of nice projects and good policies. Keep this up for 10 years and Edmond will be a very impressive town.

They may be in the nascent discovery stage of realizing they can't maintain their high community goals through endless sprawl AND that their residents don't want more sprawl. Every new development in Edmond is a NIMBY proposition these days.

[Spartan]

Yes!!!!!!! The site work for the convention center is underway, so I don't think that will happen unfortunately. Hopefully though, we will get some nice mixed used buildings downtown. That would be awesome!

If it were me, I'd say shut down the portion of Broadway through downtown Edmond and put a street car through it and make it a car free downtown with 3-8 story retail and residential buildings through-out with a connection to UCO. Doubt that will happen though. Things are looking bright though! I do wish they would've put the convention center downtown though :/

I've also thought it would be cool if they would expand the farmers market and make a full time market place and hopefully they will put bike lanes downtown. They are already narrowing Chowning Ave. from four lanes to two and adding bike lanes! Great start.

Carless pedestrian plazas are really dated these days. That's going from car dominated to traffic-devoid in too dramatic of fashion. The secret recipe is to have narrower traffic lanes that still allow automobile access coupled with wider sidewalks AND making transit infrastructure very visible. It's that mixture of traffic modalities that you want, not one over the other.

[Plutonic Panda]

Carless pedestrian plazas are really dated these days. That's going from car dominated to traffic-devoid in too dramatic of fashion. The secret recipe is to have narrower traffic lanes that still allow automobile access coupled with wider sidewalks AND making transit infrastructure very visible. It's that mixture of traffic modalities that you want, not one over the other.

Well, I suppose that might take it a little too far. Anyhow, it would be neat to see a street car going through downtown Edmond. I really hope Edmond continues it's aspirations(or so I think) to develop an urban core for itself. A street car going from 2nd street to Danforth on Broadway would be a good start(I know there is not much up near Danforth, but hopefully that will change) and eventually connect it with UCO. A joint rail hub right by the farmers market would be awesome if they did a full time festival marketplace thing, right next to a pedestrian bridge and a rail hub. Now, for me, that would be a dream to see.

[Frustratedoptimist]

Anyone know where Edmond is on this project? Haven't heard about any public meetings. What is taking so long? Too focused on I-35? In the meantime, small businesses like Sara Sara Cupcakes, which located on 5th because it was planned to be an entertainment hub, looks like it is about to close.

[LakeEffect]

Anyone know where Edmond is on this project? Haven't heard about any public meetings. What is taking so long? Too focused on I-35? In the meantime, small businesses like Sara Sara Cupcakes, which located on 5th because it was planned to be an entertainment hub, looks like it is about to close.

I don't think they've even moved on with consultant selection after receiving the RFP responses.

[CaptDave]

That is unfortunate. Edmond, even with its acre upon acre of suburban development could easily be the most interesting downtown in the metro. The core is intact and has not had too many demo and pave jobs. It has room to develop transit infrastructure downtown, plenty of land available for mixed use "new urbanist" developments, and a nice retail core. I think the area running from the Farmer's Market/Transit Center to UCO is ripe for some sort of comprehensive development plan that can actually get done.

[Plutonic Panda]

I would be hesitant to approve of any new urbanism developments for Edmond. The core might be good for a few, but it has limits.

[Spartan]

That is unfortunate. Edmond, even with its acre upon acre of suburban development could easily be the most interesting downtown in the metro. The core is intact and has not had too many demo and pave jobs. It has room to develop transit infrastructure downtown, plenty of land available for mixed use "new urbanist" developments, and a nice retail core. I think the area running from the Farmer's Market/Transit Center to UCO is ripe for some sort of comprehensive development plan that can actually get done.

I agree completely, Dave. Above that, it's not that they haven't had many lots demolished for surface parking over the years, but because of the demographics within close proximity they've already been able to accomplish a lot more retail infill in the past few years than many realize. Small retail development has been successful there before, much like Automobile Alley today. An example would be the new strip with the Summit Co. that hugs the sidewalk. Across the street I think is another nice, new strip that has a golf shop and some other stuff.

There's a lot of development going on now and will probably be more announced. Taking a community development approach to it will ensure that they grow responsibly and evenly.

[Plutonic Panda]

Recommendations made for Downtown Master Plan
James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — The scope of work proposed for the Downtown Master Plan Study was discussed this week in a special City Council workshop with the Central Edmond Development Urban Board.

The Central Edmond Urban Development Board has revisited plans made in a 1998 Downtown Master Plan through public meetings and presentations to protect the future development of Broadway. Recommendations by the group will be taken into account by future city councils.

- See more at: Recommendations made for Downtown Master Plan » Local News » The Edmond Sun

The Downtown Master Plan considers water features and a possible railway transit station being studied for an area south of Edmond Road and west of Broadway. A traffic circle is recommended to be at Fifth Street and Broadway to signal people they are entering the downtown district.

Another idea is to make downtown more pedestrian friendly with fewer cars. An illustration showed cars parking diagonally down the middle of the street with the current two-lane traffic on both sides reduced to single lanes.

The proposed pedestrian bridge is also part of the master plan, Urban Board Chairman David Forrest said in May. The bridge would be east of the railroad tracks crossing West Edmond Road where it would link to more parking, he said.

In 2009 the Benham Company presented a bridge design that would cost the city a little more than $1 million, which also includes a $485,000 new parking lot with 142 spaces on the south side of West Edmond Road just west of Broadway. The cost of the bridge itself was projected at $565,500 in 2009. That project was delayed at the time in light of the need to pay for a new Public Safety Center, which is now being paid for by a half-cent dedicated sales tax

I will email the city later to see if I can't get ahold of this illustration.

[Plutonic Panda]

There is more on this and it is great to know it isn't dead.

''Council agrees to $300,000 downtown study
Local developer says it’s not needed

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — The City Council voted 3-0 Monday in favor of a $300,000 contract with Freese and Nichols Inc., to make recommendations for the Downtown Master Plan Study.

This consultant fee represents the city’s budget allocations spanning two years, said Charles Lamb, mayor.

“I’m concerned in this respect, because I’ve talked to a lot of businesses downtown,” said Pete Reeser, a local developer. “I’ve been in business downtown for a number of years. Nobody has a problem with business downtown. We don’t have a problem down there and we don’t want it fixed.”

Freese and Nichols will limit the study to part of the Central Business District area extending from Danforth to Fifth Street.

The entire district extends from Danforth to Ninth Street, to slightly west of the railroad tracks and then borders the University of Central Oklahoma and then to Ninth Street and Boulevard''

- See more at: Council agrees to $300,000 downtown study » Local News » The Edmond Sun

Some really great points!!!

*The 2010 Downtown Master Plan takes into account a possible railroad station being studied for an area south of Edmond Road and east of Broadway

*Water features along with the railway transit station were recommended by the task force

*A traffic circle was recommended to be at Fifth Street and Broadway to signal people they are entering the downtown district.

*The taskforce and Urban Board have suggested the use of diagonal parking for cars down the middle of Broadway. The current two-lane traffic on both sides could be reduced to single lanes in a three-block area of historic downtown

And then there is this guy,
Reeser >_<

“I’d urge you to take this $300,000 to buy land to build a parking lot some place,” Reeser said.

Reeser questioned the practicality of the reducing those lanes of traffic from four to two.

Reeser said there are no problems downtown. “We’ve been doing great the last four years,” he said.

Downtown Edmond is doing alright, but it could be doing much much better. I'd love to see a late night scene. I would really love to see the Farmers Market turned into a full time festival market place, open every day from 8a to 1a, Broadway narrowed to 2 lanes divided with a street car running from downtown to UCO with room for expansion, bike lanes, sidewalks widened to 15-20 ft., a ped bridge over the railroad tracks with a commuter/light rail rail station, a structured parking garage and a bus hub would be excellent. I really hope they do this right though.

None the less, thank you James for this great article!!! http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x7268...downtown-study

[soonerguru]

There is more on this and it is great to know it isn't dead.

''Council agrees to $300,000 downtown study
Local developer says it’s not needed

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — The City Council voted 3-0 Monday in favor of a $300,000 contract with Freese and Nichols Inc., to make recommendations for the Downtown Master Plan Study.

This consultant fee represents the city’s budget allocations spanning two years, said Charles Lamb, mayor.

“I’m concerned in this respect, because I’ve talked to a lot of businesses downtown,” said Pete Reeser, a local developer. “I’ve been in business downtown for a number of years. Nobody has a problem with business downtown. We don’t have a problem down there and we don’t want it fixed.”

Freese and Nichols will limit the study to part of the Central Business District area extending from Danforth to Fifth Street.

The entire district extends from Danforth to Ninth Street, to slightly west of the railroad tracks and then borders the University of Central Oklahoma and then to Ninth Street and Boulevard''

- See more at: Council agrees to $300,000 downtown study » Local News » The Edmond Sun

Some really great points!!!






And then there is this guy,
Reeser >_<





Downtown Edmond is doing alright, but it could be doing much much better. I'd love to see a late night scene. I would really love to see the Farmers Market turned into a full time festival market place, open every day from 8a to 1a, Broadway narrowed to 2 lanes divided with a street car running from downtown to UCO with room for expansion, bike lanes, sidewalks widened to 15-20 ft., a ped bridge over the railroad tracks with a commuter/light rail rail station, a structured parking garage and a bus hub would be excellent. I really hope they do this right though.

None the less, thank you James for this great article!!! Council agrees to $300,000 downtown study » Local News » The Edmond Sun

A late night scene in Edmond? Not gonna happen.

[Plutonic Panda]

A late night scene in Edmond? Not gonna happen.

I don't disagree with you

[Just the facts]

A late night scene in Edmond? Not gonna happen.

It only takes one place to open. I spend most of my time hanging out in a little area called San Marco and there is a whole different crowd at 10PM than there is 8PM. What is great is that the local club provides a lot of time-diversity and because it is on the up-scale side of the club scene it attracts a decent clientele. There is also a wine bar that attracts the over-40 group late at night In the early morning it is the breakfast and Starbucks crowd, then at 8AM the office workers and retailer show up, at 5PM the office workers leave and the diners and movie-goers show up (they have a one-screen theater showing first run movies every night), at 10PM the club and wine crowd arrives and stay until about 2AM. 3 hours later the process starts over. The areas infrastructure is used 21 hours out of 24 hours every day and no matter what time of day you go there will be people on the street, window shopping, or just relaxing in the park. There is no reason downtown Edmond couldn't do that.

As for the Peter Reeser's of the world, some people would vote against tomorrow if they thought it might be different than today.

[onthestrip]

$300,000 for a study to improve Edmonds small downtown area..? Methinks Edmomd must have too much money if they are spending that much on some downtown study. Sounds like a rip off.

[Just the facts]

How much do you think it should cost?

Bismarck, ND just spent $325,000 on theirs.

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/loca...a4bcf887a.html

BISMARCK, N.D. _ A clearer picture of how Bismarck’s central retail district might look is taking shape as the Downtown Bismarck Study nears completion.

Among the potential changes: more public gathering space, downtown park space, links from Main Avenue to Kirkwood Mall and more emphasis on biking and walking paths. Consultant Crandall Arambula will present its final study report to the Bismarck City Commission in late October or early November, said Steve Saunders, transportation planner for the Bismarck Mandan Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The $324,985 study’s cost is being shared by the MPO and the city. Bismarck’s share is $64,997.

...

By completing $22.5 million in “game changers” along Fifth Street within five years, the city could leverage $318 million in overall private investment for the downtown, the consultants said. Doing most improvements identified in the plan could result in a $1 billion investment in the downtown district, they said.

Here is the study itself.

http://www.downtownbismarckstudy.com/

[Plutonic Panda]

An update with the parking situation.

''Parking topic of Urban Development Board meeting
James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — Parking downtown was discussed this week when the Central Edmond Urban Development Board discussed the future of Edmond’s Central Business District with Fort Worth-based consultants Freese Nichols.

In 2010, the 1998 Downtown Master Plan Review Task Force began to revisit plans made in the 1998 Downtown Master Plan. The City Council voted 3-0 in September in favor of a $300,000 contract with Freese and Nichols Inc. Recommendations by the group will be taken into account by future city councils.

“If there’s anything you don’t want to do, then we need to know that,” said Wendy Shabay, an associate urban planner with Freese Nichols of Fort Worth.

The Central Business District area goes from Danforth to Ninth Street, to slightly west of the railroad tracks and then borders the University of Central Oklahoma and then to Ninth Street and Boulevard. This study will be limited in scope from Danforth to Fifth Street.

“There’s a lot of downtown that we’re trying to help get to the point that you’re at right now,” said Cody Richardson, of Freese and Nichols. Streetscaping, landscaping and the Festival Market Place are recommendations that have already come to fruition from the 1998 Downtown Master Plan process.

Growth in Edmond is expected to exceed 100,000 people within 10 years, he said. So more density in the urban area is being taken into account when considering the project, he said''

- See more at: Parking topic of Urban Development Board meeting » Local News » The Edmond Sun

It would be nice if Edmond built a 5 story parking garage on the west side of the train tracks near the farmers market and connected downtown with a ped bridge. A 3 story 250 parking garage would also be good somewhere along BLVD.

[Just the facts]

Growth in Edmond is expected to exceed 100,000 people within 10 years,

That is what this all comes down to. At the density of current Edmond development those people will require 5,000 acres (nearly 8 sq miles). The City will have to build miles of new roads, lay miles of water pipes, cover more area with police and fire service, and utility companies will need to lay miles of new electrical lines, cable lines, and telephone lines (and then people wonder why we have the highest utility and internet costs in the world). At 30 units per acre those 100,000 people could fit in one sq mile and be served by existing streets, existing police and fire, existing utilities, and hopefully with the increased density they won't have to drive as much as existing Edmond residents.

[Plutonic Panda]

Well, really it is some people don't want to live right next or on top of each other, so you have that issue, I am one of those people. On the other, who is to say there isn't an urban revolution coming to Edmond? It seems some really good projects have been proposed and passed and once the downtown master plan is completed, if done right, would bring a ton of urban/high-density projects to Edmond, am I wrong?

[Plutonic Panda]

Recommendations will be made on Downtown Master Plan
James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — A parking garage in the core downtown area to be financed with a tax mechanism is being discussed with city staff and business leaders by Freese Nichols consultants of Fort Worth.

The Central Edmond Urban Development Board has revisited plans made in a 1998 Downtown Master Plan through public meetings and presentations. Discussion is conceptual, but a recommendation will be made to the City Council.

The Central Business District area goes from Danforth to Ninth Street, to slightly west of the railroad tracks and then borders the University of Central Oklahoma and then to Ninth Street and Boulevard, said Shabay, an associate urban planner with Freese Nichols.

A church, a university or another cultural entity may have a primary goal of having land that is convenient for attendance, said Paris Rutherford, principal at Catalyst Urban Development, located in Dallas.

Some stakeholders of land across the U.S. are beginning to look at their land differently by opening up some of their property on certain days to meet the needs of the surrounding community, he said.

What comes out of it is a much better environment around it than an open parking lot that is not being used, Rutherford said.

“If the goal is to connect an employment center, a retail restaurant commercial center and make those connections and have all this really vibrant, walkable, you have to start thinking that way,” Rutherford said. “If not, it will be like this forever because there’s no one that has a different goal.”

Rutherford was asked how far away parking needs to be to maintain a vibrant redevelopment if we are considering building a parking garage. The answer depends on different users for different times of the day and year, Rutherford said.

“If you are a retail owner or small business and your livelihood is based on the sales you do in that space every day, and it’s 30 degrees outside, you’re probably going to say, ‘I don’t want it any farther than 50 feet from my store front,’” Rutherford said.

A civic user with employees coming to work, the goal may be that it is suitable for employees to park a couple of blocks away, Rutherford continued.

However, a parking garage could meet the needs of a church and urbanist needs of the community, he said. It could generate a more active tax base, he said.

“There are partnerships like that (which) could be struck,” Rutherford said. “The university is right in the middle of that, too. They’re a major land owner.”

The point is that a customized solution could be implemented to meet the overall needs of a community without distracting from a particular landowner’s needs, Rutherford said.

“If it’s just meeting the needs of a church, the needs of a university or a city, it’s going to look just like it does right now and it will never change,” Rutherford said. “It’s done all over the country. And once it’s done everybody gets accolades. There’s no reason why that can’t be accomplished here.”

One positive is that just about everything from the core of downtown to the University of Central Oklahoma is walkable. Most other cities are more spread out without the potential to connect, Rutherford said'

- See more at: Recommendations will be made on Downtown Master Plan » Local News » The Edmond Sun

[Plutonic Panda]

Central Edmond Urban Development Board, UCO partner for Edmond parking, housing development
James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

'EDMOND — The City of Edmond and the University of Oklahoma have done a good job of establishing connections, said Paris Rutherford, principal at Catalyst Urban Development, located in Dallas.

Not only what is on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma, but what surrounds the campus will attract students and employees to UCO, while retaining the best and the brightest, Rutherford said to a group of city leaders and business men and women.

The Central Edmond Urban Development Board has revisited plans made in a 1998 Downtown Master Plan through public meetings and presentations.

“If you have that campus corner — I know I’ve heard a lot of people talk about that — obviously that is something that resonates with a student or a faculty member because it’s nice,” Rutherford said.

The Jazz Lab is one example of how UCO reaches out to the community, Rutherford said. More creative partnerships to connect the Central Business district with the UCO campus are worth the effort, he said.

The University of Central Oklahoma has 17,239 students and is the state’s third-largest university. If part of its goal is to attract students and employees, it might consider building more housing on campus, Rutherford said.

“I can imagine a situation where there’s some housing that makes a connection like that,” Rutherford said'

- See more at: Central Edmond Urban Development Board, UCO partner for Edmond parking, housing development » Local News » The Edmond Sun

[Plutonic Panda]

Some really great articles about the future of downtown Edmond and UCO! Really good reads!!!!