Friends for a Better Boulevard

[warreng88]

It will have a street light at Shields then go under the rail line that is parallel to Shields and start ramping up to clear the canal & freeways near Joe Carter Ave

So, it will basically just dip under the rail line? Then why are the old I-40 posts still next to the rail line? I figured they were keeping them up for th Boulevard to go over.

[Urbanized]

I plan to hit the empty, sweeping curves on it pretty hard with my motorcycle later this week. I'll report back afterwards...

[shawnw]

So, it will basically just dip under the rail line? Then why are the old I-40 posts still next to the rail line? I figured they were keeping them up for th Boulevard to go over.

I'm guessing here, but there was a time when they weren't sure if they were going over or under, so I presume they left them there in case they went over. The trouble with going over is doing that and also staying at grade around the arena is basically not possible, if I recall correctly.

[Just the facts]

1st: Did you actually read the article you posted?



2nd:

Why does it matter if the trees are in-place when the road is opened to traffic?

Yes I read it, that is why I posted it. Is frozen earth (tundra) a problem in OKC? I know it gets cold but the ground rarely freezes. As for your second item, did the road open to traffic or did it get handed over to the city? If the road is still a work in progress then there is time for ODOT to add the landscaping. However, if it was turned over to the City, and the City accepted it as is - then why wasn't the landscaping put in by ODOT?

[OKCisOK4me]

So, it will basically just dip under the rail line? Then why are the old I-40 posts still next to the rail line? I figured they were keeping them up for th Boulevard to go over.

My guess is that those were the second largest concrete columns associated with the old Crosstown and since they were in a hurry to re-open Shields access back up they only destroyed the ones south of the U-Haul building but left these up until Boulevard construction actually starts. The plan has always been to go under the tracks. You can see that in the original animated computer renderings associated with MAPS3.

[warreng88]

My guess is that those were the second largest concrete columns associated with the old Crosstown and since they were in a hurry to re-open Shields access back up they only destroyed the ones south of the U-Haul building but left these up until Boulevard construction actually starts. The plan has always been to go under the tracks. You can see that in the original animated computer renderings associated with MAPS3.

Not tearing them down until later makes sense but you can understand my reasoning for thinking it would go over.

No offense, but so much of the Boulevard, convention center and park have changed since the original renderings that I wasn't sure what was still on any more.

[OKCisOK4me]

Not tearing them down until later makes sense but you can understand my reasoning for thinking it would go over.

No offense, but so much of the Boulevard, convention center and park have changed since the original renderings that I wasn't sure what was still on any more.

None taken. It's kinda funny cause, to me, they're like OKC's version of the Berlin Wall, lol...

[Plutonic Panda]

The road is alright. It really looks as if they designed it to be widened to 6 lanes. It also seems it will become a popular campout for the po. 60 to a 45, awwww yeeaaaah.

Anyhow, again, why is this asphalt, I thought it was going to be cement... I'm sure ODOT will include landscaping later. This one part of the BLVD. is acceptable however if they continue this, it will not be friendly to pedestrians obviously. The cement issue is not that big of a deal, it would just be nice to truly have a god road here.

[OKCisOK4me]

The road is alright. It really looks as if they designed it to be widened to 6 lanes. It also seems it will become a popular campout for the po. 60 to a 45, awwww yeeaaaah.

Anyhow, again, why is this asphalt, I thought it was going to be cement... I'm sure ODOT will include landscaping later. This one part of the BLVD. is acceptable however if they continue this, it will not be friendly to pedestrians obviously. The cement issue is not that big of a deal, it would just be nice to truly have a god road here.

Oh, come on PluPan. This is no different than your favorite speed trap where Broadway Extension morphs into Broadway and drops from 60 to 45 in a half mile.

[CaptDave]

Good news for the possibility of eventually extending California to Hudson and preserving the Crystal Bridge sight line. The OG&E development on the Stage Center site will not place a permanent structure on the Festival Plaza.

[Plutonic Panda]

Oh, come on PluPan. This is no different than your favorite speed trap where Broadway Extension morphs into Broadway and drops from 60 to 45 in a half mile.

I know. I'm just saying I bet it will become another one soon.

[Urbanized]

I'd better haul a** on it on my motorcycle before they (and other drivers) discover it. Expect to do so today.

[CaptDave]

Good news for the possibility of eventually extending California to Hudson and preserving the Crystal Bridge sight line. The OG&E development on the Stage Center site will not place a permanent structure on the Festival Plaza.

Upon further review (and more renderings becoming available) it appears the design calls for the ramp into the underground garage is in the California ROW. Crap.

[kevinpate]

If no one is using the west end of the Blvd., maybe they could lease it out to the Street Outlaw folks for a while.

[shawnw]

I use it on the way home. On the way to work I do not because I don't want to cross five lanes of traffic to get to the I-44W exit in that short distance during the morning rush.

[Plutonic Panda]

I'd better haul a** on it on my motorcycle before they (and other drivers) discover it. Expect to do so today.

Took an F430 on it the other day and got some major speed. There was literally no one around, that will change very quickly though.

[OKCisOK4me]

I wanted to drive it tonight and it was me going eastbound and I think three cars going westbound. At Klein, you can only turn right toward Reno. It's my guess that will be a full intersection once the rest of the boulevard is constructed.

[Geographer]

I took the "crosstown boulevard" exit today. It's basically another highway so far. The posted speed limit is 45 but it's constructed and feels like you should go 60, which I did. That's the unfortunate mistake here. If you want people to go 45, then construct the road and it's interaction with it's surroundings as such.

I need to lend ODOT a copy of NACTO's Urban Street Design Guidebook.

[heyerdahl]

So now we have a third empty thoroughfare going west from downtown between 10th and Reno:

Linwood, Main/General Pershing, and the "Boulevard."

[catch22]

I took the "crosstown boulevard" exit today. It's basically another highway so far. The posted speed limit is 45 but it's constructed and feels like you should go 60, which I did. That's the unfortunate mistake here. If you want people to go 45, then construct the road and it's interaction with it's surroundings as such.

I need to lend ODOT a copy of NACTO's Urban Street Design Guidebook.

Of course, they will say:

"You wanted a street with a low speed limit right?"

[Urban Pioneer]

Drove it both ways yesterday driving to and from the game with my dad, who I picked up at his house in far NW OKC. It's basically still a controlled access highway (no access at Blackwelder, for instance), and intersections are "exits" rather than intersections. It definitely serves as a giant, LLLLOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG exit ramp and nothing else. I don't think it is possible for anything along this alignment to be considered city street. As built, the "boulevard" really can only start around the end of it. They have repurposed the previously-used bridges and on/off ramps, so it feels oddly familiar.

One interesting and unexpected positive is that I think it actually might help activate the farmers market area, because the Klein exit (the current termination) dumps you onto Reno staring directly into the market district. It is definitely on display and will see significantly more vehicle traffic. Hopefully as the road itself continues east it will remain at grade and become walkable so that it doesn't cut off the market.

As a downtown lover it's pretty awful, but as an automobile driver (all that matters to ODOT) it was of course wonderful. It allowed me to bypass the congestion at the Western and Shields exits, and since nobody else knows it exists, I was literally the only vehicle on it both times. It felt like a private, me-only freeway. Every driver's fantasy. That part won't last long, of course.

Great post. Sounds like I need to break in the Mustang on this.

[Geographer]

I'm not going to read through the pages and pages through this thread, but can anyone tell me if Reno was Considered at all to be the "boulevard"?

[Urban Pioneer]

It was considered yes. Forcibly considered. Technically a decision has not been made to approve ODOT's proposal for the center sections by the Federal Government. The additional review was forced by Friends for a Better Boulevard.

Reno is unlikely though.

[Bellaboo]

I drive by the west end boulevard connection 5 days a week. Today I saw 2 cars exiting east bound. I've seen only 1 car entering the interstate westbound though, for the past week.

[bchris02]

Branding Fail? | News OK

I agree with the article. The city needs to call it something more imaginative than Oklahoma City Boulevard. If we are a big league city, we have to start coming up with more creative names for things aside from "Oklahoma City" or "Thunder." Why not Mick Cornett Blvd? Ray Ackerman Blvd? Freedom Blvd? Pretty much anything is better than OKC Blvd, with the exception of "The Big Friendly."