Re: OKC Commuter Rail
I think we all need to keep in mind two things:
1) Commuter Rail is different than light rail
2) Which type is best for OKC.
Commuter Rail is different than light rail in that CR uses long haul, often diesel locomotives, with dedicated stations. The cars themselves are "heavy" hence the term heavy rail. Commuter Rail is set up to transport suburban commuters into the city, downtown, and/or major employment point(s).
Light Rail is often called "Light Rail Trolley" or Trams or Streetcar, depending upon the right-of-way and types of vehicles. The common theme of Light Rail lines is that most are electric with overhead catenary lines and the vehicles themselves are "light" and usually modern. There are "heavy" light rail systems with dedicated track that act as commuter systems - like Portland's MAX, Dallas DART, however most common lines are circular sytems in the inner city/downtown areas to assist people in moving around - like Portland's Streetcar network.
Which type of system does OKC need?
Commuter rail would necessitate the use of dedicated rail lines and stops at train stations - since the vehicles are heavy and can not co-exist with regular traffic. Typically, these CR lines are found in the largest of cities that have extensive suburbs that require transit to downtown: Chicago's METRA Rail, Vancouver's West Coast Express, San Fran's CalTrain are examples. These systems are almost very similar to AMTRAK except that the insides are set up to accommodate volume of pax (versus long distance "comforts" of AMTRAK) and pax usually have two levels to sit per car.
"Heavy" Light Rail can co-exist with regular traffic and usually follows major thoroughfares or Interstates. These systems, while their capacity is usually smaller than Commuter Rail, "act" as commuter systems for less extensive suburb areas where ridership would not be that great. They also provide flexibility in that the lines often veer into the regular automotive right-of-ways and therefore does NOT require train stations but instead light rail platforms. Denver's new system is a perfect example of this.
Light Rail trolley's are the most common use of light rail technology. The vehicles are usually similar in capacity to a bus yet much more efficient. And trolley's reside exclusively in automotive right-of-way and have stops (not stations) on small platforms on the side of the road (like a bus stop). Trolley's could be modern low floor vehicles (like Portland's Streetcar), modern or heritage single vehicle tram (like TTC in Toronto or Little Rock or OKC's old Classen Streetcar), or something inbetween. The important difference of trolleys is that they are very frequent and circulate passengers using small vehicles in dense areas (or areas that become dense due to the Trolley line).
So which is best for OKC?
Since we don't yet have very many commuters, I think OKC should start with a light rail trolley circular that runs in downtown and maybe has "streetcar" type extensions up Classen to the Asia District and OCU, over to the Health District and State Capitol, down to the Riverside and Capitol Hill districts, and perhaps on to the Meridian Corridor, State Fair Park, and Stockyard City.
The key of this idea is that 1) the initial line would begin in downtown and would circulate the major downtown districts and 2) would be very inexpensive since all would be needed is track inst on existing street right of way and modernization of the traffic network (of course). The stations themselves would be very similar to the existing bus stops.
I'd envision a line that begins at the OKC Transit Center go down Walker to Sheridan or Reno over to Bricktown up to Deep Duece and Triangle turn into Automobile Alley and keep going into Midtown then turn back into downtown toward the OKC Transit Center. This circular would have stops at major attractions/employers along the way. There could also be a track running down Broadway connecting the two ends of the circle (Reno and 13th street?) that could provide a RUSH Hour/express into the CBD. Basically, the first line would replace Metro's Spirit bus trolley with a Rail trolley on fixed guideway - very inexpensive yet would be very welcome/necessary in downtown.
OKC could even do like Tacoma did in building a major parking garage system for autos to park and pax to hop on the trolley into downtown for work/play/shopping/etc. That is why I questioned the location of the OKC Transit Center as it only seems to be bus oriented but then again the light rail could stop there and use it as its central point.
This trolley system should be part of MAPS III using a combo of Federal dollars for the traffic system and sales tax for everything else and would cost less than $100M (probably only $50M in OKC) yet provide SIGNIFICANT benefit to the densification of downtown and the inner city. Portland Streetcar is the perfect example of what I'm talking about here - it provided a complete renaissance to downtown Portland and should be "copied" for OKC.
Extensions to OKC's central trolley line should be added to Asia District/OCU and the Health Center/State Capital after the circular line is complete. The southern extensions to Riverside/Capitol Hill and Meridian/Fair Park/Stockyard City could be added once I-40 ist complete.
The best use would be two new circles that spin off the downtown ones (in other words, spin off from Midtown up Classen to 30th over to Blackwelder down to 23rd over to Lincoln down to 13th over into the HSC district over to the Research District and OSSM down back across 13th into Midtown and/or down Lincoln into Deep Duece/Triangle connecting to the main circular) BUT the spin offs could be single lines up Classen to Blackwelder to OCU and over 13th into the HSC up Lincoln to the capital. The former would be more comprehensive and certainly add to the inner city density with the latter being less expensive.
Whatever the case, I think OKC should start with a circular trolley line then perhaps consider Heavy Rail (Commuter Rail) or Heavy Light Rail to Edmond and Norman once the inner city and Downtown rebuild/expand its employment reach.
Oklahoma City, the RENAISSANCE CITY!
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Originally Posted by Spartan
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