Streetcar

[Anonymous.]

An easy way to understand the impact for visitors is think about what you do when you book a trip for an event or something. Chances are you are trying to find a hotel closest to your destination or place of event. Obviously with downtown being OKC's biggest entertainment area, most people will want to be staying in and around the core. Hotels can advertise their proximity to the streetcar as it is a huge selling point. Being able to not have to worry about renting cars, taking cabs, and find/pay parking is a major factor I always take into account for trips.

Side note of a pet peeve... There are hotels way out east on Reno near Eastern that use "Bricktown" in their names. I have ran into multiple people while out and about and they tell me they booked the hotel thinking they were going to be right in the thick of things, only to find out they are surrounded by dirty truckstops and now have to take a cab to get anywhere close to Bricktown. Hopefully these hotels die with the surge in competition in the actual core.

[TheTravellers]

...
Side note of a pet peeve... There are hotels way out east on Reno near Eastern that use "Bricktown" in their names. I have ran into multiple people while out and about and they tell me they booked the hotel thinking they were going to be right in the thick of things, only to find out they are surrounded by dirty truckstops and now have to take a cab to get anywhere close to Bricktown. Hopefully these hotels die with the surge in competition in the actual core.

Yeah, those names are misleading, but isn't some of the onus on the person booking the trip to maybe do a bit more research to make sure that they're booking one in the right location and not just relying on the name? Someone I know booked a hotel here "close" to where our event was (Britton between May and Penn), but the hotel was at Classen/NW Expwy, she said "it" (not sure what "it" is - google, GPS, hotel's website, ...) said the hotel was 8 minutes away from where the event was. May be 8 minutes away, but Classen/NW Expwy isn't close to Britton/May or Penn by any stretch of the imagination. I always go to google maps to check and make sure that the place I'm staying at is actually close to where I want to be.

Don't mean to derail the thread, but had to add an alternative viewpoint, sorry, back to the streetcar (which I fully support and will probably use as much as I can since I *loved* using public transit in Chicago and miss it badly here).

[Laramie]

Every area along the streetcar route will be impacted in a positive way. You'll see new developments created in Bricktown, Business District, Automobile Alley & Midtown.

People are ready to park & ride. OKC is willing & ready to make this transition from driving around inside the core.

[jn1780]

Yeah, those names are misleading, but isn't some of the onus on the person booking the trip to maybe do a bit more research to make sure that they're booking one in the right location and not just relying on the name? Someone I know booked a hotel here "close" to where our event was (Britton between May and Penn), but the hotel was at Classen/NW Expwy, she said "it" (not sure what "it" is - google, GPS, hotel's website, ...) said the hotel was 8 minutes away from where the event was. May be 8 minutes away, but Classen/NW Expwy isn't close to Britton/May or Penn by any stretch of the imagination. I always go to google maps to check and make sure that the place I'm staying at is actually close to where I want to be.

Don't mean to derail the thread, but had to add an alternative viewpoint, sorry, back to the streetcar (which I fully support and will probably use as much as I can since I *loved* using public transit in Chicago and miss it badly here).

If she is using google maps, she has to click on the picture of the little guy for walking distance.

Even when driving, that's about a 14 minute drive under ideal conditions.

[catch22]

Just did some counting of my own.

The streetcar line will have available to it upon opening the following:

Immediate access to the line (On the same street/block as the streetcar line)
2,930 Hotel Rooms
1,175 Residential Units

One block distance to the nearest block that has the streetcar. In essence 2 block*(excluding the units already counted above)
727 Hotel Rooms
1,212 Residential Units

For a grand total of the above

6,044 units
(3657 Hotel + 2387 Residential).

One observation is that most of Deep Deuce is not included. Obviously a 1-block distance is very amateur, those who ride transit will walk several blocks to take advantage of it. This was more or less what is directly on the line.


4,105 Units directly on the line is a great starting point; add in the 2,000 more units that are just 1 block off the line for the 6,000 and you are in some very good territory for initial ridership. You also have it running through the premier entertainment district of the state as well as the future Convention Center, the Memorial, the Chesapeake Arena, MBG and the MAPS 3 Central Park and you are really expanding the variety of ridership and trip purposes this will be useful for. I really think it will be a slam dunk.


*For example, The Maywood in DD is included because it is on the block of NE4 and Oklahoma which is adjacent to the block of NW 4 and Broadway.

[Urban Pioneer]

Great work, Urban Pioneer. Your effort is appreciated. Just to be clear on my end, my concerns about the success of the line do not mean I am excited about it for OKC. I hope for nothing more than this line to gain great ridership, stimulate core development, and lead to expansion of the system thooughout the metro. Keep up the great work.

Thanks! I really appreciate all of the supportive comments from the OKC TALK community. It means a great deal to me. Many of you are friends, many I have never met. Feel free to reach out anytime if you think we are doing something well on the streetcar or could be doing something better. I don't know how many of you have attended a subcommittee meeting, but we actually do conduct oversight. Much to the staffers and consultant's chagrin, our meetings are rigorous. It may have taken nine years to get here, but there is a reason that the bid came in low. This system has been extremely thoughtfully designed due to the work of the committee and the engineers.

[BG918]

Thanks! I really appreciate all of the supportive comments from the OKC TALK community. It means a great deal to me. Many of you are friends, many I have never met. Feel free to reach out anytime if you think we are doing something well on the streetcar or could be doing something better. I don't know how many of you have attended a subcommittee meeting, but we actually do conduct oversight. Much to the staffers and consultant's chagrin, our meetings are rigorous. It may have taken nine years to get here, but there is a reason that the bid came in low. This system has been extremely thoughtfully designed due to the work of the committee and the engineers.

I have followed your posts for a long time and thank you for your work getting this project off the ground. Have you ever thought about consulting for other cities? Tulsa could use someone like yourself to help put together a streetcar plan there.

[HangryHippo]

I really do commend you Urban Pioneer (and Betts) for your outstanding work on the streetcar project. From this citizen, it's very much appreciated.

[soonerguru]

How about I'll enjoy and go where I want, and you can stop making assumptions on where you think I should spend my time.

The arrogance and onesidedness on this forum is getting out of hand. I've been a good member for awhile now, making contributions where I can, sharing insight and personal opinions, and a different perspective at times. I visit a few other forums on the internet, none with as much cool local info as this, but yet I find so many of the people on here blatantly rude, and only interest is to attempt to belittle and prove their superiority. It's extremely disheartening because in all reality I have a greater chance of running into most of you folks, than anyone else I associate with on another forum, yet the amount of disrespect I see (and I'm not really even talking towards my opinions) is uncalled for.

With that being said I'm not trying to pick on you directly soonerguru, although I don't appreciate your disrespect, it's more of a rant to numerous members on this board. Clearly my opinions and perspective are not welcomed by some so I'd recommend to those to navigate to my profile and add me on your block list so you can skip my comments.

No disrespect intended at all. I just find it odd that you have a problem with the inner-most part of our city having more of an urban feel, which you admittedly don't like. You prefer the suburban nature of the city. I was pushing back on the opinion that every square inch of our city has to be suburban in nature.

[Spartan]

I don't think guru's post was disrespectful. I think there are just different viewpoints and sometimes the most respectful thing someone can say really is just "well, good thing you have your area that fits your preferences, and we have our area to fulfill our preferences." I think generally anyone who gets dramatic on here is taking it too seriously and can't stand on their own ideas and facts alone.

OKC's burbs are still disproportionately developed and supported more than the urbs. This GO Bond is about to prove that when it ends up being 80% suburban.

[LakeEffect]

This GO Bond is about to prove that when it ends up being 80% suburban.

Huh? Facts?

[catcherinthewry]

Huh? Facts?

Since when does Spartan need facts?

[Urban Pioneer]

We have a streetcar project oversight committee meeting scheduled for today at 3:30 in the EMBARK meeting room next to Clarity Coffee on Main Street. The public is always welcome to attend.

[riflesforwatie]

I was walking south of the Skydance Bridge yesterday evening around 5:30 pm and there was a ton of activity by Herzog crews along SW 10th. It looked like they were practicing working with the rails or doing some sort of staging. I tried to take some pics but the sun was setting and the light wasn't great. Anyway, I was surprised (like someone else said upthread) at how long the rail segments are. It will be fun to watch them being transported into place around downtown.

[ljbab728]

We have a streetcar project oversight committee meeting scheduled for today at 3:30 in the EMBARK meeting room next to Clarity Coffee on Main Street. The public is always welcome to attend.

Are the meetings regularly held on a weekday afternoon? That rules out people who have normal daytime jobs from being able to attend.

[Urban Pioneer]

Are the meetings regularly held on a weekday afternoon? That rules out people who have normal daytime jobs from being able to attend.

Sorry. Best we can do and manage to get the people together. Guess you will have to take a vacation day or tell your boss you have a civic engagement. Keep in mind, we are volunteers. The people who make the mechanics work are 9 - 5 city employees and engineers. If it were up to me, these meetings would be after hours too. I am self-employed and it is time away from the business. If it were at night, it is time away from my family. So I lose no matter what. I would have skipped today actually but we had $5 million worth of stuff to vote on and needed a quorum.

[ljbab728]

Sorry. Best we can do and manage to get the people together. Guess you will have to take a vacation day or tell your boss you have a civic engagement. Keep in mind, we are volunteers. The people who make the mechanics work are 9 - 5 city employees and engineers. If it were up to me, these meetings would be after hours too. I am self-employed and it is time away from the business. If it were at night, it is time away from my family. So I lose no matter what. I would have skipped today actually but we had $5 million worth of stuff to vote on and needed a quorum.

I understand completely. It is just so frustrating that basically all meetings like this for your committee and most others are just not held at times that are convenient for the general public and that greatly limits the kind of input that can be given.

[Urban Pioneer]

I understand completely. It is just so frustrating that basically all meetings like this for your committee and most others are just not held at times that are convenient for the general public and that greatly limits the kind of input that can be given.

That is a big reason that I engage the public so directly on here and on Facebook. There are at least four OKC Talk members that are actually on the committee of nine. Our outreach through all interactive mechanisms is unparalleled.

[Urban Pioneer]

We voted to buy an additional streetcar vehicle at a reduced cost. OKC will be getting a streetcar #7. Also, spare parts, tow trucks, specialized machinery, and redundancy systems are now being ordered.

[LakeEffect]

We voted to buy an additional streetcar vehicle at a reduced cost. OKC will be getting a streetcar #7.

Sweet. Will that lead to more cars in service (7-10 minute service) or just more back-up cars available?

[Urban Pioneer]

Sweet. Will that lead to more cars in service (7-10 minute service) or just more back-up cars available?

More back-up and the flexibility to handle bigger events. So potentially more units in service if the demand necessitates it.

Another cool thing is that we are going to develop a spare parts consortium with Dallas and potentially Detroit or Milwaukee to enable quicker accessibility to parts on demand without having to wait for them to be manufactured.

[Anonymous.]

Is this what the excess funds, as a result of the bids coming in lower, are being used for?

[Urban Pioneer]

Is this what the excess funds, as a result of the bids coming in lower, are being used for?

Yes. We evaluated all areas and determined that making the First Phase of the system as resilient, reliable, and relevant as possible were the best use of funds. I am personally asking for funds to study with more detail how we might expand to go to other areas. A cost needs to be determined for extensions so that future leaders can be fully informed as to what their options are.

We also have the overall MAPS 4 contingency fund for which our committee has not submitted any requests for consideration. We also still have a built in program contingency for our specific project that remains on par with maintaining unforeseen issues.

[Anonymous.]

Thank you for the information. Are these evaluations a presentation or anything for the public to view? Or was this simply the committee and city coming to this conclusion?

Reason I ask is because I am curious what the alternatives were. I know I keep being annoying about it, but I was really hoping to get those funds aimed more toward the individual stops and technology at the shelter level.

Thanks again, and I too, wish the meetings were in the evenings.

[Urban Pioneer]

We asked the consultants and engineers to evaluate what their priorities would be to make the system more reliable, resilient, and prepare us for the future.