Galleria Parking Garage

[BDP]

I did not see much about Portland other than their MAX light rail system that we DIRE-LY need in Seattle (as we have NO mass transit system here).

Really? I thought Campbell Scott was working on that over 10 years ago.

[raneman]

I tried to post some pics of the Galleria construction I took this morning from my office window at the downtown library, but it wouldn't let me because my post count is too low. Will someone be willing to post them if I email you the links?

[Pete]

Here you go raneman!

[Patrick]

Thanks MalibuSooner for taking care of posting those, and thanks raneman for sharing those with us. If you have any other pics to share in the future, feel free to email them to me at Patrick@okctalk.net.

[raneman]

Thanks Patrick, but MalibuSooner already posted them for me. I completely understand the spamming thing.

I posted the pics at the OU message board where Malibu and I are both posters and he was nice enough to post them here since he's a premium member. Thanks MalibuSooner!


edit: sorry, I read through your post too fast. I will send you any future pics.

[HOT ROD]

Really? I thought Campbell Scott was working on that over 10 years ago.

No, we (in Seattle) are just now constructing a (Portland MAX type) light rail system that will run from N Seattle, through downtown in an existing transit tunnel, through S Seattle, then spur over to the airport. Our system will be called Central Link and will be run by SoundTransit.

SoundTransit already has a light rail line (similar to Portland Streetcar) in the city of Tacoma. It (like Portland's) is a downtown circular, named Tacoma LINK, and uses the same rail cars.

Work really did not get going on OUR light rail mass transit here in Seattle until King County Executive, Ron Sims, said "enough, lets just build the damn thing; then the debate stopped and the Central Link construction began (like late last year???). It will complete in 2009 I believe.

But yeah, Portland's extensive MAX light rail has been the envy of Seattle for decades, as well as Portland's Streetcar! Pretty much, that has been the only thing Portland actually beat Seattle out on. Now, downtown Portland is ALSO giving Seattle a good run for its money. I actually enjoy going down there due to their urban renaissance.

I think OKC can benchmark Portland (a similar city in pop and many other ways - even the Daily OK mentioned this in the paper yesterday!!!) for things that make great cities "great."

It all revolves around their transit system - dont get me wrong, Portland does not have the nonstop traffic or population that Seattle does but that could be because they have a very extensive light rail system to the suburbs and a downtown light rail circular, which is what I think OKC should initially develop.

[travis]

I'm glad to see that something is being done to this area, but I really think the city should have extended Main across to Robinson, and Harvey down to Sheridan. I know that there would have been problems extending Main all the way through due to the IRS building, but it could have at least conected to Harvey. This would have helped the traffic flow in the area and would have divided the garage in to smaller plots. This would have opened up more areas to mixed use retail/office/housing. But, the garage should look good, and maybe they can put some retail in on the areas bordering Sheridan and Walker.

[BDP]

No, we (in Seattle) are just now constructing a (Portland MAX type) light rail system that will run from N Seattle, through downtown in an existing transit tunnel, through S Seattle, then spur over to the airport. Our system will be called Central Link and will be run by SoundTransit

I know, I was just kididng. I was trying to make a bad Singles reference.

That sounds nice though. I want to make it out to Seattle sometime soon. When would you say is the best time of year?

[HOT ROD]

I know, I was just kididng. I was trying to make a bad Singles reference.

That sounds nice though. I want to make it out to Seattle sometime soon. When would you say is the best time of year?

RIGHT NOW, if you can!!!

Our weather right now is in the low 80's, so if you are a fan of warm weather and beautiful scenery, the time is NOW to come to the PAC NW.

Our summer generally begins around July 10 and runs until end of Sept. during this time, you can pretty much count on temps in the mid 70s during the day and pretty dry skies. Nights cool into the 50's, nature's air conditioner. The same goes for other cities in our region - Vancouver BC and Portland.

Vancouver tends to be a bit cooler and wetter than Seattle given it is on the ocean while Portland tends to be a bit hotter and drier, given it is further inland than we are. If you arrive and really need the heat (as it usually does not get above 90 here), just cross the Cascade Mountain Range into Eastern Washington for temps that consistently rival those in AZ.

Yeah, if you can the time is now to visit the Pac NW - also known as Cascadia (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon). Its great to come and see our three sides; the big city excitement and multicultural flavour of Vancouver, the ecclectic bustling metropolitan city of Seattle (and Tacoma, our little sister experiencing a downtown renaissance of its own), the blossoming boomtown of urban living known as Portland; and our mountains, ocean, lakes, beaches, and forests (we have rain forests as well, pretty nice).

Interesting trivia about Cascadia,

Vancouver BC has many great beaches, DOWNTOWN. Yes, I said downtown!!! Right next to the many skyscrapers and condo towers that make downtown Vancouver look like Manhattan (Van often subs for NY and SF in the movies) are sandy beaches and an urban park forest; a site to see. They have other great beaches in the city as well, including the famous Wreck beach (clothing optional) and Jerico Beach - offering a panoramic view (horizon to horizon) of the downtown skyscrapers, what a site. Vancouver also has a lot of BIG bridges. Most noteable is the Lion's Gate, very similar in construction and orientation to downtown as SF Golden Gate and in the East Metro the SkyTrain ARL Metro (Vancouver's automated subway and aerial metro) has its OWN Dual Cable-Tower bridge (absolutely beautiful!! especially at night when lit up) as are the many vehicle bridges in Metro Vancouver as they are all tastefully illuminated at night.

We have a beach in Seattle; known as Alki in West Seattle. There you can find great views of downtown Seattle and the Puget Sound, though no highrises like in Vancouver. Definitely has a Cali beach feel. Another hot view of Seattle and Mount Rainier can be found on Queen Anne hill/neighbourhood at Kerry Park (most postcards you see of Seattle are taken from there), what a treat. Tacoma has the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which is being Twinned right now, what a dumb idea) and the Point Defiance park and Ruston Way waterfront, due north of downtown. Point Defiance is very similar to Stanley Park in Vancouver but it is a ways from downtown Tacoma and is quite a bit less urban. It has a five mile drive through the rain forest that offers spectacular views across the Puget Sound and of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Portland has some great spots as well. Although I am not as familiar with their city, I do know some great views can be had of downtown and Mount Hood from the hills to the South of downtown. Also the riverfront of Portland, on the Williamette River, there is a great urban park that hosts their annual Rose Festival and carnival. The river makes Portland appear to be a coastal city as it is pretty wide (almost as wide as Elliot Bay-Puget Sound in Seattle), making for very dramatic views.

I for one, am not a fan of the heat but I do love how beautiful it is here in the PAC NW when it stops raining. We have arguably the best scenery anywhere in the world and now is truly the best time to come up (unless you are a rain fan - which coming from Oklahoma, I assume you are not).

I apologize for such a long post, esp given this is the Galleria Thread. Ooops. Maybe Patrick could move it over to a Vacation/Tourism thread???

Take care BDP and welcome if you can make it.

[brianinok]

From OKC Business:

OKC Town Center and the Edward L. Gaylord Downtown YMCA plans to renovate the parking garage at 1 N.W. 5th Street, which has been vacant for more than a decade, adding 500 parking spaces to downtown.

The renovation of the first two floors of the Fifth Street Parking Garage will be completed in August, allowing YMCA members and staff ample first-floor parking while the second-floor spaces will be available as rental spaces for $65 per month through OKC Town Center. The remaining three levels of the garage will be completed as demand grows in the area, over the next year.

Officials said membership to the YMCA has grown significantly over the past several years and their parking needs have increased.