Friends for a Better Boulevard

[Just the facts]

You might want to add green for the depressed part under the tracks. As proposed the 'boulevard' will have 3 blocks of at-grade road surface. On the north side of those 3 blocks in the new convention center. On the south side of those 3 blocks is Central Park. Not exactly a lot of room for anything else.

[Snowman]

As to Thunder traffic being a priority, oh ferdaluvofmickneric already! It's a city of hundreds of thousands who need good access 365 days a year, not 40 odd evenings for 30 minutes or so. It's too silly a suggestion to be treated seriously by the council, or even team ownership for that matter, and it ought to be dismissed outright as a mistake and nothing more.

Thunder traffic is a red herring, the vast majority coming from the west and parking downtown would probably getting off at Shields/EKG as it has much less city street driving between it and the parking garages, sure some may take it to avoid the main traffic in and out of the city. The boulevard provides easier access to the west side of town for those coming from the west and east side access for those coming from the east but a nicer city street is not going to get people to take three times as much city street distance (or couple miles of slower quazi-interstate with just as much city street distance) verses the closest exit most of the time though.

[Just the facts]

Man, the engineers and ODOT just keep spreading the BS around. Relieve traffic before and after Thunder games? Really? By making people walk from the arena to Bricktown and the drive back by the arena where other people are still leaving. I knew they thought we (the little people) were stupid, but surely they can't think we are THAT stupid. Can they?

The elevated road is a solution in search of a problem.

[kevinpate]

... The elevated road is a solution in search of a problem.

Assuming the 2002 Record of Decision statement (as quoted from a EW email in a recent post) is accurate, and I've no reason to think otherwise, the the elevated roadway isn't a solution in search of a problem. It is a once simple, but ill-advised, solution that while perhaps once seen as cost-effective is now even more ill-advised. There is now a revitalized interest in the growth of inner OKC after decades of inner city division and neglect. So much has changed since the 90's and even since the 2002 Record fo Decision that to not reexamine prior thoughts in like of the remarkable growth and investment is akin to forfeiting investment and growth opportunities in the western core of DT before even trying.

While it was never a fab idea, it was a make-do and probably less expensive idea to try and reuse whatever could be reused. However, that OKC is not the OKC of today, and decisions in 2012 should not proceed as though it is still 2002.

[Fantastic]

I knew they thought we (the little people) were stupid, but surely they can't think we are THAT stupid. Can they?

Yes

[dankrutka]

What's the consensus on how the meeting went?

[Spartan]

I felt it went well. The city made the decision to hire a consultant to evaluate alternatives. I was alarmed by Couch's remark that the consultant be yet another traffic engineer, so after that we had an opportunity to stress that we need more diverse perspectives than just a consensus of every traffic engineer west of the Mississippi. I kinda bungled my comment into a joke that we have enough traffic engineers present, but Bob Kemper was very on-target in stressing it needed to be someone with experience designing enhanced boulevards with complete streetscape programming.

Pat Ryan and Skip Kelly were visibly perturbed that we lowly citizens would dare want to be involved and accused us of jumping to conclusions, but Ed Shadid was brilliant, Gary Marrs was even fairly receptive to what we were saying (which is saying a lot), and to be fair to Pat he did lay out the parameters that both sides will need to compromise. I would almost just chalk Pat and Skip's comments up to them not being used to having a huge snafu like this every week. Our turnout was impressive, and the media were all over us.

[Pete]

Awesome job guys!

That's citizen activism at it's finest.

[dankrutka]

Great job to everyone who went! This could be a great win for OKC, and really say something about the kind of city we want going forward.

[Pete]

It also demonstrates how badly we need intervention when it comes to the Couch/Wenger block.

I've become very, very uncomfortable with both of them as there have now been multiple times where they have emphatically stated things as fact which turned out to be not-so-subtle manipulations of the truth.

[Spartan]

I should be on KOCO, too. I think Jeff may be also. I'll be bouncing back and forth between channel 5 and 9 to see the whole picture of coverage, but I'll bet it's pretty favorable toward a better boulevard. I can only imagine what kind of car-jacking or multi-homicides we'll be wedged in between... lol

[Just the facts]

...and to be fair to Pat he did lay out the parameters that both sides will need to compromise.

What does 'compromise' even mean in this situtation? An elevated traffic circle?

[Bellaboo]

What does 'compromise' even mean in this situtation? An elevated traffic circle?

Yes, then us little people can walk underneath.....

[Spartan]

What does 'compromise' even mean in this situtation? An elevated traffic circle?

Yeah, there were than a few chuckles when that one was presented...

[catch22]

Yes I couldn't help but chuckle when they pulled that one up. I think everyone in the room (in the audience anyway) was on the same page. One of the councilmen acknowledged at one point the collective nodding of heads from the audience, which there definitely was for the better part of the meeting.

[sroberts24]

Great job to everybody who attended and even more props to the ones who spoke... thank you for letting our voice be heard!

[LocoAko]

Does anyone have an estimate of how many people showed up to the meeting from the public?

[Just the facts]

I mean, it's not like one wants chocolate and the other want peanut butter and the compromise is delicious.

[Spartan]

Make that News9..

[Tier2City]

When will they publish Eric Wenger's presentation?

[G.Walker]

Saw Nick Roberts on KOCO, lol...good job Nick, well spoken...

[Larry OKC]

Did the Council tell ODOT/direct Couch or Wenger to tell ODOT to STOP...or at least a rolling stop???

[SouthwestAviator]

I felt it went well. The city made the decision to hire a consultant to evaluate alternatives. I was alarmed by Couch's remark that the consultant be yet another traffic engineer, so after that we had an opportunity to stress that we need more diverse perspectives than just a consensus of every traffic engineer west of the Mississippi. I kinda bungled my comment into a joke that we have enough traffic engineers present, but Bob Kemper was very on-target in stressing it needed to be someone with experience designing enhanced boulevards with complete streetscape
Pat Ryan and Skip Kelly were visibly perturbed that we lowly citizens would dare want to be involved and accused us of jumping to conclusions, but Ed Shadid was brilliant, Gary Marrs was even fairly receptive to what we were saying (which is saying a lot), and to be fair to Pat he did lay out the parameters that both sides will need to compromise. I would almost just chalk Pat and Skip's comments up to them not being used to having a huge snafu like this every week. Our turnout was impressive, and the media were all over us.

Ditto Spartan...can I say that?

The turn out was good and I want to thank everyone who came and to those who spoke on our vision for the boulevard. We had a coversation today that could not have happened just one month ago. As far as a compromise, the only compromise its wether the Boulevard will be elevated or not. Going grade level, is the compromise. What ever the outcome, we will have a much better boulevard as a result of your interest, efforts, ideas and conversation. Thanks again to all.

One more thing: please show up for our "Town Hall", "Highway to Boulevard","Expo and Symposium" August 13th. We will have a complete program of which details will be posted as soon as they are confirmed and in place.

[Questor]

http://www.news9.com/story/19162449/...levard-project

[SouthwestAviator]

ODOT will continue with the I-40 connectivety on the east and west, but for all ntents and puposes, they are hands off on the elevated and the Dowtown core section...for the time..until OKC makes a study of alternatives. It was not a "stop" order but more of an understanding. I could be wrong but that was my take-a-way.