Public Transit tops list for MAPS 3!!!!!

[metro]

Public transit tops Maps 3
survey By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer

People want MAPS 3, and they want it to include public transit programs like light rail, city leaders said this morning.
Mayor Mick Cornett unveiled early results of an online survey asking people if the city should pursue a third MAPS initiative and for their ideas.

More than 85 percent of the 2,367 people who responded said the city should consider MAPS 3. Many of the 2,026 people who wanted MAPS 3 also submitted ideas, and some gave multiple ideas.

A total of 2,747 ideas were submitted, city officials said. The Web site drew visitors from all 50 states and 57 countries.

The most popular idea by far was public transportation improvements such as a light rail system, downtown streetcars or enhanced bus service. Transit ideas were submitted 668 times. The next most popular idea was improving infrastructure, including streets, which was mentioned 188 times.

Cornett said he was overwhelmed by the support for public transit.

"I knew it would be very popular, but the fact that it exceeded the other ideas by such a large margin is probably a surprise,” Cornett said. "It probably shouldn't have been. We need to do a better job of providing that.”

Cornett said city officials will spend the next several months discussing the ideas but will focus mainly on school and city bond issues scheduled for a vote later this year.

"In 2008, we will kind of reopen the discussion and try to push for a decision on do we want to have a MAPS 3 and what should it look like,” Cornett said.

[diesel]

Where is the rest of the results?!!?

[Misty]

This is great, I have to say I'm surprised but very excited! This city is really headed in the right direction.

[jbrown84]

I'm actually a little bit surprised how popular it was too.

Guess the people of OKC got bit by the Big League bug.

[Tim]

I'm actually a little bit surprised how popular it was too.

Guess the people of OKC got bit by the Big League bug.

I am soooooo diggin this!

[metro]

I don't think it has anything to do with the Hornets, big league, etc. I think most people knew we needed public transportation for a long time and city leaders never cared enough in the past to do a QUALITY survey of public opinion. I know good old boy Earnest Istook (whom by the way was Transportation Committee chair at the national level) did his own biased survey and proved OKC didn't need it while somehow he approved Salt Lake City's mass transit system. But I think most citizens of OKC have been wanting it for some time now and this was the first real chance they could voice their opinions.

[BaconCheeseburgerDeluxe]

I am for it a better public transportation system we just as long as we eliminate COTPA. They are the reason are current system is so crappy.

[BDP]

Public tansit is also becoming one of those things that a city needs to compete. It's harder to say if a comprehensive public transit system will generate its own development and growth as the competitive advantage of having such a system decreases. More and more it is becoming an issue of whether not having it stunts a city's growth. It's kind of getting to the point where people might say "such-and-such city is a nice town, but, you know, it doesn't even have mass transit". The reality is that, the longer we wait, the more upside we lose and the more the downside of inaction grows, imo.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Case in Point:

I am looking at diferent firms around the country where I can serve my internship when I graduate. I was looking at Seattle, but upon further research, I learned that public transport there, namly light-rail, is seriously lacking. This was a definite negative and will play a part in my eventual decision.

[soonerguru]

Great point, BDP. This city has to position itself for the future. It needs differentiators. We should be beyond the Little Rocks and Omahas of the world. We need to build the infrastructure for a major city as we grow, not when it's too late.

So many of OKC's problems could have been avoided by simple planning. The word "planning" itself was a fighting word in this town as recently as ten years. Remember what happened to Garner Stoll?

We have a rare window of opportunity to remake this city in a way that will position itself among the nation's best. The MAPS brand is a winner with the public, and every penny that's gone into it has multiplied.

We need to build a vibrant city people want to move to and live in. A great public transit system is a vital piece of the picture.

Remember: transit systems by themselves encourage new development. Look what happened to Dallas when DART went online! Now, every community in Dallas wants a DART line. But when DART was proposed the usual chorus of naysayers said it would never work. It has been an astonishing success.

But WE CAN DO BETTER than DART. Not everything this city does needs to follow big brother Dallas's model.

Oklahoma City is in the midst of reinventing itself. Transit is a major piece of that image makeover. It needs to happen!

[Patrick]

The first thing we should've done was preserve the rail yard at Union Station. But, that's not going to happen.

[Easy180]

Ogle said he was against it on his "My Two Cents" last night...Concerns were who pays for the light rail later on when the trains are running with about 10 people on it

Agree with him on that and also how easy it is to get around OKC in our cars...Will be a tough switch for us car lovers

Good idea, but it has the real possibility of crashing and burning and costing OKC citizen's more money down the road

[Luke]

I imagine if light rail lines were located with stops at the right places it will be successful here. I would love to be able to get around on rail rather than a car everywhere. Even if I have to drive somewhere to park and then get around from there. That would be great.

[soonerguru]

Ogle said he was against it on his "My Two Cents" last night

Wow! Like, who cares? Kelly Ogle is a dundering idiot. His synapses fire s-l-o-w-l-y.

[okcpulse]

Patrick is right. We put up a barrier for ourselves after allowing the Union Station's rail access to be demolished, and that means that city leaders will now need to get creative with light rail. It will no doubt involve a different planning process and problably more expense.

Nonetheless, it is very exciting to see MAPS 3 is actually going to happen, and with popularity, as well. All 50 states and 57 countries? Welcome to the real Sim City of America.

[SpectralMourning]

Ogle said he was against it on his "My Two Cents" last night...Concerns were who pays for the light rail later on when the trains are running with about 10 people on it

Agree with him on that and also how easy it is to get around OKC in our cars...Will be a tough switch for us car lovers

Good idea, but it has the real possibility of crashing and burning and costing OKC citizen's more money down the road

'Glad to see Kelly Ogle's concerned with the preservation of infrastructure. Besides, I bet we'll sustain more than 10 people per train will be aboard, and if it does by the time it should ever really hit that point, shouldn't we be further along as a city that we can still support it?

I love it how people thought it would be a great idea to throw in the opinions of news anchors. MTV Syndrome I guess. They're a music television network that no longer plays music...

[jbrown84]

Kelly's opinion is fine and certainly not "idiotic", but I disagree with him.

[soonerliberal]

While I think the creation of a light-rail system in OKC has some great potential, Ogle makes a good point. Our downtown isn't a centralized business district like many cities. I-35 is crowded going southbound in Moore during the morning rushhour. FAA and Tinker are major employers, not to mention the NW expressway and Memorial districts. It is easy to drive from Norman to Downtown OKC or Edmond to Downtown OKC in less than 30 minutes, even during rushhour. Is the demand there for lightrail? Would people first drive to a station, then wait, then ride into work? Is OKC too spread out to have a reasonable number of stops? I definitely see the purpose of having a system, but would the rest of the city utilize a half-a-billion dollar investment?

[jbrown84]

It's not just about drive time. Right now I live in Edmond but go downtown or to the Paseo or Western a lot. If I could do it on light rail for 2 bucks instead of paying for the gas I would.

[BDP]

Sounds like Ogle's comments are of the stock "can't work in Oklahoma City" variety. Thankfully, those people are decreasing in number. We'll have to see if Okies will ride the train or not and if we don't support it, it will be a money loser. But I also think think that not having mass transit will be a money loser in the long run for Oklahoma City.

Basically, we can make the choice. Do we want to live in Ogle's Oklahoma City forever or do we want to plan and build for a more vibrant and economically diversified Oklahoma City in the future? Any investment has risks, but the worst thing that happens with this one is that we improve our infrastructure and quality of life.

And if it is phased in over the next 30 years as I believe it has been proposed, then Ogle's view may be largely irrelevant. The truth of the matter is that if we don't NEED public transit in 30 years, then Oklahoma City will have proven to be a bust. I think those that believe that beginning to implement better public transit today is prudent hold the belief that Oklahoma City can and will grow into a vibrant city with a healthy economy and a strong core. The Ogle position is largely justified only if you believe Oklahoma City's growth will be stagnant for the next 30 years, not to mention one also has to assume that the cost of owning and driving a car will remain affordable for everyone over that time as well.

[CCOKC]

Don't forget finding and paying for parking. Especially downtown.

[jbrown84]

Very good points, BDP and CCOKC.

[Easy180]

So I guess there are no potential downsides to spending millions on light rail?

Didn't say I was against it, but there is a chance it won't take off here since OKC is so easy to get around in...Unlike Dallas

And no I don't think OKC will suddenly start to see significant growth in population...Will likely continue to be slow and steady...Just not a lot of people waiting on the sidelines to relocate here

[Kerry]

Ogle said he was against it on his "My Two Cents" last night...Concerns were who pays for the light rail later on when the trains are running with about 10 people on it

This is what I call living the lie. It is one thing to disagree with something when your argument has a relationship to reality - but this comment just doesn't make sense on any level. Every rail system, except Amtrak, in America has exceeded ridership expectations.

I have been working in Atlanta for the last 4 months and ride MARTA from the Perimeter Station to the Airport ever week. The trip cost me $1.75 each way plus $12 to park for the weekend. The trip takes about 50 minutes. I can drive the same distance in less time but it really isn't about time for me. In fact, it isn't even about saving money on gas or keeping miles off of the car. If by taking the train every time I can avoid being in just one accident then it is worth to me. Even a minor accident can cause thousand in damages plus higher insurance rates. For me the train is just one way of reducing risk. In the past 4 months I have yet to experience a single case of rail rage but there is story after story on the news about people killed in road rage incidents.


I know some of you are thinking the Atlanta is much bigger than OKC. You are right. But the MARTA system is 30 years old. When it was started ATL was about the same size OKC is now. Unfortunately MARTA didn't keep pace with the cities growth. However a recent news story said that Lindburg Station between Buckhead and downtown averages over 30,000 rider boardings a day. Not bad for a town that is also accused of being in-love with their cars.

[soonerliberal]

This is what I call living the lie. It is one thing to disagree with something when your argurment has a relationship to reality - but this comment just doesn't make sense on any level. Every rail system, except Amtrak, in America has exceeded ridership expectations.

However, in pretty much every place it has done, there has been the demand. OKC is much less dense and is very simple and quick to get around by car and parking is more easy to find than in most urban areas.

We aren't saying light rail is a bad idea. We are saying and Ogle is saying we have to take everything into consideration rather than rushing into a multi-hundred million dollar project. I personally love the thought of having a light rail system, especially in the inner city areas, but do wonder if it would be largely used to commute on.