OKC's shelving of quiet zone plan has some in downtown making noise

[UnFrSaKn]

Aren't we trying to be a more progressive, growing city? The people who choose to do business here have to deal with this kind of thing. Do they want to run people off?

OKC's shelving of quiet zone plan has some in downtown making noise

Downtown residents and business owners are challenging claims by Oklahoma City officials that the creation of a railway quiet zone along Automobile Alley is not urgently needed.

BY STEVE LACKMEYER slackmeyer@opubco.com
Published: December 29, 2011

Downtown residents and business owners are challenging claims by city officials that creation of a railway quiet zone along Automobile Alley is not urgently needed...

[Tier2City]

Why worry about nurturing our three best downtown neighborhoods? Onto Core to Shore!

Oklahoma City - where even the densification sprawls!

[Skyline]

Who is the person that is actually responsible for this decision?

The article only states Okc officials, that is a little vague. Last month the article that referenced the Bomasada Group pulling their development was tied to Okc City official Brent Bryant.

[MDot]

Why worry about nurturing our three best downtown neighborhoods? Onto Core to Shore!

Oklahoma City - where even the densification sprawls!

LOL, so true.

[BDP]

What I think is funny is that the city seems to kind of be acting like "well, no one is complaining, so why do anything about it." However, I think many have not been very vocal up to this point because everyone thought the city WAS working on this. Instead, they're too busy screwing up Project 180 to find a little money for a project that would probably give us the best and quickest return on investment of anything currently on the table. Until this is fixed, we're kind of "polishing a turd", if you'll excuse the expression. Point is, no one is going to dump a bunch of money into an area where you need ear plugs if you hang around too long.

[Skyline]

Whoever finalized this decision, I would like to go and run freight trains through their front yard and then ask,... how they feel about implementing a quiet zone? haha.

[rcjunkie]

Whoever finalized this decision, I would like to go and run freight trains through their front yard and then ask,... how they feel about implementing a quiet zone? haha.

The big difference is that the train tracks were there first. It's like buying a new house near the airport and complaining about planes flying over it.

[Snowman]

The big difference is that the train tracks were there first. It's like buying a new house near the airport and complaining about planes flying over it.

Except that unlike planes the loudest noises are something that can be changed relatively easily by well known means and had been planed/promised to be implemented by this time already.

[rcjunkie]

Except that unlike planes the loudest noises are something that can be changed relatively easily by well known means and had been planed/promised to be implemented by this time already.

I wonder how many times a car as been hit by a plane while traveling down a City Street ?

[Popsy]

Seems to me this situation has an easy and relatively inexpensive way to achieve the desired out come. Simply dead end the streets on each side of the tracks. Aren't there at least three underpasses in the area referenced that could be used. I thought, from what I read in this forum, that people were moving into this area to avoid the use of a car. Quiet Zone is still far from what it will be as a train still makes a significant amount of noise even if the whistle is silenced. Perhaps a Whistle Free Zone would more accurately describe what was proposed. The downside to implementing the dead end streets would be that it would give our resident habitual complainers one less thing to gripe about our city government. Can't have that, can we?

[Urban Pioneer]

Who is the person that is actually responsible for this decision?

The article only states Okc officials, that is a little vague. Last month the article that referenced the Bomasada Group pulling their development was tied to Okc City official Brent Bryant.

I guess the thing that upsets me the most about this, is that it sounds as though the letter telling the developer that the city would indeed implement the quiet zone sat on someone's desk awaiting final approval. I wish that Mr. Bryant would have proactively picked up the phone and told the developer of their intent but was awaiting that formal final approval.

To me, reading between the lines, it seems as though this lost project was caused by bad timing during the transition of Cathy O'Connor to Urban Renewal and general staff shortages of time to give it the attention it needed. I think it was a big case of bad timing.

I do think that a simple phone call or informal email to the developer might have saved it though. Despite Urban Neighbors direct requests for a timing update on this, it is my understanding that there were no proactive attempts by city staff to update anyone as to the tentative approval or general timing of any of this earlier as well.

It is an unfortunate loss. Hopefully though, the desire for the quiet zone has permeated a bit as a result of all the attention it has been given in the paper. Perhaps also, it will help "stagger" housing development leasing as LEVEL and The Edge come online with the site of issue coming online a little later.

[Spartan]

Who is the person that is actually responsible for this decision?

The article only states Okc officials, that is a little vague. Last month the article that referenced the Bomasada Group pulling their development was tied to Okc City official Brent Bryant.

Well ultimately all of these things, including this, including how P180 was screwed up, and many other screw ups, fall on Couch. He is supposed to be running the show.

[Spartan]

Seems to me this situation has an easy and relatively inexpensive way to achieve the desired out come. Simply dead end the streets on each side of the tracks. Aren't there at least three underpasses in the area referenced that could be used. I thought, from what I read in this forum, that people were moving into this area to avoid the use of a car. Quiet Zone is still far from what it will be as a train still makes a significant amount of noise even if the whistle is silenced. Perhaps a Whistle Free Zone would more accurately describe what was proposed. The downside to implementing the dead end streets would be that it would give our resident habitual complainers one less thing to gripe about our city government. Can't have that, can we?

Dead-end 10th Street? 13th?

Do you even know anything about downtown, or OKC for that matter??

[Steve]

Spartan, there are several rarely used street crossings along the route that were proposed for dead-ends. Obviously, as you said, such is not an option for 10th, 13th or 9th... not sure about 8th...