Streetcar

[Ross MacLochness]

FYI I believe construction begins today despite the Feb 7 groundbreaking. Happy Streetcar Day, OKC!

Boring photos, but Yaay!:

[shawnw]

Over on a different thread the tearing up of streets three times post P180 was discussed, but it almost seems worse to put in rails without having re-done the streets as it seems like that would cause even more problems in the future...

[Anonymous.]

Bricktown has been overdue on redoing streetscape for a decade now. I would rather the streetcar get implemented now into the crappy streets than delay the streetcar any further.

Plus, the expanded loop in front of Santa Fe will likely be complete by the time Bricktown gets new streets, and the streetcar can circumvent Bricktown entirely during construction and still be relatively close via pedestrian tunnel.

[shawnw]

Valid. Didn't mean to imply at all that it would be better to wait for bricktown streetscape re-doing. Definitely want streetcar sooner rather than later. Was just offering a counter-argument to the complaint of tearing up P180 streets. And strictly for academic conversation, not to start anything.

[gman11695]

Noticed tonight all the construction cones and vehicles are gone on Sheridan. Does anybody know why?

[bradh]

They are already redesigning some of it because surprise they are running in to things that weren't drawn on the plans. The local contractors working could keep it moving but Jacobs wants to redraw plans. Expect to see work pick back up Tuesday

[Spartan]

You probably don't want crews spinning their wheels while changes are pending.

[bradh]

Not what I meant. Sometimes things can be done in the field to move things along and keep workjng, but engineers get paid to draw things so take from that what you will.

[Rover]

Not what I meant. Sometimes things can be done in the field to move things along and keep workjng, but engineers get paid to draw things so take from that what you will.

Engineers don't "draw things". Draftsmen draw things. Engineers solve problems and design things to do that.

[bradh]

Engineers don't "draw things". Draftsmen draw things. Engineers solve problems and design things to do that.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you Mr. Engineer. My opinion of some (not all) engineers is that they do not do enough of what you say they do.

[LakeEffect]

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you Mr. Engineer. My opinion of some (not all) engineers is that they do not do enough of what you say they do.

Yep. As an engineer, I agree.

[Canoe]

Yep. As an engineer, I agree.

Wait, how many engineers do we have on this board?

[Rover]

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you Mr. Engineer. My opinion of some (not all) engineers is that they do not do enough of what you say they do.

Didn't offend me....I'm not an engineer. Just pointing out that if it is going back to engineering it is not just for re-documenting something, it is going that way to fix a problem.

"Engineering is the application of mathematics and scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, innovate, design, build, maintain, research, and improve structures, machines, tools, systems, components, materials, processes, solutions, and organizations."

[bradh]

At this point, I bet they are going back to draw/document what the contractor has already proposed as a working solution for in the field.

[Spartan]

Wait, how many engineers do we have on this board?

Way too goddam many.

[LakeEffect]

Way too goddam many.

[Urban Pioneer]

We have a MAPS 3 Streetcar Oversight Committee meeting today at 3:30 in the new EMBARK Conference room next to Clarity Coffee on West Main Street in the bottom of the new City Art's Parking Garage. This would be the first meeting since before the holidays. It will be an interesting update on the project and some of the issues raised here will probably be addressed.

[Urban Pioneer]

I am in the process of handing off the @okcstreetcar twitter account to the very capable hands of Michael Scroggins at EMBARK. Michael has done a remarkable job rebranding our transit system and I am confident that he will continue to apply those talents to our city's new streetcar system. Before I do though, a few editorial messages. lol

[Urban Pioneer]

https://www.facebook.com/events/237309020012546/

[warreng88]

New line of revenue: Streetcar route development favors independent business owners

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record January 26, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gallup Map & Art Co. owner Pat Carroll has been reshaping the product he’s offering in his Kansas City, Missouri store.

The store has been in downtown since the 1960s. In the late 1980s, Carroll considered moving. The area had changed from having bustling Saturday mornings to being quite empty.

But he heard about the then-developing Power & Light District and that Union Station was going to be renovated. He thought he should stick around for those new projects.

In 2013, Kansas City announced it would build a streetcar line, which opened in May 2016. Carroll’s business is on the route. His foot traffic has increased and he’s even reshaping the store’s product line. He often hears that people saw the store while on the streetcar, and then they return to buy something.

“I’m trying to re-create some products that catch people’s eyes,” he said. “I’m trying to come up with new ideas that are priced for an impulse buy. I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that there are more people seeing my products.”

Oklahoma City businesses along the streetcar route could see the same results, said D.J. Baxter, a streetcar development consultant from Salt Lake City. He said the streetcar will increase walkability, which in return creates higher retail sales. Those purchases are made at smaller, local businesses and restaurants.

“People on foot buy more and more often,” he said Wednesday at the Leadership OKC Alumni Association luncheon.

Baxter said the streetcar will help with redevelopment efforts because people see the lines as permanent. Bus routes can easily change.

“The installation of the tracks in the street emphasizes permanent interest in development in downtown,” he said.

Early indications are that development is 4.5 times more likely along the streetcar line than it would be without the system, said Nicolle Goodman, director of redevelopment programs for the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City. She said development is two times greater up to three blocks away from the line than it would be without the streetcar. She also spoke at the LOKC luncheon.

But the streetcar isn’t the city’s first. The city had a streetcar until the 1940s. The lines were covered or removed as the streets were updated.

Baxter said this generation’s streetcar line development is being fueled by two groups that are moving into downtown: baby boomers and millennials. They want to be in walkable, urban communities.

At the American Institute of Architects-Central Oklahoma’s monthly luncheon, Baxter said that baby boomers want to be near arts, restaurants, and medical centers so they don’t have to drive.

“For the millennials, it’s a vibe,” he said. “There’s a lot of culture to be found around downtown. Their living preferences will drive real estate for as far as we can see.”

Developer Gary Brooks invested in real estate along the streetcar line when he and his partner Charlie Nicholas purchased the First National Center. He said the streetcar and the park are the MAPS 3 projects that he’s excited about the most. He rode the streetcar in Portland all the way to line’s end.

“What I discovered in Portland is it really moves people around,” he said. “It’s an amenity.”

He said he’ll be a vocal proponent for expanding the line because it needs to run from the Wheeler District to Uptown 23rd Street.

“You just can’t have this one little loop here,” he said.

He even made a provocative statement about downtown: The streetcar could be the tipping point to get a grocery store in the area.

But people won’t be buying their groceries in the central business district unless the streetcar does what it’s expected to do. Baxter said a key for the project is to think what the city is trying to accomplish. It shouldn’t be to get people quickly across town.

“What streetcars really do well is to stimulate pedestrian activity,” he said.

In cities nationwide, the routes built between 2001 and 2008, ranging in length from 1.6 to 8 miles, have generated returns on investment starting at 750 percent. In Kansas City, the 2.2-mile route has created a 1,764-percent ROI.

“There’s a cool vibe going on,” Baxter said. “It’s largely because the streetcar had a big impact on that. That’s the primary reason I know of personally.”

[Spartan]

That's the thing. It's not the most efficient means of getting from one end of the line to the other, but it is by far the most human-centric means of transit that exists.

[Urban Pioneer]

http://www.news9.com/story/34438978/...eetcar-project

[Anonymous.]

A lot of people I've talked to have no idea this is happening and are just complaining about the construction. I am rooting so hard for this to be extremely successful. And I think it will.

[David]

Stream of the groundbreaking:

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1OyKAoPnprgJb

[Zuplar]

A lot of people I've talked to have no idea this is happening and are just complaining about the construction. I am rooting so hard for this to be extremely successful. And I think it will.

Pretty much. I haven't talked with anyone, other than on here, that likes it. It's a good thing it was lumped in with MAPS3, cause I imagine had it been it's own agenda it wouldn't have come close to becoming a reality.