Streetcar

[Pete]

03/19/2018

Public invited to MAPS 3 Oklahoma City Streetcar open house March 30

Be among the first people to get a glimpse at transit’s future in Oklahoma City at the MAPS 3 OKC Streetcar open house on March 30.

The first 300 people get a free streetcar t-shirt at the event, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, March 30 at the OKC Streetcar Storage and Maintenance Facility, SW 7th Street and Hudson Avenue.

Attendees will be able to board the streetcar to get a first-hand look at what it will be like when OKC Streetcar service begins late this year. The streetcar will be stationary at the event, accessible by a temporary ADA platform. A taco truck will be on site.

“There’s been a lot of excitement from people looking forward to the streetcar, so we wanted to provide an opportunity to see a streetcar up close,” said MAPS 3 Program Manager David Todd. “You’ll be able to get a feel for what it’s like inside, sit on the seats and be among the first people in generations to be inside an Oklahoma City streetcar.”

The first three of seven modern streetcars for the streetcar system have been delivered, and testing is under way. The track lines are under construction.

The final four streetcars will be delivered one at a time about every three weeks. They’re delivered by truck from Pennsylvania, where they’re built by Brookville Equipment Corporation.

EMBARK will operate the OKC Streetcar as part of the City’s public transit system.

About the OKC Streetcar system

The streetcar will have two route options: the 2-mile B-Line serving the Bricktown loop, and the 4.8-mile D-Line serving downtown, Bricktown and other districts in the urban core. Click here for a map.

The OKC Streetcar will serve 22 stops with five streetcars, which ride on rails flush with the street. The streetcars use overhead wires for electric power on part of the route, and batteries for the rest.

Each streetcar can carry 104 passengers, and each stop will be served every 12-15 minutes.

The D-Line – the downtown mainline – will begin service at 6 a.m. Monday to Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday. Service ends at midnight Monday to Thursday, extending to 2 a.m. on Friday night (Saturday morning) and Saturday night (Sunday morning).

The B-Line – the Bricktown loop – is served 7 a.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday, and 7 a.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, and will be activated for other special events.

The streetcar system is expected to be operational on Sundays when there are large special events along the route to generate trips.

The streetcar will use City streets in the same way as other vehicles, obeying traffic signals and other rules of the road. EMBARK is developing a safety campaign to educate drivers, pedestrians and cyclists how to safely interact with the streetcar once rail service begins.

Each OKC Streetcar stop is ADA-accessible for easy, level boarding with signage, real-time arrival information, covered shelters and a ticket vending machine.

The project budget is $131 million and includes the storage and maintenance facility, completed last year.

Herzog-Stacey and Witbeck is building the rail line. Consultants include ADG, Jacobs Engineering, AECOM and SOJ. EMBARK contracted Herzog Transit Services to manage OKC Streetcar’s day-to-day operations.

[warreng88]

I asked this on Steve's chat last week and never heard anything, so I am going to post it here as well. Does anyone know why in some areas the streetcar is in the middle of the street as opposed to outside lane for stops? Is it a utilities issue? Future traffic movement issue?

[kevin lee]

Warreng- I'm no engineer but I did go to college lol. If I were to guess I would say it might have something to do with the turns. If your making left hand turns it's obvious. If your making tight right hand turns your going to need swing space. Instead of waiting until the last few feet to cut it back into the middle lane, you just start it from that point and let it run. Keeping the track straight as possible is key you don't want it to derail. So basically the street curbs already in place is more than likely the deciding reason.

[Urban Pioneer]

I asked this on Steve's chat last week and never heard anything, so I am going to post it here as well. Does anyone know why in some areas the streetcar is in the middle of the street as opposed to outside lane for stops? Is it a utilities issue? Future traffic movement issue?

It's both and depends on where you are referring? Where are you referring?

[Urban Pioneer]

I am thinking more about this. We are in the far right-hand lane nearly everywhere but in the middle where we are accommodating parking along the curb. So Automobile Alley is just to the left of the parking lane. I think everywhere else we are in the far right. The OKC Boulevard is isolated in its own ROW.

[Urbanized]

In Bricktown on Sheridan it is shifted left to accomodate curbside parking. On Sheridan in front of Devon it is inexplicably in the middle, away from the curb.

[catch22]

In Bricktown on Sheridan it is shifted left to accomodate curbside parking. On Sheridan in front of Devon it is inexplicably in the middle, away from the curb.

IIRC, that was to accommodate future festival staging and parking for food trucks for events.

[Urbanized]

Ahhh...makes sense!

[HOT ROD]

can anyone (urban pioneer ) please take some updated pics/film of the streets with the rails and catenary installed (and u/c)?

very much appreciated by us, expats, who can't come see the changes.

[LocoAko]

https://twitter.com/OKCStreetcar/sta...38141743910913

[LocoAko]

Tons of pictures from the Open House event earlier today.

https://twitter.com/jilldelozier/sta...52505759412224





https://twitter.com/OKCStreetcar/sta...18713657565184







https://twitter.com/DowntownOKC/stat...63602277261316

[David]

There was a pretty hefty number of people there. Couldn't say how many, other than the 300 t-shirts being long gone when I got there at about 11:30.

[catch22]

The mayor said around 500 people attended. I think that's very good turnout for a weekday event. Seems like people are getting more excited about it.

[kevin lee]

Has the green streetcar arrived yet?

[hoya]

Someone may have already mentioned this, but is it possible to get an app where you could buy tickets, see the route, and see when the next streetcar is arriving at your stop? That would be pretty cool.

[dankrutka]

Someone may have already mentioned this, but is it possible to get an app where you could buy tickets, see the route, and see when the next streetcar is arriving at your stop? That would be pretty cool.

Definitely needed. I only use the GoPass app to travel on the A-Train/DART/TRE in DFW. It makes it so easy.

[soonerguru]

The mayor said around 500 people attended. I think that's very good turnout for a weekday event. Seems like people are getting more excited about it.

I'm not sure which count is more accurate, but the Oklahoman reported 700. The photos were amazing. I'm genuinely impressed to see that kind of interest from people in the middle of a work day.

Also, it is just super exciting to see the catenary wires in Bricktown and the track going in the ground in Automobile Alley. It is going to be such a major transformation for this city, aesthetically and functionally. It just makes it look like such a bigger city.

[workman45]

The wife and I had a great time touring the streetcars, checking out the maintenance facility and UP station. It's definitely been a long time getting here but it's almost a reality.
I would guess at 600 for the turnout.

[shawnw]

can anyone (urban pioneer ) please take some updated pics/film of the streets with the rails and catenary installed (and u/c)?

very much appreciated by us, expats, who can't come see the changes.

Sheridan and Mickey Mantle
IMG_20180331_184849709_HDR.jpg
IMG_20180331_184903260.jpg

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
Directly in front of my office. I'm expecting to use the streetcar a ton.

[Zuplar]

Had a buddy in town last week. He lives in Denver, but lived in OKC for a little over a year while training at FAA. He was really impressed how far downtown has come since he lived here 5 years ago. First comment he made about the streetcar was the nasty overhead lines. I told him I totally agreed it really brings down the overall aesthetics of the area, but it's what we have to deal with now. He had also never been to the Memorial so I made sure he went and had to the whole tour and got a history lesson.

[Anonymous.]

The streetcar tour day was really awesome. I hope they will have more so others can come check it out. Preferably on a weekend.

The interiors of the cars are impressive. Very modern and efficient. I am excited and impressed to see how many others were excited about this.

[Urbanized]

Had a buddy in town last week. He lives in Denver, but lived in OKC for a little over a year while training at FAA. He was really impressed how far downtown has come since he lived here 5 years ago. First comment he made about the streetcar was the nasty overhead lines. I told him I totally agreed it really brings down the overall aesthetics of the area, but it's what we have to deal with now. He had also never been to the Memorial so I made sure he went and had to the whole tour and got a history lesson.

How is it more jarring than the OCS in downtown Denver? It's pretty much identical. Man, I am MUCH more troubled by telephone poles/wires. I don't think the OCS adds that much visual clutter; and actually feels like it communicates a city vibe we didn't have before. OCS is standard all over the country and in fact all over the world.

[Sooner.Arch]

Had a buddy in town last week. He lives in Denver, but lived in OKC for a little over a year while training at FAA. He was really impressed how far downtown has come since he lived here 5 years ago. First comment he made about the streetcar was the nasty overhead lines. I told him I totally agreed it really brings down the overall aesthetics of the area, but it's what we have to deal with now. He had also never been to the Memorial so I made sure he went and had to the whole tour and got a history lesson.

Does he know that downtown Denver also uses the overhead lines... lol

[Zuplar]

How is it more jarring than the OCS in downtown Denver? It's pretty much identical. Man, I am MUCH more troubled by telephone poles/wires. I don't think the OCS adds that much visual clutter; and actually feels like it communicates a city vibe we didn't have before. OCS is standard all over the country and in fact all over the world.

I agree I hate overhead power and telephone lines just as much.