Tomorrow I will be giving a speech to the Coronado Heights Neighborhood Association at 6:30 about the streetcar system and MAPS. If any of you are active in that neighborhood association, feel free to come by and say hi. It is at Grace United Methodist.

Are you sure it wasn't Robinson and 9th? There are no tracks/wire at Hudson/9th, but I believe there's a big tree on Robinson by the brick building on the SWC of 9/Robinson.
Yes, correct, I was thinking Hudson, good catch on that one.

I suspect that the Hudson and 4th instersection's triangle is smaller due to their attempt to create space for the bike lane that is supposed to be reintroduced along 4th.
I walked by here again this morning and the pedestrian Island is built in the exact spot the bike lanes should go so I wonder how it will ultimately interact with the protected bike lane that is supposed to go through here.

We were recently in Little Rock, AR. A really cool little city, by the way! Anyway, their downtown is nice, with what appears to be a lot of redevelopment of historic areas, similar perhaps to our Midtown. They have a streetcar line, but use the old-style cars rather than what we are about to have.

When we went to their Museum of Art, the people working the front entrance told us there had been a lot of controversy about what types of cars to use. They said that really, it wasn't the locals using the streetcars, but just tourist-types. We told them that we're hoping our "modern" streetcars will attract locals and tourists alike. Anyway, it was interesting to be interactive with streetcars and car traffic. My little girl (11 years) was quite intrigued with it, and said this was great "practice" for our upcoming line!

lines :)

lines :)

Lines indeed!

Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool to see this on the streets now:

https://twitter.com/UrbanizedOkie/status/1027330679707713536

Looks amazing. Totally upgrades the city, I don't care what the haters have to say about it.


Speaking of hate on this, I will say I think the safety/teaching program with the cartoon monsters is a little too cheesy for my taste, but I'll take it.

Looks amazing. Totally upgrades the city, I don't care what the haters have to say about it.


Speaking of hate on this, I will say I think the safety/teaching program with the cartoon monsters is a little too cheesy for my taste, but I'll take it.

I think it’s an “off the shelf” solution. I think they use these same characters in denver for the light rail and commuter rail.

Last week I drove downtown for the first time in months. Now I haven't been a fan of this project, but I absolutely would like to be proven wrong on this, especially since it's my tax dollars. That being said something I found disappointing is how the road looks where it is now completed. The tracks are laid in concrete, but it looks completely tacky to me where they used the asphalt to finish the rest of the lanes out. I'm a pretty anal person, so it may not bother some, but I feel like our roads downtown all look really, really bad where this track is laid now. I just hate seeing that because I feel like we've been making real progress to having new, better streets, and then here we got tearing them up to retro fit for the street car. I wish they'd have built in the money to repave the entire road when doing this or at least add on overlay so it all looked uniformed. IMO it just makes it look like we half-assed it, and if we are going to do it, regardless of my feelings on it, I'd like us to full-ass it.

Last week I drove downtown for the first time in months. Now I haven't been a fan of this project, but I absolutely would like to be proven wrong on this, especially since it's my tax dollars. That being said something I found disappointing is how the road looks where it is now completed. The tracks are laid in concrete, but it looks completely tacky to me where they used the asphalt to finish the rest of the lanes out. I'm a pretty anal person, so it may not bother some, but I feel like our roads downtown all look really, really bad where this track is laid now. I just hate seeing that because I feel like we've been making real progress to having new, better streets, and then here we got tearing them up to retro fit for the street car. I wish they'd have built in the money to repave the entire road when doing this or at least add on overlay so it all looked uniformed. IMO it just makes it look like we half-assed it, and if we are going to do it, regardless of my feelings on it, I'd like us to full-ass it.

The rail has to be cased in concrete because asphalt is not sturdy enough to distribute the weight without rails sinking or sagging in places. The cost to upgrade every street the streetcar touches to concrete would have added probably 20-30 million to the project, and is well beyond the scope of what was sold to voters.

The rail has to be cased in concrete because asphalt is not sturdy enough to distribute the weight without rails sinking or sagging in places. The cost to upgrade every street the streetcar touches to concrete would have added probably 20-30 million to the project, and is well beyond the scope of what was sold to voters.

Seems like you missed the point of what I was saying. I'd have liked them to continue to repave with asphalt the rest of the lanes for uniformity. Instead now it's old asphalt, new asphalt, concrete, new asphalt, old curbing. There is just a lot going on and it doesn't look good, but I get that it's functional.

Seems like you missed the point of what I was saying. I'd have liked them to continue to repave with asphalt the rest of the lanes for uniformity. Instead now it's old asphalt, new asphalt, concrete, new asphalt, old curbing. There is just a lot going on and it doesn't look good, but I get that it's functional.

I see. Thanks for the clarification.

Seems like you missed the point of what I was saying. I'd have liked them to continue to repave with asphalt the rest of the lanes for uniformity. Instead now it's old asphalt, new asphalt, concrete, new asphalt, old curbing. There is just a lot going on and it doesn't look good, but I get that it's functional.

I believe there are plans to mill and completely resurface/restripe many of these streets but those are not officially a part of the streetcar project so what they are doing now is restoring the portions directly impacted by streetcar construction and they will be coming back to do the other through typical Public Works contracts. The good news is that type of work will only cause disruption of a few days at a time when it happens.

I believe there are plans to mill and completely resurface/restripe many of these streets but those are not officially a part of the streetcar project so what they are doing now is restoring the portions directly impacted by streetcar construction and they will be coming back to do the other through typical Public Works contracts. The good news is that type of work will only cause disruption of a few days at a time when it happens.

I think that will make it look a ton better if/when they do that.

I will say the portions I drove on were smooth, so no complaints there. It's just visually not that appealing, but will look somewhat better once the new asphalt fades closer to the same color as the older asphalt.

In generally I was really surprised how much is done. Like I said it had been a couple months since I had been down there and I had gone to Auto Alley last time, so to see that mostly complete was alone a huge improvement.

^^^^^^^^^^
I'm in pretty regular communication with the Streetcar Construction Communications Liaison at ADG and have been since before construction began anywhere downtown (and of course I know that there are committee members who either post or frequent this forum), and she told me during the Bricktown construction on Sheridan that there was initially an intent to resurface Sheridan before re-opening it after the tracks were done. However, they abandoned that because they didn't want to keep Sheridan closed (further inconveniencing businesses and visitors) and because any non-essential street resurfacing would be coming from a different source/contract anyway (non-streetcar). So it would be done on its own timeline.

I think this approach is being applied to a considerable number of areas along the route. So we might see a bit more construction/detouring for this in the future, but like I said milling/resurfacing/restriping is usually something that only takes a few days for pretty significant stretches.

And she's super forthcoming with info. All you have to do is ask. About anything pretty much.

^^^^^^^^^^
I'm in pretty regular communication with the Streetcar Construction Communications Liaison at ADG and have been since before construction began anywhere downtown (and of course I know that there are committee members who either post or frequent this forum), and she told me during the Bricktown construction on Sheridan that there was initially an intent to resurface Sheridan before re-opening it after the tracks were done. However, they abandoned that because they didn't want to keep Sheridan closed (further inconveniencing businesses and visitors) and because any non-essential street resurfacing would be coming from a different source/contract anyway (non-streetcar). So it would be done on its own timeline.

I think this approach is being applied to a considerable number of areas along the route. So we might see a bit more construction/detouring for this in the future, but like I said milling/resurfacing/restriping is usually something that only takes a few days for pretty significant stretches.

Good to hear. My major complaint with how the road looked was indeed with Sheridan. It's just such a visual road IMO for the Bricktown area, I'd like it to look nice. So that's great that it will get done, will make it look like a top notch installation once done.

Now that the streetcar is wandering the streets of downtown (with a snotty cartoon on the side threatening to dismember your car if you don't park inside the white lines), I have to ask..."What is the point?" How was this a better choice than buying a few more buses dedicated to following the same routes as the streetcars will be taking? I expected the streetcars to look like a SanFran streetcar, but they just look like long bidirectional buses. I don't see any tourists looking at them and saying "Cool, let's get a picture on the bussy-looking streetcar!"

I'm just not seeing how this was in any way a smart expenditure of money.

Now that the streetcar is wandering the streets of downtown (with a snotty cartoon on the side threatening to dismember your car if you don't park inside the white lines), I have to ask..."What is the point?" How was this a better choice than buying a few more buses dedicated to following the same routes as the streetcars will be taking? I expected the streetcars to look like a SanFran streetcar, but they just look like long bidirectional buses. I don't see any tourists looking at them and saying "Cool, let's get a picture on the bussy-looking streetcar!"

I'm just not seeing how this was in any way a smart expenditure of money.

I myself not even a fan, and will warn you this has been gone over numerous times in this thread. If you are serious about wanting to know, I recommend reading through this thread. Lots of good info from people who are close to the project and have a good understanding of what's been done and where it's going.

Now that the streetcar is wandering the streets of downtown (with a snotty cartoon on the side threatening to dismember your car if you don't park inside the white lines), I have to ask..."What is the point?" How was this a better choice than buying a few more buses dedicated to following the same routes as the streetcars will be taking? I expected the streetcars to look like a SanFran streetcar, but they just look like long bidirectional buses. I don't see any tourists looking at them and saying "Cool, let's get a picture on the bussy-looking streetcar!"

I'm just not seeing how this was in any way a smart expenditure of money.

(Jumps into thread on page 294 of discussion)

"Why a streetcar, am i rite?!"

Sometimes you are really curious about something, but not curious enough to read everything that would answer the questions you might have.

Now that the streetcar is wandering the streets of downtown (with a snotty cartoon on the side threatening to dismember your car if you don't park inside the white lines), I have to ask..."What is the point?" How was this a better choice than buying a few more buses dedicated to following the same routes as the streetcars will be taking? I expected the streetcars to look like a SanFran streetcar, but they just look like long bidirectional buses. I don't see any tourists looking at them and saying "Cool, let's get a picture on the bussy-looking streetcar!"

I'm just not seeing how this was in any way a smart expenditure of money.

I guess you've not been seeing all the development popping up all over the route ?

The results of the streetcar will not fully be known for many years, ultimately the success will ride on whether there are extensions built due to demand that connect our communities to the core and offer true multi-modal options for those that need it. The early returns though say that this is already a wild success - I can say fully and honestly that I have never seen the vibrancy and development pace that we are on right now, and as Bellaboo said it is mostly within 2-4 blocks of the line. We will soon by 2020 or so see a boom in residential as well as corporate relocation - and we have the leadership now in the city to focus on bike infrastructure and urban planning. Unless something happens tragically it is my opinion that OKC will beat ever national expectation set upon it for the next 30 years.

Speaking of expansions. I am wondering if, aside from speculation on here, there are truly plans to extend the streetcar path? Like, has the Chamber explored the next routes possible?

Speaking of expansions. I am wondering if, aside from speculation on here, there are truly plans to extend the streetcar path? Like, has the Chamber explored the next routes possible?

In a word - yes. I will be surprised if I'm not corrected on this, but I am aware of firm-ish plans to extend the Streetcar from near NW 10th and Walnut, west to Classen, then north to a point on NW 63rd St near the BNSF rail line, as well as an eastern extension along Reno from Santa Fe Station to Sooner, at which point the streetcar would follow the former OCAA / Santa Fe track diagonally toward Tinker, ending in a stop along Douglas, just south of I-40. These extensions are dependent upon ACOG's (the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments) efforts to successfully establish a Regional Transit Authority and secure a successful vote for funding; right now the RTA is still in the planning phases but as far as I'm aware we're getting close to formally establishing the RTA. Here's some more information about what they want to do: http://www.acogok.org/commuter-corridors-regional-transit-rail-mpo/

As far as city plans go, I know extensions to Capitol Hill and to the Health Sciences Center/Capitol Complex area have been discussed but I have no clue how much - if any - planning has gone into making those routes happen.

All for the expansion to 63rd, maybe Nichols Hills could contribute?

We are doing some degree of analysis now. I think what is missing is any coherent advocacy for any particular extension. As with any public expenditure, it helps to have a district, neighborhood, group of neighborhoods, or Ward representative advocating for additional investment. There are lots of good ideas and a fair bit of technical data. However, it is the political element that is missing for any particular expansion. And I think that might broadly apply to city-based transit issues. The RTA however, hit a turning point last week and that process is starting to come to some meaningful fruition.

I know it isn't feasible right now, but I think an airport extension needs to happen in the next 10 years. Just my opinion. And I would love the MWC extension, personally!

The RTA however, hit a turning point last week and that process is starting to come to some meaningful fruition.

Anything that you can tell us about at this time?

In a word - yes. I will be surprised if I'm not corrected on this, but I am aware of firm-ish plans to extend the Streetcar from near NW 10th and Walnut, west to Classen, then north to a point on NW 63rd St near the BNSF rail line, as well as an eastern extension along Reno from Santa Fe Station to Sooner, at which point the streetcar would follow the former OCAA / Santa Fe track diagonally toward Tinker, ending in a stop along Douglas, just south of I-40. These extensions are dependent upon ACOG's (the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments) efforts to successfully establish a Regional Transit Authority and secure a successful vote for funding; right now the RTA is still in the planning phases but as far as I'm aware we're getting close to formally establishing the RTA. Here's some more information about what they want to do: http://www.acogok.org/commuter-corridors-regional-transit-rail-mpo/

As far as city plans go, I know extensions to Capitol Hill and to the Health Sciences Center/Capitol Complex area have been discussed but I have no clue how much - if any - planning has gone into making those routes happen.

These won't be streetcar extensions - they might end up being commuter rail, light rail, or bus rapid transit, but modern streetcars like ours are not intended for the distances you've mentioned.

These won't be streetcar extensions - they might end up being commuter rail, light rail, or bus rapid transit, but modern streetcars like ours are not intended for the distances you've mentioned.

Actually, he is right. The Alternatives Analysis "preferred modes" in these areas discussed calls for "Rapid Streetcar" or essentially an extension of the OKC Streetcar System that behaves like Light Rail. The streetcars would operate at higher speeds, have greater distances between stops, and in some of these areas use isolated right-of-way separated from automobiles with crossing arms at intersections.

Anything that you can tell us about at this time?

Expect major steps to be taken by each City Council to formally join the RTA. We should have most major cities formally joined by the time the streetcar ribbon cutting occurs.

Expect major steps to be taken by each City Council to formally join the RTA. We should have most major cities formally joined by the time the streetcar ribbon cutting occurs.

Which cities are included or expected to join the RTA? How far our are we looking here?

OKC, Del City, Midwest City, Edmond, Moore, Norman.

OKC, Del City, Midwest City, Edmond, Moore, Norman.

Is the RTA open to other cities joining? Or is it up to the cities on joining? As in, why wouldn't Yukon/El Reno/Mustang and Guthrie not want to join?

Is the RTA open to other cities joining? Or is it up to the cities on joining? As in, why wouldn't Yukon/El Reno/Mustang and Guthrie not want to join?

Any city can join. Even Tulsa. We have however based our governing structure moving forward from an appointee stand point on those cities actively engaged.

Expect major steps to be taken by each City Council to formally join the RTA. We should have most major cities formally joined by the time the streetcar ribbon cutting occurs.

Awesome.

This seems relevant for this thread: Heartland incentives deal advances (https://newsok.com/article/5605514/heartland-incentives-deal-advances)


A project tied in part to the presence of the Oklahoma City Streetcar moved forward Tuesday.

The Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust gave its go-ahead for negotiating an agreement to provide up to $1 million in job-creation incentives to Heartland Payment Systems.

Heartland is building a new seven-story headquarters in Automobile Alley, and company officials said having the streetcar line running past the front door was a factor in choosing the location.

(Jumps into thread on page 294 of discussion)

"Why a streetcar, am i rite?!"

Please accept my apologies. I will now go read 294 pages and learn the answer to my foolish question. As FFDP says, "C'est la vie, adios, good riddance, etc."!

Please accept my apologies. I will now go read 294 pages and learn the answer to my foolish question. As FFDP says, "C'est la vie, adios, good riddance, etc."!

to give you the TL;DR of the thread. there is lots of evidence that streetcars can help to stimulate growth and development. bus stops typically don't have the same economic impact... so we really have to wait to see the actual long term benefits it can bring rather than just increasing number of buses

Now that the streetcar is wandering the streets of downtown (with a snotty cartoon on the side threatening to dismember your car if you don't park inside the white lines), I have to ask..."What is the point?" How was this a better choice than buying a few more buses dedicated to following the same routes as the streetcars will be taking? I expected the streetcars to look like a SanFran streetcar, but they just look like long bidirectional buses. I don't see any tourists looking at them and saying "Cool, let's get a picture on the bussy-looking streetcar!"

I'm just not seeing how this was in any way a smart expenditure of money.

As long as you aren’t parking like this person you shouldn’t have anything to worry about it.

https://twitter.com/okcstreetcar/status/1032334306532835328?s=21

Please accept my apologies. I will now go read 294 pages and learn the answer to my foolish question. As FFDP says, "C'est la vie, adios, good riddance, etc."!

You could also just read *this* page for stuff like the Heartland Payment Systems article I linked immediately before your latest post.

The streetcar project on 4th & Broadway seems to be close to complete. It has created a navigation nightmare from 4th thru N.W. 13 on Broadway--especially during the traffic peak hours.

Please accept my apologies. I will now go read 294 pages and learn the answer to my foolish question. As FFDP says, "C'est la vie, adios, good riddance, etc."!

Boils down to two things.

1) Locally, buses have a bad reputation, and people don't want to ride them. In OKC, buses might as well have a big sign that says "poor people only". Streetcars are considered "cooler" and we are much more likely to have people give them a try.

2) Streetcars have a sense of permanence. You can move a bus stop by just moving a little sign. Bus stops don't bring in any kind of new development, because you might just move the stop tomorrow. With a streetcar you've got rails in the ground, and it's a much bigger pain in the butt to move them. Nationally streetcar lines generally lead to increased property values and a much higher level of urban development. There are some indications of this already taking place in OKC.

I suspect that there's a third aspect as well. Part of the goal of the downtown streetcar is (probably) to give OKC people a positive experience with public transit. Mentioned earlier on this page is the Regional Transit Association (RTA). OKC, Norman, Edmond, Moore, Del City, and Midwest City are trying to get a metro area rail system going. Think of the downtown streetcar as a "proof of concept" system that convinces people that mass transit can work in Oklahoma. But you can't do that with buses -- you need rail lines here to make enough of an impact.

Boils down to two things.

1) Locally, buses have a bad reputation, and people don't want to ride them. In OKC, buses might as well have a big sign that says "poor people only". Streetcars are considered "cooler" and we are much more likely to have people give them a try.

2) Streetcars have a sense of permanence. You can move a bus stop by just moving a little sign. Bus stops don't bring in any kind of new development, because you might just move the stop tomorrow. With a streetcar you've got rails in the ground, and it's a much bigger pain in the butt to move them. Nationally streetcar lines generally lead to increased property values and a much higher level of urban development. There are some indications of this already taking place in OKC.

I suspect that there's a third aspect as well. Part of the goal of the downtown streetcar is (probably) to give OKC people a positive experience with public transit. Mentioned earlier on this page is the Regional Transit Association (RTA). OKC, Norman, Edmond, Moore, Del City, and Midwest City are trying to get a metro area rail system going. Think of the downtown streetcar as a "proof of concept" system that convinces people that mass transit can work in Oklahoma. But you can't do that with buses -- you need rail lines here to make enough of an impact.

1 & 2 are excellent points that are spot on.

If you are investing in a restaurant/retail/business/etc, do you want road access or road AND streetcar access. It's the later and it drives up property values. Higher property values leads to higher density.

We've seen multiple projects announced that just happened to include the streetcar line in their renderings. That is not an accident, and is an indication of how the entire system builds on itself.

Boils down to two things.

1) Locally, buses have a bad reputation, and people don't want to ride them. In OKC, buses might as well have a big sign that says "poor people only". Streetcars are considered "cooler" and we are much more likely to have people give them a try.

2) Streetcars have a sense of permanence. You can move a bus stop by just moving a little sign. Bus stops don't bring in any kind of new development, because you might just move the stop tomorrow. With a streetcar you've got rails in the ground, and it's a much bigger pain in the butt to move them. Nationally streetcar lines generally lead to increased property values and a much higher level of urban development. There are some indications of this already taking place in OKC.

I suspect that there's a third aspect as well. Part of the goal of the downtown streetcar is (probably) to give OKC people a positive experience with public transit. Mentioned earlier on this page is the Regional Transit Association (RTA). OKC, Norman, Edmond, Moore, Del City, and Midwest City are trying to get a metro area rail system going. Think of the downtown streetcar as a "proof of concept" system that convinces people that mass transit can work in Oklahoma. But you can't do that with buses -- you need rail lines here to make enough of an impact.

Hoya, these are fantastic points. May I expand a little on point 3?

Not only is the downtown streetcar sort of a proving point for the larger RTD but I suspect it will be the showcase to say - build the commuter lines because once you get downtown there's ALREADY rail in place; the so-called final leg of transit already exists. We would not have the problem of building a commuter system that drops you off downtown and then what? To me, having the streetcar up and running aides and guides the RTD because it proves to the other metro cities that the OKC metro area is/can embrace mass transit but also it aides the RTD itself by giving commuter rail its much needed cousin to finish the job moving people once they get into the city.

As to development, all people have to do is consider the amount of projects and proposals BEFORE the streetcar or MAPS 3 and consider AFTER the streetcar and MAPS 3 was announced; particularly the route of the streetcar. One does not have to be a scientist to discover the transit oriented development that has occurred along and near the current streetcar route. I think it is good that we did downtown first, again as the showcase but also it's the densest part of the city/metro in population AND amenities/venues, employment, you name it; so it has to work. Expansions would help to 'expand' the city where development would follow the transit. But we had to have the core done first in order for this to be successful just like how other cities *that were/are successful* developed their rail systems.

I also wanted to say, I have nothing against the bus system and have always advocated for OKC to fully develop a hub and spoke system that relied less on destination but moreso on the route itself for the local inner city. This is rail thinking, the ROUTE is what's important to the public/development so if we have bus routes that exude permanence then development likely could also follow. Having the current (and especially the past) system where local bus routes were/are based on the final destination; you wouldn't take the route itself too seriously because the city could easily change the way to get there or drop it altogether (as what happened to the airport 'route').

Of course, rail is more permanent but I still think OKC should do more "23rd Crosstown" or "44th-Downtown" type local bus routes more than the "Penn Square" or "MetroTech" routes whose path could easily change. There's no argument how the 23rd Crosstown would go or 44th to Downtown, so the entire trip becomes a permanent destination (similar in ways to a rail line) rather than the final stop.

As long as you aren’t parking like this person you shouldn’t have anything to worry about it.

https://twitter.com/okcstreetcar/status/1032334306532835328?s=21

Haha I was at a work conference at Vast and watched that all play out during one of the sessions. The streetcar was stuck for something like an hour. Right as the tow truck was backing up to hook up the car, the owner ran out and moved it.

Will there be additional signage or notification on the parking meter for areas adjacent to streetcar rails? Or is it just use your brain and get inside the line type of deal?

Hoya, these are fantastic points. May I expand a little on point 3?

Not only is the downtown streetcar sort of a proving point for the larger RTD but I suspect it will be the showcase to say - build the commuter lines because once you get downtown there's ALREADY rail in place; the so-called final leg of transit already exists. We would not have the problem of building a commuter system that drops you off downtown and then what? To me, having the streetcar up and running aides and guides the RTD because it proves to the other metro cities that the OKC metro area is/can embrace mass transit but also it aides the RTD itself by giving commuter rail its much needed cousin to finish the job moving people once they get into the city.

As to development, all people have to do is consider the amount of projects and proposals BEFORE the streetcar or MAPS 3 and consider AFTER the streetcar and MAPS 3 was announced; particularly the route of the streetcar. One does not have to be a scientist to discover the transit oriented development that has occurred along and near the current streetcar route. I think it is good that we did downtown first, again as the showcase but also it's the densest part of the city/metro in population AND amenities/venues, employment, you name it; so it has to work. Expansions would help to 'expand' the city where development would follow the transit. But we had to have the core done first in order for this to be successful just like how other cities *that were/are successful* developed their rail systems.

We're solving the last mile problem in advance.

Will there be additional signage or notification on the parking meter for areas adjacent to streetcar rails? Or is it just use your brain and get inside the line type of deal?

There is additional signage posted already (at least in Bricktown); it's visible in the picture on the OKC Streetcar's Twitter account that catch22 posted a link to (https://twitter.com/OKCStreetcar/status/1032334306532835328).

Specifically, the sign reads "NO PARKING OVER WHITE LINE".

Haha I was at a work conference at Vast and watched that all play out during one of the sessions. The streetcar was stuck for something like an hour. Right as the tow truck was backing up to hook up the car, the owner ran out and moved it.

Right now since there is no requirement to keep to schedule I'm guessing that they are slow-playing the actual tow. But once regular service stops I'm sure that at least for a while they will have a tow truck on call and likely have supervisors cruising line ahead of trains to spot violations. This is how it has been done elsewhere I believe. I'm guessing it once regular service stops it will happen WITH A QUICKNESS.

They could just install large cattle plows like you see on diesel locomotives hauling freight.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HiddenCostlyAmericancurl-max-1mb.gif

Folks who complain why streetcar and not bus, please show me your bus pass.

I'm a regular bus rider and I'm not seeing y'all on the bus.

I'm not intending to belittle anyone on this thread. I'm serious. We need y'all riding the bus. For transit at large to improve in Oklahoma City the thing we need more than ANYTHING else... is ridership. And public meeting attendance. The only people I see on the bus and in Embark public meetings (for the most part) is the folks that don't have much of a choice. Until we have critical mass of folks that have a choice and CHOOSE transit/bus, we're not going to get where we need to go. Even with the streetcar. It is not a magic bullet. Ridership at large on the entire transit system is the magic bullet. If the buses are full, the conversation to add buses will happen.

And you can gripe all you want about how the current system is not adequate. It might not be if you're outside the core, but that's something else that won't get better without ridership. The current system for those in the core is not the most terrible thing. It can be made to work. If you're serious about it. Which most aren't. Please, put your money where your mouth is, and then let the folks at Embark know what's working and what's not, ad nauseum. I'm quite certain there are a number of folks there that are tired of hearing from me. But I ride, and I'm vocal, and we need MORE of that in order for things to get better.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm tired of hearing non-bus riders gripe about why not buses or why not more buses. It's because y'all aren't riding.

They could just install large cattle plows like you see on diesel locomotives hauling freight.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HiddenCostlyAmericancurl-max-1mb.gif

That would be totally awesome.

Folks who complain why streetcar and not bus, please show me your bus pass.

I'm a regular bus rider and I'm not seeing y'all on the bus.

I'm not intending to belittle anyone on this thread. I'm serious. We need y'all riding the bus. For transit at large to improve in Oklahoma City the thing we need more than ANYTHING else... is ridership. And public meeting attendance. The only people I see on the bus and in Embark public meetings (for the most part) is the folks that don't have much of a choice. Until we have critical mass of folks that have a choice and CHOOSE transit/bus, we're not going to get where we need to go. Even with the streetcar. It is not a magic bullet. Ridership at large on the entire transit system is the magic bullet. If the buses are full, the conversation to add buses will happen.

And you can gripe all you want about how the current system is not adequate. It might not be if you're outside the core, but that's something else that won't get better without ridership. The current system for those in the core is not the most terrible thing. It can be made to work. If you're serious about it. Which most aren't. Please, put your money where you mouth is, and then let the folks at Embark know what's working and what's not, ad nauseum. I'm quite certain there are a number of folks there that are tired of hearing from me. But I ride, and I'm vocal, and we need MORE of that in order for things to get better.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm tired of hearing non-bus riders gripe about why not buses or why not more buses. It's because y'all aren't riding.

I would like to ride the bus, but with me living in Yukon and my job being all the way up at Britton and Broadway Ext, the bus is just not a feasible option. I still would have to drive 15 mins into OKC to get to the nearest bus stop, which is not an acceptable park-and-ride area, ride the bus for 50 min to the transfer station downtown, then take a 2nd 50 min bus to my office. And then repeat for my trip home. There is no mass transit for many people who still live in the metro area.

You are correct, no doubt.

When I still worked in Edmond, after my seizure, I couldnt drive for a year I used Edmonds bus system that entire time. It was great. Also liked that it was free although I know that's not feasible everywhere. But if OKCs buses are comparable, then if they made sense for me to use, I would.