Sign on the door of The Root on 30th and Walker says is it permanently closed.

dang that's a bummer and surprising

dang that's a bummer and surprising

Not to me. I went right after they opened and they wanted to charge a cover. There wasn't a band playing and there was only a few people sitting at the bar. It left such a bad taste in my mouth I never went back. Good riddance.

oh dang. I've only been while there have been bands.

Not to me. I went right after they opened and they wanted to charge a cover. There wasn't a band playing and there was only a few people sitting at the bar. It left such a bad taste in my mouth I never went back. Good riddance.

It was probably before the previous 2 owner/managers. A few years ago they shifted the focus on beers, music and art. For about a year it was one of the city’s best kept secrets (hence why I’m not surprised it’s closed). Great beer, good music, crowds, but not too crowded on the weekends. Only in the past year has it really gone downhill. The music lineup was subpar, the beer was no longer one of the better selections in the area, and there were too many attempts at making the place into something it wasn’t.

I used to live right down the street, so it was awesome when I could just walk there and they were hitting all the right notes for beer and events. They filled a void in the Paseo for a bit before the whole renaissance happened. Then I moved further away and found it harder to justify making a trip up there, especially as the options in the Paseo have expanded exponentially.

I hope this space, along with the few spaces next to it can get a cohesive collection of restaurants, shops, and bars to complement the new Red Rooster.

Not to me. I went right after they opened and they wanted to charge a cover. There wasn't a band playing and there was only a few people sitting at the bar. It left such a bad taste in my mouth I never went back. Good riddance.

Cover charge without a band?!?! What the heck?

Yeah, completely not surprising. The shows/acts The Root had were pretty decent, but to be honest, The Root itself really sucked. They have a little rooftop area that's big enough to actively be used, but the owner would almost never use it, except for some morning yoga classes, and those were super infrequent. Pretty much he only used to smoke pot with people up there before med MJ was legalized. Anyway, it just wasnt run very well. Oh well.

The entire building has been for sale for a while but it's a bit of a mess.

I think the early success of Red Rooster could make that whole building a very intriguing location.

OKC needs more quality Japanese restaurants IMO, not just the gimmicky or trendy ones.

Good thing this Japanese restaurant is being opened by one of the most capable duos in the area. Rachel and Jeff have put together great concepts over and over again across the metro. I wouldn’t worry about the quality or consistency of their food at this upcoming location.

The Paseo needs some maintenance. Copper thieves hit the streetlamps on one side of the street and they've been out for months. In addition, the neon lighting on the Paseo Grill building is in bad shape. Doesn't leave the best impression in my opinion. Hopefully these are things that get fixed in the near future, especially being that there are several new developments in the area.

The Paseo needs some maintenance. Copper thieves hit the streetlamps on one side of the street and they've been out for months. In addition, the neon lighting on the Paseo Grill building is in bad shape. Doesn't leave the best impression in my opinion. Hopefully these are things that get fixed in the near future, especially being that there are several new developments in the area.

Hate to say this (because it shouldn't be the citizens' responsibility, but that's what it is for now), but have you reported the outages? I plan on going up and down Venice Blvd (since we live on it) and reporting all the lights out on it, and then start going down other streets (3 out of the 4 lights at NW 30th/May are out, etc.). Paseo Grill's neon might've gotten taken out during the high winds that we had there and on 23rd recently (don't think it was ever categorized as a tornado), unless it's been out longer than that, but we haven't been in the Paseo recently to know.

Hate to say this (because it shouldn't be the citizens' responsibility, but that's what it is for now), but have you reported the outages? I plan on going up and down Venice Blvd (since we live on it) and reporting all the lights out on it, and then start going down other streets (3 out of the 4 lights at NW 30th/May are out, etc.). Paseo Grill's neon might've gotten taken out during the high winds that we had there and on 23rd recently (don't think it was ever categorized as a tornado), unless it's been out longer than that, but we haven't been in the Paseo recently to know.

I reported the streetlight outages to OG&E. You would think OKC would place a higher priority on keeping these working, especially in areas as popular as the Paseo.

Also, the neon on the Paseo Grill has been slowly going out over the past couple of years. It's definitely not a recent thing.

I reported the streetlight outages to OG&E. You would think OKC would place a higher priority on keeping these working, especially in areas as popular as the Paseo.

Also, the neon on the Paseo Grill has been slowly going out over the past couple of years. It's definitely not a recent thing.

Yeah, OKC doesn't care, neither does OG&E, they both just pretend to. If they did care, they'd have done something real after the recent outcry about it. Oh, and you have to keep asking for status if you really want OG&E to give even half of a percent of a crap about it, I had to ask about 6 times in a month for the streetlight that was out in front of our house, and they eventually said they'd file a timeliness complaint with the contractor (and I think they have some kind of SLA for fixing outages, but not sure if it applies to copper theft).

Sucks about Paseo Grill, but seems like there are tons of places that (again) don't care about things like that, ancient painted signs that are half-gone, letterboard signs that have messages up that are months old, a bunch of lights out, crappy torn-up booths in restaurants, etc. I'm a bit surprised because Paseo Grill isn't some place running on the cheap like a lot of places are.

It looks like Burger Punk has applied for a building permit for the former location of The Root.

nice! Go paseo!

The Library, the clothing rental store next door to Frida, has flooded. Yikes...

an upcoming philly cheesesteak joint called "philly homa" came across my facebook feed this morning... their listing says 'paseo' but no address listed as of yet.

https://www.facebook.com/Philly-Homa-At-The-Paseo-103191561397307/

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^

Taking the old Buttermilk space.

Oh man. It's really good

Sauced is closed indefinitely after a fire last night: https://www.facebook.com/SaucedPaseo/posts/4112770358741596

Sauced is closed indefinitely after a fire last night: https://www.facebook.com/SaucedPaseo/posts/4112770358741596

Damn, that sucks, we were talking about ordering from them last weekend, guess we should've, thanks for the tip, we'll have to do The Wedge or Hideaway next time we do pizza.

Had Burger Punk for the first time last night. The crinkle cut fries were really good. The burger had a big beautiful patty but unfortunately lacked much flavor of any sort. They have a small selection of "gimmicky" burgers kind of like S and B's menu but after being underwhelmed last night I think I would head for Tuckers/New State/S &B before I would head back over there. B-/C+

Damn, that sucks, we were talking about ordering from them last weekend, guess we should've, thanks for the tip, we'll have to do The Wedge or Hideaway next time we do pizza.

Had lunch at Paseo Grill today and Sauced is still closed due to the fire.

Had lunch at Paseo Grill today and Sauced is still closed due to the fire.

They are working on plans to reopen.

Not sure when that is going to happen but it's in the works.

Damn, that sucks, we were talking about ordering from them last weekend, guess we should've, thanks for the tip, we'll have to do The Wedge or Hideaway next time we do pizza.

I live a block and a half away from The Wedge on Western - I have eaten it like 3x in the 11+ years I've lived in my house. Everytime it makes me mad that they are not better because I'd eat there all the time if they were. We'll probalby go more often when we want to just walk our son up to have some pizza, but more often than not, we'll probably take the longer walk to Hideaway (more exercise that way anyway).

^^^ I went to the wedge on western last September and it wasn’t bad but the outdoor space was really bland. They could do so much more with it and make it amazing.

Engineering report for the Paseo and Walker Better Streets improvements was recently released. Looks like the budgets for both projects got cut, at least compared to what's shown on the BSSC map. While it doesn't go nearly as far as I hoped it would in many respects (most notably, protected bike lanes along Walker), it's probably as good as I could have hoped for (given the city's record of doing little more than the bare minimum when it comes to walkability/quality of life/etc.) and hopefully the final product will at least be consistent in scope with what's shown here.

(The link is to a downloadable .pdf.)

https://okc.primegov.com/meeting/attachment/16878.pdf?name=III.B.2.Z_Preliminary%20Report

Some of the conceptual art below:

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It's so rough riding my bike through paseo right now, smooth streets is a great start

Lol I can't argue with that at all.

Anyone more in the know/that has a better understanding of the process, how long from the release of the prelim engineering report does it take to start construction? I imagine there are a lot of variables and could still be a while, but just curious if there's a typical scenario.

^

Merchants in the Paseo have been told the project will begin in June 2022 after their big festival.

Wish it were sooner, but not as bad as I was expecting.

Engineering report for the Paseo and Walker Better Streets improvements was recently released. Looks like the budgets for both projects got cut, at least compared to what's shown on the BSSC map. While it doesn't go nearly as far as I hoped it would in many respects (most notably, protected bike lanes along Walker), it's probably as good as I could have hoped for (given the city's record of doing little more than the bare minimum when it comes to walkability/quality of life/etc.) and hopefully the final product will at least be consistent in scope with what's shown here.

(The link is to a downloadable .pdf.)

https://okc.primegov.com/meeting/attachment/16878.pdf?name=III.B.2.Z_Preliminary%20Report

Some of the conceptual art below:

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16836

16837

16838

16839

I complained about this on Twitter because even though Walker is a "Tier 3" facility it seems like a missed opportunity to not add a bike lane between the Paseo and Uptown (which is also due for a streetscape project), but the City replied stating that Walker didn't meet the minimum width for 5-foot bike lanes and 11-foot car lanes, and a separated trail/path was cost prohibitive. So, tough break I guess and sharrows it is. That said, I'm very excited about the placemaking, lighting, sidewalks, rain gardens, etc and think it all looks great. This area is hugely popular and the sidewalk infrastructure has been woefully inadequate for a long time.

I didn't think the car lane minimum was 11 feet, I thought that could go down to 10 at least

We need to shut down the street running through the Paseo and only allow busses and bikes through it.

I’ll just be the one to say it, another project downgraded. What else can you expect I guess.

I’ll just be the one to say it, another project downgraded. What else can you expect I guess.

What are you talking about?

This is a big investment on the part of the city.

What are you talking about?

This is a big investment on the part of the city.
These renderings look downgraded from the original proposal or concept. Plus I believe the city could do much more with this area by shutting the street down.

We need to shut down the street running through the Paseo and only allow busses and bikes through it.

There goes all the parking.

There goes all the parking.
There’s a few spots where you could build a parking garage. But yeah my proposal would NOT go over well with the businesses there.

We need to shut down the street running through the Paseo and only allow busses and bikes through it.

Get a bus anywhere near the area first

Get a bus anywhere near the area first
Yes that needs to be part of it. Even though I’m not a fan of the streetcar I wouldn’t mind to see it expanded to the Paseo since we already have it.

Get a bus anywhere near the area first

Yeah. I mean, it will "only" be 0.7 miles away from the Classen/NW 30th BRT stop, but I imagine even that distance is plenty large to be a deterrent for many folks who might otherwise drive, even though I've found the sidewalks on that stretch of NW 30th to be quite decent.

And other than my disappointment with the bike lanes, which were not part of the original plan via bikewalkokc and were more wishful thinking, I don't see what has been downgraded. There's more emphasis on parking than I'd have liked given that I can always find it in the surrounding streets, but what can you do... it's Oklahoma City and I'm sure the businesses lobbied for it. Otherwise this seems like a pretty significant investment that is sorely needed and I'm glad to see it done...

Yes that needs to be part of it. Even though I’m not a fan of the streetcar I wouldn’t mind to see it expanded to the Paseo since we already have it.

I would be very surprised if the streetcar is ever expanded.

In a generation it might be. Once younger folks with no memory of how we got here are running the place.

In a generation it might be. Once younger folks with no memory of how we got here are running the place.

By then, autonomous vehicles will rule the earth.

I didn't say that future streetcar wouldn't be autonomous :-P

I would be very surprised if the streetcar is ever expanded.
Yeah I feel as if that ship has sailed as well with no expansion part of MAPS. If there is even is a MAPS 5 I wonder how likely it is we see expanded streetcar. I thought I recalled some conceptual maps pointing towards a potential expansion?

I would be very surprised if the streetcar is ever expanded.

if the RTA ever gets a fixed funding source ... i would bet that rapid street car would be the choice to go to midwest city and i would expect streetcar to go up classen to 63rd ..

If the classen streetcar ever happened I'd kinda like to change it to western so it wouldn't clash with BRT and then you get direct service to that district without missing many of the things you're trying to hit with such a line.

^^^^ agreed 110% or have it go down Walker. But then I’m sure you’d have the Mesta Park/Heritage Hills elitist throwing a fit.

Yes I don't see MPHH going for 1am streetcar ding dings

Yeah. I mean, it will "only" be 0.7 miles away from the Classen/NW 30th BRT stop, but I imagine even that distance is plenty large to be a deterrent for many folks who might otherwise drive, even though I've found the sidewalks on that stretch of NW 30th to be quite decent.

And other than my disappointment with the bike lanes, which were not part of the original plan via bikewalkokc and were more wishful thinking, I don't see what has been downgraded. There's more emphasis on parking than I'd have liked given that I can always find it in the surrounding streets, but what can you do... it's Oklahoma City and I'm sure the businesses lobbied for it. Otherwise this seems like a pretty significant investment that is sorely needed and I'm glad to see it done...

That's quite a hike with no sidewalks and nothing but a cemetery and residences.

At that point I'm taking my bike and once I'm on my bike I'm not getting off until I get to my destination

By then, autonomous vehicles will rule the earth.

Been hearing that forever.

That's quite a hike with no sidewalks and nothing but a cemetery and residences.

There are sidewalks the entire way.

But yes, it's a bit of a hike (only six blocks, really) through a stretch that isn't particularly interesting.

At that point I'm taking my bike and once I'm on my bike I'm not getting off until I get to my destination

Watched your videos. You undoubtedly enjoy the routes you take. Glad to see you're having so much fun; also I've probably seen you out and about, now that I know who you are, hope to stop and chat with you for a minute. Keep up the exciting excursions--stay safe.

Yes I don't see MPHH going for 1am streetcar ding dings

why not, there used to be streetcar with way worse dings and chatter. They live in an urban area so this is part of it.

As to the streetcar, I think you guys are way off - it MUST be expanded and will be. Embark just needs to get its act together and make it free for the time being.

Build the darn ridership (via free ride zone for now) so the populous becomes more transit savvy and then they will surely fund expansion into the neighborhoods (where fares can be justified) and possibly the creation of the dual track spine the system really needs in order to be successful. Doesn't need to be dual track everywhere, just a N-S and E-W Spines say at Robinson then Broadway for N-S and Reno or Grand (Sheridan) Avenue for E-W

One expansion I CAN BET $1M will happen will be from downtown to the Oklahoma Health Center area (including the Innovation "district" and possibly the capitol campus). This WILL happen but I hope not before expansion into Capital Hill and up to Plaza, Asian, Paseo, Uptown is at least funded and I agree with using Western (or dual on Broadway then 23rd) on that extension instead of Classen where BRT is definitely more appropriate.

As for having streetcar going beyond say 2-3 miles from downtown I think that's completely unrealistic. Rapid streetcar? umm no, it will be commuter rail along existing RR ROW and rightfully so. OKC doesn't have the mass for rapid ANY transit other than perhaps BRT on certain corridors (not enough urban density in the core to justify it and likely wont for a very long time) but OKC DOES have need for commuter rail and/or bus as it has population nodes here and there.

^^^^ because this OKC and it’s an amateur rate city

Do you not remember "we can't have The Edge" right next to us because there might be baddies in the retail spots? And not even their hood!