East Commuter Corridor Study

[Teo9969]

Well, I don't know about that. Crime is a relative boogeyman. I can say that MWC did some very proactive municipal planning to land the town center and some "downtown MWC" development. I'm definitely not knocking MWC, which in my opinion has done a better job than most of OKC's suburbs, which has kept it stable with some capacity for growth.

The reality is just that it developed in the "wrong direction" and ahead of its time, both due to proximity to Tinker. There are a lot of very high incomes at Tinker that drive through MWC daily, and have a choice to consider living there and taking the congested freeways out of their commutes. Most don't and instead live in Moore or Edmond, but nonetheless many do.

I think that this rail project can be a huge benefit to MWC and that area of the metro, but for the greater good of the GOCART system, I'm not sure it should be the first phase. Norman-to-Edmond has the potential to be a wildly successful line depending on the alignment and operation. I'm confident that they can do it right. Either way I don't mean to discourage anyone trying to improve MWC, which is working.

My understanding is that Phase 1 of expansion includes all of the above:

North: Route 1 - Commuter Rail via BNSF to Edmond [$360M/$5M/1,970 :: High-end Capital Cost/O&M/Daily Ridership]
Route 3 - Street Car via Classen to 63rd/Classen (Hopefully to a similar station as Route 1) [$830M/$3.5M/3,300]

South: Route 2 - Commuter Rail via BNSF [$410M/$5.5M/3,060]

East: Route 4 - Street Car via Reno+Old Rail ROW [$440M/$2.5M/2,260]

Totals: $2.04B Capital Cost, $16.5M O&M,10.6k Daily Ridership

[Spartan]

My understanding is that Phase 1 of expansion includes all of the above:

North: Route 1 - Commuter Rail via BNSF to Edmond [$360M/$5M/1,970 :: High-end Capital Cost/O&M/Daily Ridership]
Route 3 - Street Car via Classen to 63rd/Classen (Hopefully to a similar station as Route 1) [$830M/$3.5M/3,300]

South: Route 2 - Commuter Rail via BNSF [$410M/$5.5M/3,060]

East: Route 4 - Street Car via Reno+Old Rail ROW [$440M/$2.5M/2,260]

Totals: $2.04B Capital Cost, $16.5M O&M,10.6k Daily Ridership

Interesting, I like it, but it seems to me that south is the obvious priority looking at those low-ball ridership figures. I didn't realize that the dialogues have chosen the existing RR ROWs? Is there a link to the GOCARTS study/proceedings?

If you study rush hour traffic patterns on Google maps for a length of time, you will notice that the worst congestion is experienced by commuters coming from the south in the morning and going back down south in the evening. Both 35 and 44 usually show up red, while most of the routes to Edmond, Hefner, and Deer Creek are really pretty clear of congestion.

Let's not forget MWC took a blow when GM closed the assembly plant and put 2500 people out of work. That doesn't include the many jobs that supported the work force at GM. To be fair, that will damage any city the size of Midwest City, and bring development to a halt. I think it's a big reason we see mostly '70's, '80's and '90's architecture (as mentioned by TEO9969 above).

Quick edit....and they were good jobs. I just looked at the census from 2000-2010. MWC had a grand increase of 371 people during that decade. Ouch.

That is still growth. I think MWC has an interesting "tale of two cities" within its boundaries. Toward the SW part of the city near I-40, things look pretty rough - although if you go deeper into some of the hoods, there are these really cute stone ranch/mid century houses that I've not seen concentrated anywhere else. Then toward Air Depot and points east of there, it's the fairly well-done Town Center and then large-lot, high-end subdivisions. Many hoods are probably losing population, and the fringes are growing slower (than Moore or Norman) because of lot sizes and topography, but the balance is still net growth - which is nothing to scoff at!

[Teo9969]

Interesting, I like it, but it seems to me that south is the obvious priority looking at those low-ball ridership figures. I didn't realize that the dialogues have chosen the existing RR ROWs? Is there a link to the GOCARTS study/proceedings?

If you study rush hour traffic patterns on Google maps for a length of time, you will notice that the worst congestion is experienced by commuters coming from the south in the morning and going back down south in the evening. Both 35 and 44 usually show up red, while most of the routes to Edmond, Hefner, and Deer Creek are really pretty clear of congestion.

The link is at the very top of the page. It's the PDF.