Plaza District

[GoGators]

16th Street (between Indiana and N. Gatewood) will be closed to vehicle traffic on Saturdays between the hours of 8am-6pm. Begins this Saturday and will continue through October.

[Canoe]

16th Street (between Indiana and N. Gatewood) will be closed to vehicle traffic on Saturdays between the hours of 8am-6pm. Begins this Saturday and will continue through October.

This is most welcome news.

[Pete]

Yes, starting this Saturday and for every Sat in Sep & Oct, NW 16th will be closed for traffic between Indiana and Gatewood from 8A to 6P.

They will have art, music and seating for the area restaurants.


Great idea!

[BoulderSooner]

Yes, starting this Saturday and for every Sat in Sep & Oct, NW 16th will be closed for traffic between Indiana and Gatewood from 8A to 6P.

They will have art, music and seating for the area restaurants.


Great idea!

the outdoor seating could make this big to help these restaurants survive

[PaddyShack]

So... How will the bus run through this area? And will we have to park along the neighborhood streets?

[Laramie]

Plaza District website: https://www.plazadistrict.org/

[Pete]

So... How will the bus run through this area? And will we have to park along the neighborhood streets?

The bus stop is just outside the closed street; I"m sure they'll just drive around.

This is only one block. Not that many spaces will be affected.

[LocoAko]

Really excited for this -- planning on biking to the Plaza for the first time this weekend to participate. Hoping this sets a precedent to maybe make this a permanent feature. I remember reading about the complexity of these types of pedestrian efforts in Walkable City, but my hometown closed a stretch near downtown lined with bars, restaurants, and shops, and it has practically become the hub of the city and is overflowing with people most weekend nights (at least pre-pandemic). I imagine the overflow of restaurants onto patio spaces in the street will only get more popular in this new world.

There's so much parking in both Gatewood and Classen Ten Penn if you're willing to walk a block or two (and frankly it's so hard to find parking on 16th on a good day that ends up happening anyway). This really shouldn't be an issue.

[Southsider2]

This is awesome. Sidenote, I was in Fort Collins recently visiting some friends and we went to the area pictured above and the first thing that came to my mind was permanently closing NW 16th street would be awesome (urban planning wise... definitely not traffic-wise). Unlike in the pictures, the area was packed and all of the outdoor patios were full. There were microshops and it was so easy to get around. They did have an abundance of parking not too far away and idk how the Plaza District would get around that but I think it would be great for the area.

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

So... How will the bus run through this area? And will we have to park along the neighborhood streets?

Does the catholic church on 18th tow cars if anyone parks there?

[Rover]

Looks like a anti-masking rally. Smh. This city population just doesn’t ever learn.

To clarify, this is in response to the pics below.

[jonny d]

Looks like a anti-masking rally. Smh. This city population just doesn’t ever learn.

To clarify, this is in response to the pics below.

They are happening in every city, pretty much daily. I was in PORTLAND, OREGON (yes, that Portland) about 2 weeks ago, and there were 100's of people protesting masks all over the city.

[Pete]

There were a bunch of photos in the Oklahoman of high school football games.

Almost no one in the stands (students & others) were wearing masks and people were tightly grouped.

[rwalker]

They are happening in every city, pretty much daily. I was in PORTLAND, OREGON (yes, that Portland) about 2 weeks ago, and there were 100's of people protesting masks all over the city.

There’s definitely some folks who are burned out, but it’s such an easy thing to do. Businesses are literally giving masks out for free, and there are a lot of people who actually look more attractive when wearing a mask.

Not sure why this needs to be so F’ing complicated

[jdizzle]

There’s definitely some folks who are burned out, but it’s such an easy thing to do. Businesses are literally giving masks out for free, and there are a lot of people who actually look more attractive when wearing a mask.

Not sure why this needs to be so F’ing complicated

Oh, I am not anti-mask. Just saying that people in even the most liberal of cities are tired of them, and are protesting. It is easy to wear them, and most allow you to take them off right after entering, even in those liberal cities.

[Pete]

Oh, I am not anti-mask. Just saying that people in even the most liberal of cities are tired of them, and are protesting. It is easy to wear them, and most allow you to take them off right after entering, even in those liberal cities.

Portland and the entire NW has a big and growing alt-right population and a big problem with white supremacy groups:

https://apnews.com/f2c9c20176ea427fa3833bbcbbe1a265

[Rover]

Portland and the entire NW has a big and growing alt-right population and a big problem with white supremacy groups:

https://apnews.com/f2c9c20176ea427fa3833bbcbbe1a265

Right. And I'm not sure "hipster" is the same as "liberal" anyway.

[HOT ROD]

weird hours for the closure though. -6pm??

MOST other major cities with similar infrastructure I've been to/lived in will have the closure all night or tied to the bars closing. .. Seems weird to have the closure until 6pm then "allow cars the rest of the night??".

Should have closure at 11pm on Sat (or later) and add Friday to that.

[OKC Talker]

There are plenty of places for people to get drunk and that population isn't one that needs to be targeted. From looking at the list of shops and activities, I think that this was intended for families and more responsible citizens to get out and support the local businesses. After seeing all the pictures with the lack of masks and social distancing though, the responsible ones may just stay home.

[soonerguru]

I heard an after-action report from the Paseo art walk Friday. My diligent mask-wearing friend attended and he said he felt very safe. He said many people were not wearing them on the street (he was), but dutifully put them on when they entered the galleries.

[catcherinthewry]

Looks like a anti-masking rally. Smh. This city population just doesn’t ever learn.

To clarify, this is in response to the pics below.

Are we sure the photos aren't pre-covid? I find it hard to believe that there would be no-one wearing a mask. I went to the Farmer's Market at Scissortail before the mask mandate and even then about 50% of the patrons were wearing masks.

[Pete]

Are we sure the photos aren't pre-covid? I find it hard to believe that there would be no-one wearing a mask. I went to the Farmer's Market at Scissortail before the mask mandate and even then about 50% of the patrons were wearing masks.

The photos were pre-covid.

[OKC Talker]

Well this is all fake news then! =P I actually thought about it and assumed the woman on the far right of Laramie's picture was holding masks. I see that Sasquatch is in the wrong place in the picture now though.

I still think compliance wasn't great though:
https://okcfox.com/news/local/crowds...plaza-district

[Pete]

Well this is all fake news then! =P I actually thought about it and assumed the woman on the far right of Laramie's picture was holding masks. I see that Sasquatch is in the wrong place in the picture now though.

I still think compliance wasn't great though:
https://okcfox.com/news/local/crowds...plaza-district

That photo is quite old because as you point out, Sasquatch has been moved from the location shown for at least two years.

The setup for Saturdays now is to space out exhibits, performers and chairs. Looks nothing like what Laramie posted.

[Canoe]

I spoke to the manager at up-down. They hope to drop the age restriction on Sundays after the pandemic. Positive news for the teenagers in the area.