Streetcar

[BoulderSooner]

You're right; Holt saying 600 per weekday but higher on weekends (although now not operating on Sunday).

It is absolutely operational on Sunday. It has been closed on 1 Sunday since launch

[Pete]

Okay, okay.... 3 people have mentioned full-time Sunday now.

My mistake!

[BoulderSooner]

Okay, okay.... 3 people have mentioned full-time Sunday now.

My mistake!

Lol. No big deal.

I will also say that currently it is 11am-7pm on Sunday. But it moves to normal hours starting in April

[Midtowner]

There is a lot of room for improvement with transit times. Cars are still stopping and sitting at every stop whether or not someone has requested a stop or whether or not there is someone waiting to board. It could MUCH more efficiently get you from A to B. I've purchased a February pass and try to use it as much as I can. Once you figure out that there are several northbound stops located a block or two from southbound stops, you can utilize the system much more effectively. For example, to get to the courthouse, I board at Dewey, exit at the Business District, then to go back northbound, I'll board over at the library stop. This was a pretty thoughtfully designed system. It's going to take some faith on our part that the development will come, and a little more faith from us that the operators and riders are going to become much more efficient.

[BBatesokc]

Slowed things down for awhile after work today. Not sure how long the Streetcars had to stop for this accident, but I passed by twice and they were still sitting there.

[Mott]

Walking around Myriad Gardens Sunday morning, and two streetcars met at Robinson and Sheridan. After finally getting the light the downtown loop car advanced to stop in front of the convention center. The brick town car got it’s signal but had nowhere to go following the already stopped car. The whole intersection was tied up until the DT loop advanced. The downtown loop ought to have a separate non bricktown route when bricktown is running.

[David]

https://twitter.com/davidfholt/statu...42765382537216

That might do it. #ClarityInCommunication

[Plutonic Panda]

Easier solution: remove the parking and convert it into protected bike lanes.

[Jersey Boss]

Easier solution: remove the parking and convert it into protected bike lanes.

[OKC Guy]

Easier solution: remove the parking and convert it into protected bike lanes.

Not good for business

[Jersey Boss]

Not good for business

Multiple studies have refuted your opinion.
https://www.citylab.com/solutions/20...-lanes/387595/

[Uptowner]

Multiple studies have refuted your opinion.
https://www.citylab.com/solutions/20...-lanes/387595/

Also logic and common sense refute that opinion.

[OKC Guy]

Multiple studies have refuted your opinion.
https://www.citylab.com/solutions/20...-lanes/387595/

Over half the reviews from this 2015 article were overseas. The rest were larger metro areas with more high rises in their core like SF, LA and NYC. Its not an apples to apples comparison.

Are there any OKC studies? We are a different type ciry.

How about we go a step more and ban all traffic within a 4 mile square of downtown? That will get poeple to ride the SC right? This city is still car centric and needs to still respect that fact. Just because some downtowners want to basically outlaw them the 7/8th’s majority rest of city does not

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^^ how is banning traffic comparable to removing a parking lane and installing a protected bike lane?

[OKC Guy]

^^^^ how is banning traffic comparable to removing a parking lane and installing a protected bike lane?

And how is London and Paris and LA and NY comparable to OKC as you linked?

[Plutonic Panda]

And how is London and Paris and LA and NY comparable to OKC as you linked?

I didn't link anything. Those were examples used and have been shown to be true in many cases among OKC's peers.

When a new protected bike lane was installed on Broadway in Salt Lake City, sales on the street rose 8.8%, in spite of the fact that the bike lanes decreased on-street parking by 30%. Surveys of business owners along the street showed that a majority of them felt that the change was positive, and most of the remaining business owners felt neutral about it (see charts on the side, courtesy of People for Bikes).

- https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/...fit-businesses

I would say Salt Lake City can be used as a city closer to OKC than not rather than comparing OKC to London which Jersey was NOT trying to do, I'm sure,

Want to argue about Salt Lake?

Here's Memphis:

Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns told the story of a Memphis neighborhood where people, without authorization, spent $500 on paint and made their own bike lanes. Six months later, commercial rents on the strip had doubled, and all the storefronts – half of which had been vacant – were full.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/03/...le-and-cities/

Now I am certainly not a fan of Streetstown, Strongtowns, or the like.... but in Downtown OKC I would rather follow a business model closer to London and if you want to argue about that there are a plethora of examples of towns just like OKC or smaller than can be used to show why removing on street parking for bike lanes won't harm business. We need to plan downtown OKC to sustain itself, not continue to rely on people from the suburbs to support it in order for it to have any life.

[OKC Guy]

I didn't link anything. Those were examples used and have been shown to be true in many cases among OKC's peers.



I would say Salt Lake City can be used as a city closer to OKC than not rather than comparing OKC to London which Jersey was NOT trying to do, I'm sure,

Want to argue about Salt Lake?

Here's Memphis:



Now I am certainly not a fan of Streetstown, Strongtowns, or the like.... but in Downtown OKC I would rather follow a business model closer to London and if you want to argue about that there are a plethora of examples of towns just like OKC or smaller than can be used to show why removing on street parking for bike lanes won't harm business. We need to plan downtown OKC to sustain itself, not continue to rely on people from the suburbs to support it in order for it to have any life.

I could also find articles “kind” to the topic. The SLC article was written by a cycle club. I think I would need to research more in all similar city sizes.

On the topic of wanting downtown to sustain itself that is a falacy. Even big NYC relies on tourism and without it is not sustainable. And if they want pet projects why not create a tax zone where only downtown pays?

Thats the problem, Streetcar and other projects rely on us “outsiders” in other parts of OKC to help pay for pet projects fowntown. The position you take allienates outsiders like me. You want my money but not my input. If I can’t drive from outside of downtown and park close to a business then I won’t go downtown to spend my money.

Streetcar does zero for me. Its a great tourist ride which once convention and OMNI open will be useful. There are some it helps now but very few for the pricetag.

I hate seeing this take take take for the good of downtown. I like our city and do not want to be another city. I like smart projects and somce we already shut down roads and hurt business for years now you want to take away those businesses who want parking. Keep in mind before SC these businesses were told minimal impact and it would increase once done. Now you wanna take parking away. And are telling me as an out of downtowner my voice doesn’t matter but my tax dollars do. I also use my voting power and so do many others who are starting to tire of this downtown entitlement mentality.

Show me the OKC study on parking not other cities. We are 405 not SLC.

[dankrutka]

How about we go a step more and ban all traffic within a 4 mile square of downtown?

Yaaaaasssss! Now we're talking.

[kukblue1]

Anyone still riding this? I don't get downtown much mainly Thunder games but when I am it's looking pretty empty to me.

[BBatesokc]

Anyone still riding this? I don't get downtown much mainly Thunder games but when I am it's looking pretty empty to me.

No idea what ridership numbers actually are. I see the Streetcars all day long out my window and during the weekdays they range from empty to very few people. But, it's been pointed out to me that apparently the streetcars are not for the people who actually work downtown all day every day. So, maybe what I'm seeing is to be expected.

[OKC Guy]

No idea what ridership numbers actually are. I see the Streetcars all day long out my window and during the weekdays they range from empty to very few people. But, it's been pointed out to me that apparently the streetcars are not for the people who actually work downtown all day every day. So, maybe what I'm seeing is to be expected.

I think they are for you (downtown workers I’ve been told) but the design was flawed. A circular takes too long to be useful to most downtown workers, but is fine for tourists. Once OMNI and Convention open up then riders will too. Thats why I am against taking away parking spots because I think downtown business was hurt enough already from SC construction. Its not the cars nor business fault this design was flawed. I think ridership numbers will prove that to be true.

My idea woulda been straight north/south and east/west routes with no turns. That aleviates the left turn problem and can go back and forth faster. Then expansion would be easier too if approved or warranted. We already had to spend extra on lights now some are pushing to take out car parking in front of businesses. I want no more spent on SC until it proves itself over a few years. We had streetcars in our past eventually taken down so I want to move cautiously dumping more money in it.

[Midtowner]

Anyone still riding this? I don't get downtown much mainly Thunder games but when I am it's looking pretty empty to me.

I used it a few times each week in February. I've run into mostly folks going from other parts of town to the bus terminal. I've seen another attorney who regularly rides. It's a little cheaper than parking downtown, and it's probably a 3-4 block walk, so not too bad to get from my door to the courthouse.

[Ross MacLochness]

Streetcars are absolutely packed today. Downtown is really thriving at the moment. Every shop I passed was full, people on the streets walking around everywhere. It's really neat.

[soonerguru]

I saw full streetcars today when I was downtown.

[hoya]

During a normal boring day, when there are no special events downtown and it's just regular office workers who are at their desks from 8-12, then take an hour lunch and are back at their desks from 1-5, the streetcar seems pretty empty. It also hasn't helped that the weather has been pretty bad lately.

But when there is some sort of special event going on (which is actually pretty common downtown), the streetcar looks like it's jammed full of people. And so far it looks like "special event" includes Friday and Saturday nights.

I expect ridership numbers to be pretty high, but that doesn't mean that the cars will be full on a random Tuesday at 2:30 in the afternoon.