Hefner Parkway Extension

[Plutonic Panda]

Does anybody think it is time to extend Hefner Parkway around Edmond and connect it to I-35 or is it too soon. I think it isn't given that the city of Edmond is nearing 100,000 people and is a b**ch to get in and out of. Especialy if you live in west Edmond. Just curious what anybody else thinks and if that might happen soon (maybe in the next ten years or so).

[ljbab728]

I see absolutely no need for that in the foreseable future.

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm just saying if they had extra money to throw around or something. Edmond is a fast growing suburb and Guthrie isn't to far from Edmond and it has a nationaly recognized historic downtown(the most dense downtown area of any small city if i'm not mistaken) and it would be alot better for people living in west Edmond to get to downtown OKC. Even with the Broadway extension it is a nightmare at times getting out of Edmond.

To be honest I would much rather see I-240 be completely re-done from the ground up, but it would be nice just to have a Hefner Park extension surveyed just as a possibility. Also the portion of I-35 south of the I-35/I-44 junction is in desprate need of a new lane.

[ljbab728]

LOL, well if there was extra money to be thrown around we could just have commuter rail linstead. I'm not sure really what you mean about redoing I240. Do you think it needs to be relocated or have more than six lanes?

[Spartan]

I think we're GOOD on highways.

[venture]

Does anybody think it is time to extend Hefner Parkway around Edmond and connect it to I-35 or is it too soon. I think it isn't given that the city of Edmond is nearing 100,000 people and is a b**ch to get in and out of. Especialy if you live in west Edmond. Just curious what anybody else thinks and if that might happen soon (maybe in the next ten years or so).

I'm not trying to be rude, but Norman which is larger than Edmond doesn't have nearly the highway access Edmond and that area does. Like others have said...we are pretty good on highways. I would argue we need an Eastern Loop from Norman to I-44/I-35 eventually, but would gladly give that up for commuter rail service.

[Spartan]

I'm even annoyed that the Kilpatrick is being widened against any modicum of supporting traffic counts.

[OKCisOK4me]

They are in the process of working on widening Portland to 4 lanes all the way up to where it is currently 4 lanes from just north of Covell to Waterloo. I heard a rumor long ago that eventually Covell would also eventually be widened to 4 lanes from I-35 to Portland. Granted, it won't be highway but it will all surely improve Edmond traffic.

[Snowman]

ODOTs 8 year construction plan has 30 million allocated for highway 74 working on grading, bridge, surface & drainage over the 2.5 miles north of the turnpike from the 2015 budget and another 20 million on the next 2.5 miles on grading, surface & drainage from the 2016 budget. Granted this is ODOT dates so may start by 2020.

[adaniel]

I'm not trying to be rude, but Norman which is larger than Edmond doesn't have nearly the highway access Edmond and that area does. Like others have said...we are pretty good on highways. I would argue we need an Eastern Loop from Norman to I-44/I-35 eventually, but would gladly give that up for commuter rail service.

Edmond and North OKC are served by 4 highways (Broadway Extension, Lake Hefner Pkwy, Kilpatrick Turnpike, and 35). Norman is served by one.

Heck, Broadway is practically empty outside of rush hour. I'm still questioning why a local commuter route that dead ends in a suburb is 8 lanes while I-35, a major national highway, is only 6 lanes. The portion just south of downtown is now the busiest stretch of freeway in the state (somewhere around 135K/day).

Traffic is a b**** in Edmond because the good folks there have not mastered the concept behind synchronized stoplights.

[Bill Robertson]

I'm even annoyed that the Kilpatrick is being widened against any modicum of supporting traffic counts.

I agree. I've been on the Kilpatrick all times of day and night and never found traffic to be anywhere near heavy.

They are in the process of working on widening Portland to 4 lanes all the way up to where it is currently 4 lanes from just north of Covell to Waterloo.

True. Crossings Church had to move their sign further back recently. Widening is supposed to begin shortly.

[Buffalo Bill]

I'm even annoyed that the Kilpatrick is being widened against any modicum of supporting traffic counts.

Right. The OTA has no idea what the volume of traffic is on their facilities, even though every vehicle; Pikepass, cash toll, and toll violator is counted at every access point. We get that you don't like highways. Stop throwing out baseless nonsense.

[Buffalo Bill]

Right. The OTA has no idea what the volume of traffic is on their facilities, even though every vehicle; Pikepass, cash toll, and toll violator is counted at every access point. We get that you don't like highways. Stop throwing out baseless nonsense.

The area of Kilpatrick that is being widened has current ADTs over 50k. Depending on what models they use to determine the ADT 20 years out, will show volumes much higher than that. 6-lane warrants start at around 35,000 vehicles per day, depending on LOS. OTA is protecting their investment from becoming a parking lot and the "sense of place" that it connotes.

Snowman and OKCisOK4me are right. ODOT is planning on widening SH 74 to the current 5 lane section over Deer Creek. Edmond is working on creating a 4 lane E-W spine along Covell Road.

[heyerdahl]

Why do people move to places that have poor highway access and then complain about highway access? There are plenty of places to live in this metro with extremely good highway access.

[Buffalo Bill]

Why do people move to places that have poor highway access and then complain about highway access? There are plenty of places to live in this metro with extremely good highway access.

All they see are the cheap housing prices which are a result of cheap land which is due to developers not shouldering any of the infrastructure costs.

[Oil Capital]

Edmond and North OKC are served by 4 highways (Broadway Extension, Lake Hefner Pkwy, Kilpatrick Turnpike, and 35). Norman is served by one.

Heck, Broadway is practically empty outside of rush hour. I'm still questioning why a local commuter route that dead ends in a suburb is 8 lanes while I-35, a major national highway, is only 6 lanes. The portion just south of downtown is now the busiest stretch of freeway in the state (somewhere around 135K/day).

Traffic is a b**** in Edmond because the good folks there have not mastered the concept behind synchronized stoplights.

That's a rather unfair analysis. First, if we are comparing Edmond with Norman, then let's compare Edmond with Norman. If you want to use Edmond and North OKC, then it would be fair to compare that with Norman and Moore. Second, you left out Hwy 9.

Edmond is served by Broadway Extension and I-35 and by Kilpatrick Turnpike.

Norman is served by I-35 and Hwy 9.

[adaniel]

^^
Fair enough. But my point still stands that the freeways serving that side of town are nowhere near capacity, at least compared to those serving Cleveland County.

Also, we may have to agree to disagree on Highway 9. Yeah you can go 50 mph, but that's not a controlled access freeway and turns into a 2 lane road east of 24th.

[Spartan]

Right. The OTA has no idea what the volume of traffic is on their facilities, even though every vehicle; Pikepass, cash toll, and toll violator is counted at every access point. We get that you don't like highways. Stop throwing out baseless nonsense.

Huh?

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm not sure really what you mean about redoing I240. Do you think it needs to be relocated or have more than six lanes?

Well there is a project called envision 240 and I believe they are/were going to survey the highway for a possible complete re-constuction of both the highway and service roads and maybe add a lane.

[Plutonic Panda]

Why do people move to places that have poor highway access and then complain about highway access? There are plenty of places to live in this metro with extremely good highway access.

Well I actually live on Covell and Coltrane, so I'm only a block and a'half away from I-35. I just thought it would be nice for poeple in West Edmond. But venture79 is right the city should prioritize and Norman is bigger with less highway acces to OKC.

[onthestrip]

Why do people move to places that have poor highway access and then complain about highway access? There are plenty of places to live in this metro with extremely good highway access.

Totally.

If I ever had to move to Edmond, which I dont ever intend to, but if I did it would definitely be close to I35 or Kilpatrick. Living somewhere like Covell and Penn just sounds miserable.

[Spartan]

I think Norman has the perfect highway access. It's 25 miles, so that's a pretty long stretch. It's also funneled Cleveland County traffic into one highway with major traffic counts, which supports economic development (see: Moore). The force behind Moore's economic growth is simply consolidating traffic flows on the southside of the metro. Something like that would develop between OKC and Edmond if there weren't 3 separate arteries (see: undeveloped Britton & Broadway).

[Jon27]

Why do people move to places that have poor highway access and then complain about highway access? There are plenty of places to live in this metro with extremely good highway access.

Yukon > Edmond. Yukon has Kilpatrick and I-40. I live 5-20 minutes from anything I would want to do.

[venture]

I think Norman has the perfect highway access. It's 25 miles, so that's a pretty long stretch. It's also funneled Cleveland County traffic into one highway with major traffic counts, which supports economic development (see: Moore). The force behind Moore's economic growth is simply consolidating traffic flows on the southside of the metro. Something like that would develop between OKC and Edmond if there weren't 3 separate arteries (see: undeveloped Britton & Broadway).

So the access is good for Moore and not specifically Norman from how I read your comments.

[ljbab728]

Well there is a project called envision 240 and I believe they are/were going to survey the highway for a possible complete re-constuction of both the highway and service roads and maybe add a lane.

That project actually has little, if anything, to do with any reconstruction of the freeway.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-citys-int...rticle/3665876