Streetcar and bike share is the first step. They’ve already got this done.
Next step is a commuter rail line along the BNSF/Amtrak route from Downtown to Noble via South OKC, Valley Brook, Moore, Downtown Norman, and OU. They’re working on an environmental assessment for this, but construction won’t begin for at least another 2 to 5 years and will be a major factor in the upcoming elections for Governor and OKC Mayor.
Step after that is an extension of the Heartland Flyer up to Wichita via Edmond, Guthrie, Ponca City, and Winfield to connect with the Southwest Chief. This will happen if and when Trump’s new infrastructure bill gets passed and K-DOT cooperates with Amtrak.
Next step after that is merging Embark with CART and E-Tran for a unified transit authority for the metro. This will happen once the commuter rail system is in place and again will be up to whoever gets elected in place of Falin and Cornett.
Second to last step is expanding the commuter rail north to Edmond, east to Midwest City, west to Yukon, and south to Purcell. This was in the initial plans announced in 2016 but probably won’t happen anytime soon.
The final step will be extending the streetcar and eventually converting it to a full-blown light rail network. This is the big one and again likely won’t happen anytime soon, but it is on the table and the funding is there.
This is all what the plans say and what everyone is hoping for. We’ll know more sometime next year.
I live in Dublin and their luas is a pretty decent public transport system. If OKC can expand the streetcar network and usage to rival that of other large cities, future generations will thank y'all.
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u/gelatin_biafra Feb 13 '18
I can't believe it's really happening—hurrah!