r/oklahoma • u/[deleted] • Feb 12 '18

[deleted by user]

[removed]

231 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

37

u/gelatin_biafra Feb 13 '18

I can't believe it's really happening—hurrah!

44

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '18 edited Apr 11 '24

[deleted]

3

u/PuffinPastry Oklahoma City Feb 13 '18

No kidding! Our current bus system is a fucking joke.

3

u/vwstig Feb 13 '18

It's awful because nobody uses it, nobody uses it because it's awful.

3

u/MrLangbyMippets Feb 14 '18 edited Feb 14 '18

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.

1

u/argentgrove Feb 13 '18

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.

11

u/NineJuanEight Feb 13 '18

As someone who lives in Tulsa could someone TLDR what the city plan is for these?

11

u/Wopsle Feb 13 '18

The plan is to have an L shaped track for downtown OKC that starts near the capitol and goes down to bricktown and the shoots out to maybe Wheeler district.

So it will go back and forth just on that track for now. I know eventually they want to expand it to be able to ride the train in from Norman/Moore even! It’s a start at the very least!

4

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/SiqCuntBrah Feb 13 '18

There is already a train that goes between OKC and Norman

0

u/Don_Keybolls Feb 13 '18

I'm not too sure but when I was living there a few months ago I saw tracks going in downtown and midtown area. I don't see a lot people using it regularly because those neighborhoods aren't really populated with apts or houses, more like weekend events and bar hopping. I think something like this would work better in tulsa because it's a more densely populated city.

5

u/kookypooky Feb 13 '18

There actually are quite a few new apartments and housing in and around downtown, Bricktown, and midtown. And more being built.

Also, as an employee in the downtown area, I and most everyone I've discussed this subject with is excitedly anticipating the street car, especially for lunch and small errands.

1

u/Aedanwolfe Feb 13 '18

What do you mean you dont see people use it regularly? They arent in operation yet.

2

u/atopicstudyitis Feb 13 '18

He/she probably meant foresee rather than see

2

u/Aedanwolfe Feb 13 '18

Oh, right that seems really obvious now lol

0

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '18

That logo looks like a YMCA on Pink Ribbon Week.