Transportation Workshop - Tues Feb 24th!

[PonderInc]

There will be one city-wide workshop focused solely on Transportation.  This means all forms of transportation: cars, freight, transit, etc.

Options will include: Commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, streetcar, express bus, roadway widening, new roadway, multi-modal street design, and multi-use paths.

As before, participants will be given a map with "chips" to help them demonstrate their vision.  They will choose a "packet" containing different types/proportions of chips (themes: Auto, Balanced, and Multi-Modal).

One difference from previous workshops is that the chips will have $ values representing cost / mile.  Participants will work with a conceptual transportation budget and will have a tangible way to prioritize their choices.

Learn more about the Transport Workshop Details

If you care about bringing viable alternative tranportation choices to Tulsa, sign up for the Transport Workshop

[Red Arrow]

Is this still on?

[sgrizzle]

Yes, but it's the 24th, not the 25th.

[PonderInc]

Tonight's the night! (Tues, Feb 24 at the Central Park "Boathouse" at 6th and Norfolk)  Be there!

If you haven't already registered, it's not too late.  If you don't have time to register, just show up in person!

This is going to be very cool and exciting!  Tulsa is long overdue for a new way of thinking about transportation.  This "one car, one person" thing is so 1950's!  Let's demand that Tulsa finally join the new millenium with a more livable, environmentally sustainable, and economically feasible transportation system.

[Red Arrow]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Yes, but it's the 24th, not the 25th.

To bad about the date change. I left the 25th open to try to go. I guess that choice is gone. Someone who went please post some results or provide a link please.  I was hoping to attend this one.

[PonderInc]

Red Arrow, I am so sorry for my previous post with the incorrect date!  (My friends will tell you that I am "calendarly challenged.)

There was a great turnout.  I didn't count, but I would say there were 9 or 10 tables with about 7-8 people at each.

Everyone was given a budget of $1.5 billion, which is the expected transportation budget for Tulsa over the next 30(?) years.

Nobody selected the "trend" packets (Focused almost entirely on automobiles and suburban growth.)  I would say that everyone went for the transit package, which focused heavily on various transit options ranging from rail to busses to bike paths and multi-modal street design.

I saw lots of similar thoughts presented.  

Most groups included rail that connected downtown to the airport/zoo (with eventual connectivity to Owasso).  I think most every map connected downtown Tulsa to BA via rail.  Some groups connected all the suburbs/bedroom communities to downtown via rail.  Many plans showed rail lines crossing the river in anticipation of Amtrak or other rail service to OKC.

Everybody gave thought to connecting employment centers, college campuses, entertainment venues, health care facilities, etc.  Whether they envisioned bus-rapid-transit, express busses, streetcars, light rail, etc.  And some groups included busses running on the entire street grid.  (It's amazing what you can afford to do, when you don't spend all your money widening streets and building new roads!)  (Yes, some groups graciously allowed for road-widening projects in the deep south.)

We had stickers for off-street bike paths, but it was hard to figure out from the map where existing trails were already planned (or in place) so I think this didn't get the full attention it deserved.  We tried to include some good north/south and east/west bike corridors using the "multi-modal street design" stickers.

The first thing we wrote on our map was "complete all sidewalks on arterial and major feeder streets."  And we also included a note for "pedestrian/bike crossings at expressways."

DsJeffries was there, and I'm sure he can provide a much better summary than this.   (Go DSJ!)  But it was a ton of fun, and I think every group came in well under budget.

[Red Arrow]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

Red Arrow, I am so sorry for my previous post with the incorrect date!  (My friends will tell you that I am "calendarly challenged.)

Things like that happen.

Thanks for the summary. I wish I could have been there.

[Limabean]

So the mayor has sent out a notice of a meeting where Jack Crowley will present his mass transportation master plan.

Is this the same plan that the public was invited to give input on?

[dsjeffries]

DsJeffries was there, and I'm sure he can provide a much better summary than this.   (Go DSJ!)  But it was a ton of fun, and I think every group came in well under budget.

Ponder did a great job of recounting the workshop... I'd like to talk a little about my group's map was different than most plans that were presented.

As Ponder mentioned, most groups focused one rail. Most provided commuter rail from downtown to the Broken Arrow border via the Broken Arrow Expressway. Our group bucked the trend and instead focused on light rail. 

We did this for several reasons:

1) This is Tulsa's plan, not Broken Arrow's (or Owasso's or Jenks's). Though rail can create synergy between our metro communities and can spur growth, not all rail is created equal, and shouldn't be treated as such. Therefore, in the beginnings of a rail transportation system, we need to focus on our community rather than the suburbs.


1a)Convenient commuter rail, much like convenient 6-lane highways, gives people one more reason not to live within or near the city's core. It provides them with a quick way in and a quick way out, and actually allows for more development to continue at the city's fringe instead of the heart of the city. As such, it would mainly serve the dayworkers from Broken Arrow instead of the citizens of Tulsa.

We wanted to draw people IN to the city, not give them another option to build developments as far away from the core as possible.

We traded all of our commuter rail stickers that would have been dedicated only to a Tulsa-BA route for light rail stickers and were able to give several options to different areas of the city:



Light rail stations are much closer together (1 mile) than commuter rail stations (2-5 miles), and would allow for much more Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) within Tulsa than commuter rail. Since stations are closer together, it would also make it for convenient for people to actually catch a ride.

There was a Downtown-Airport Route with possible future extensions to Owasso, serving downtown, Evans-Fintube and OSU, North Tulsa, TCC Northeast, the Zoo and Mohawk Park, and the airport.
There was a West Bank Route with possible future extensions to Jenks, serving as a catalyst to West Tulsa redevelopment in key areas such as 23rd & Jackson, terminating at 41st Street.
Finally, there was the Midtown Route which followed the Broken Arrow Expressway and terminating at the industrial sites east of the BA-I 44 interchange. Its terminus, we felt, was a great location for Transit-Oriented Development since industrial sites are the easiest to convert and redevelop. It would also serve as a gateway for a future extension to Broken Arrow.

In addition to light rail, we developed a trolley system connecting downtown nearby destinations:



The TU Loop extends from downtown via 6th and 11th Streets, and could help play a role in redeveloping the Mother Road.
Cherry Street-Utica Loop, extending down 15th Street to Lewis, south to 21st Street to service St. John and Utica Square, and north up Utica.
The Central Loop follows 6th Street to Peoria, south to 21st Street, west to Denver and back north, terminating in the Brady District.

Throughout the TU Loop, we placed several Transit-Oriented Development stickers.

Linking all of these transit options together were two different types of bus lines, Bus Rapid Transit and Express Bus. (Only BRT shown here)



The BRT system runs the length of 71st Street between Highway 169 and Highway 75; a Riverside Line from downtown to around 91st Street; a Central Corridor (Yale Avenue) line, connecting all points between Mohawk Park and 71st Street (serving St Francis Hospital, higher-density employment areas, Promenade Mall, the Fairgrounds, the Airport and the Zoo) and which also intersects both the Midtown and Airport Light Rail lines, providing opportunities for Transit-Oriented Development; and another critical east-west route along 21st Street terminating at Eastgate Metroplex and intersecting the Midtown Light Rail line.

We also used Express Bus lines, Multi-use path and Multi-modal street design. (Multi-modal shown here)



Multi-modal street design is a great way to reinvent a street, emphasizing bicycle, pedestrian and transit infrastructure, and focused more on just moving automobiles.  Areas we identified that could benefit from this include:
-Harvard, between 36th Street North and 51st Street
-Peoria, between 36th Street North and 51st Street
-36th Street North, between the LL Tisdale Expressway and Harvard
-Charles Page Boulevard
-Southwest Boulevard
-31st Street
-West 41st Street

This map shows how all of these elements came together in a way that would allow people from all parts of the city access to multiple modes of transportation:


It also allows for easy extensions of the system in the future:


This map is incomplete, as I haven't added in the express bus, multi-use path or transit-oriented development sites we chose, but I'll complete it within the next few days.

[SXSW]

Very interesting.  I like your ideas dsjeffries.  I think any part of a comprehensive transport plan for Tulsa should include bike transit and increasing the number of bike trails and on-street bike lanes. 

[Red Arrow]

DSJ,

Interesting workshop plans.

Light Rail towards BA.  I like it but I've been told that mixing light rail and heavy rail on the same tracks is generally not allowed.  You may have some difficulty obtaining access to the tracks along the BA Expy.  I certainly agree that Tulsa should not pay the whole expense of rail to BA.  I generally agree on focusing on Tulsa rather than the suburbs with Tulsa $.  I will part from you a bit to say that serving the dayworkers from BA will reduce wear and tear on Tulsa streets (although the BA Expy is a US route and should get federal funding) and reduce the need for downtown automobile parking.  Providing a more friendly way to get downtown might also attract more money spenders during leisure hours.  The suburb(s) served should chip in $ to help serve their citizens.  Of course they will probably ask why they should provide a way for their citizens to go spend $ in Tulsa.  A hundred years ago, the line would have been built by private money such as the ones I remember from suburban Phila, PA.  The trolley line money folks also had money in the development areas along the rail path.   Look up the origins of the (trolley) amusement parks of the early 20th century which the Trolley companies used to create a getaway for city folks and provide additional weekend income for the Trolley companies. Light rail for the distance from Tulsa to the nearby suburbs would be fine.  SEPTA's route 100 from 69th Street Terminal to Norristown is a similar distance as Tulsa to BA.  It has an interesting history of its own. It was built as a totally grade separated electric powered rail to compete with the Pennsylvania RR's steam service of the time.  Clever scheduling and station bypasses could allow both express and local cars on any of the routes from the suburbs to downtown.

The charge for a taxi from the airport (TUL) to downtown easily justifies a rail route.  It would be well used as Downtown re-develops.  I visited one of my cousins in Revere, MA near Boston several years ago. She and her husband had to work several of the days I was there. It was easy to take the train to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail and do several other tourist things. When it was time to return to Tulsa, I took the train to the airport station and switched to the local shuttle bus to the terminal I needed. It was great.  They went to work and I didn't have to get up at 6AM for a late morning flight.

The west side route would be a difficult choice for me. Going to the West Side would spur development but staying on the east side to serve Brookside and other areas towards the ORU area might be an instant audience.  I think frequent rail service there would attract a lot of "choice" riders.

Trolley: I hope you are talking about real electric powered rail guided trolleys.

TU loop looks good. The Cherry St loop might also include a spur to the Fairgrounds for use during events at the fairgrounds or  to use the fairgrounds as parking for events downtown.  The downtown circulator is a good starter line. The loop is big enough to consider two way service. The track would not need to be double tracked the entire way at first.  Passing sidings for the starter system could be sufficient.

BRT:

Are you including a dedicated Right of Way (ROW)?  If not, you can get rid of the "R" in BRT in many cases. It may be better to consider more frequent service with nice regular buses.  Then spend the money to keep them clean and nice.  If you are considering a dedicated ROW, please do an economic analysis comparing to rail  considering equipment life and operating costs in addition to initial capital costs. See www.lightrailnow.org for articles to support this consideration. Once again, riders of choice will prefer rail. If you plan to serve S.E. Tulsa, you will be mostly looking for riders of choice.  You may also consider connecting your southern routes to make counter rotating loops.

My personal, purely selfish route:

Light rail running on a dedicated ROW (but not grade separated) up Memorial from Bixby (must be joint cost sharing to be fair) north to connect with the BA Expy rail line. It might follow 169 from Memorial with stops at the major arterials intersecting 169.  I don't work downtown so it wouldn't help me get to work except to take traffic off Memorial.  It would make me more likely to do something/anything downtown. I like my car but I hate traffic. I object to paying to park my car when there is no other way to downtown.  Provide another way to get downtown and that complaint would become a moot point.  I went to the model train show at the convention center last Saturday. I had second thoughts about going when I looked at $5/day parking at the convention center lot.  Then I thought I would find some free weekend parking on the street (which I did a short walk away) so I went anyway.  An occasional trip to McNellies would be nice but it's a long way to go for only one beer so I can still drive home.  I have no plans of getting ripped.  Most folks don't know how little alcohol can turn them into a pedestrian.  


I hope you take these comments in the constructive way they are intended.

RA

[Transport_Oklahoma]

http://www.oklongrangeplan.com/

The state is now implementing the public input process as required in ISTEA/TEA-LU/SAFETEA.

Please participate.

[SXSW]

The charge for a taxi from the airport (TUL) to downtown easily justifies a rail route.  It would be well used as Downtown re-develops.  I visited one of my cousins in Revere, MA near Boston several years ago. She and her husband had to work several of the days I was there. It was easy to take the train to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail and do several other tourist things. When it was time to return to Tulsa, I took the train to the airport station and switched to the local shuttle bus to the terminal I needed. It was great.  They went to work and I didn't have to get up at 6AM for a late morning flight.

We are lucky to have an existing rail line go from downtown to the airport.  Of course it doesn't go right up to the terminal but a station placed where the tracks cross Memorial (just east of Fine Airport Parking) could have constant shuttle bus service from the station up to the terminal dropping you off at departures or picking you up at the baggage claim.