As turnpike fares go up, state eyes high speed rail funding

[Chicken Little]

from NEWSOK:

Getting to Tulsa is going to cost a little more once toll prices increase Aug. 4. So how much would you pay to take a high speed train from downtown Oklahoma City to downtown Tulsa?

That's an option that's on the table as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation vies for a piece of an $8 billion pie that would allow the state to upgrade it's rails for high speed usage. Under plans from the Federal Railroad Administration, Oklahoma would be part of a corridor that starts in Tulsa, ends south in San Antonio and east in Little Rock, Ark.

[More]

Nice editorial with some news included...we should know if ODOT's application for rail stimulus is approved in a few weeks.  I'm on pins and needles.

[TheTed]

Someone with more knowledge feel free to set me straight. But I'm operating under the assumption that we're not getting much of anything in terms of rail funding.

Lots of other states are ahead of us in line. States that have larger populations and highly traveled existing rail lines that need upgrading. States that are waaaay ahead of us in the planning process.

[cannon_fodder]

In an article about Chinese exchange students at the University of Tulsa, it quotes the students as saying getting by in Tulsa without a car was very difficult:  "Transportation is Tulsa is not very developed."  Sad, but true.  And true for all of Oklahoma (bar Norman and Stillwater?) and most of the United States.

[okcpulse]

If i had some money to pitch in for light rail between Tulsa and OKC, I definitely would.  This could be a real opportunity to create some heavy commerce between both cities.

[TheArtist]

Its not gonna happen any time soon. Perhaps 20 years from now if the economy allows it. Was reading on another forum on a transportation discussion and seeing how the "big" players like California and areas in and around Chicago have been lining up and making strong cases for their needs for a decade or more. They have long range plans in place showing different corridor scenarios, which should go first, (this city to this city and that,,, then next phase, a few more cities over here all of which had far better arguments than the Tulsa to OKC line) etc. Even just what they are after will require hundreds of billions and take multiple stages and decades. They are gonna fight tooth and nail for as much of that meager 8 billion as they can get and can make some really sound arguments as to why each should get it.  I dont think the OKC to Tulsa corridor can hold a candle to any of the scenarios they can present. We may get a token few mill for something, but certainly not enough to make the high speed corridor happen here. We are just too far down on the priority list and our numbers cant compete. 

Couple interesting threads if you want... I would like to see someone on here make a case for why Tulsa to OKC should get a good chunk of change to have high speed rail over some of these other cities. I dare say you might get chewed up and spit out for being a moron lol.  May sound completely reasonable to us from our limited and obviously biased perspective, but US wide, a different story.

Five best and five worst ideas for expanding inter-city rail service
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=171589

USA: Major rail expansion on track with stimulus plan
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=165224

[waterboy]

If you're trying to inject some sobriety into expectations fine. But should we just sit back like we have for the last few decades and not do anything? Not even try to make our case? That hasn't worked too well. If we don't start the begging now, twenty years will be more like 30 to 50 or never.

To make a baseball analogy, you have to step up to the plate and swing. And, you have to expect to hit the ball.

[USRufnex]

And lord knows if you look at Eddie Gaylord's kinder, gentler Daily Oklahoman the past decade or so, they've been huge cheerleaders for big government-- as long as it's OKC who gets the $$$.....

It's surprising they're bringing Tulsa into the mix.... I always thought the Oklahoman editorial board was fixated on high speed rail that goes from Dallas through OKC to Wichita/KC so they can continue to characterize Tulsa as a "4th tier city" like Springfield, MO and Springdale, AR, etc, etc....

[TheArtist]

If you're trying to inject some sobriety into expectations fine. But should we just sit back like we have for the last few decades and not do anything? Not even try to make our case? That hasn't worked too well. If we don't start the begging now, twenty years will be more like 30 to 50 or never.

To make a baseball analogy, you have to step up to the plate and swing. And, you have to expect to hit the ball.

We should absolutely not, sit back and not do anything. We should start inner city rail and get some good chunks of higher density development going in appropriate areas ( not just for rail but for other forms of mass transit like bus/trolley). We should implement the comprehensive plan and make sure Tulsa captures more of the areas growth to help concentrate more of the future growth versus making it sprawl even more. We need to make sure our city is mass transit friendly. A growing and vibrant city wouldn't hurt our odds either. A city where lots of people are used to using mass transit and using it frequently, not just for the occasional trip. This is a highly, highly, competitive situation between cities and corridors of cities. We need to get our house in order, in order to make some decent, competitive arguments.

The case we have been making for the last 30 or 50 years has been,,,, lousy bus mass transit, more and more sprawl with less density, the continued gutting of our core, and slow population growth, and even declining population. I agree, this is an approach that hasn't worked too well.  Not a way to try and up your competitive advantage against other cities vying for those very limited rail dollars.  

[waterboy]

I agree. Kind of tough when even something that is as successful as the Arena doesn't seem to faze the naysayers.