Sands Springs commuter rail

[Transport_Oklahoma]

Looks like Sand Springs is interested in quality transit now.

The Sand Springs Railway line is still intact physically and as a corporate entity.  It hauls freight to/from Sand Springs industries from a connection with the BNSF Railway in downtown Tulsa.  

It was the last operating passenger Interurban in the state.

[sgrizzle]

Watch for everyone but Broken Arrow to jump on this.

[Composer]

I hope Sand Springs gets the money for this project.  A commuter rail grid around Tulsa would help infill development.

[godboko71]

Remind me not to read the comment sections of local news sites.

That said I hope Sand Springs get this, and the people at Sands Springs Railway are great people and am sure they would love to start an old tradition back.

Heck if they could get some of there "destination" develops done before the rail opens people in downtown and midtown Tulsa would have a reason to ride the train to spend a day/evening in Sands Springs.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by Composer

I hope Sand Springs gets the money for this project.  A commuter rail grid around Tulsa would help infill development.

I want to believe that, but Tulsa seems intent on bucking the norm on everything!

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Watch for everyone but Broken Arrow to jump on this.

Sand Springs - Tulsa - Broken Arrow would make more sense.

[Ibanez]

If only we could get some rail service from Bixby to downtown Tulsa.

[SXSW]

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

If only we could get some rail service from Bixby to downtown Tulsa.

There is a line that runs along the west bank of the river from downtown to Jenks and to Bixby.  I could see that being a good commuter route with the growth in that area.

[Red Arrow]

quote:Originally posted by SXSW

quote:Originally posted by wavoka

If only we could get some rail service from Bixby to downtown Tulsa.

There is a line that runs along the west bank of the river from downtown to Jenks and to Bixby.  I could see that being a good commuter route with the growth in that area.

The tracks stop just a bit after the Kimberly-Clark plant. They don't get to "downtown" Bixby anymore. I don't know what the possibility of re-activating the right of way would be. Bixby schools have built on some of the former right of way east of Memorial.

[BierGarten]

If Jack Crowley (on loan to the Mayor's office from a university in Georgia, I believe) had his plan implemented, the first light rail line built in Tulsa should be, from North to South, a stop at the new ballpark, a stop at the old train depot, stop at Arena, stop somewhere around Boulder Park (sorry, Veterans Park), cross river, and a stop at the west side concrete plant (or whatever it is developed as later on).  This first light rail line, Jack says, would be a way to build the backbone of a line that would/could then go on to Jenks to the south and Owasso to the North.

-begin edit

A forum member with more detailed information than I had on Jack's plan pm'd me the following list of stops (somewhat close to my original listing):

Evans-Fintube stop

stop at the new ballpark (east of Elgin between 1st and Archer)

stop between Main and Boston, just west of the old train depot

stop at Arena (around Frisco between 1st and Archer)

stop west of the state office building (west of Houston between 3rd and 7th), not at Boulder Park or Veterans Park

--cross river--

stop at Westport/OSU Nursing School

stop at West Riverparks festival area

stop near the City of Tulsa Public Works facility near 23rd & Jackson

[Renaissance]

That's right.

I disagree that the "starter line" is the best way to start rail.  I think that funding such a segment will be more politically feasible if rail is used for actual commuters first.  Once it is show to be viable by commuter use (if it is), only then should we put in the central line for recreational users.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by Floyd

That's right.

I disagree that the "starter line" is the best way to start rail.  I think that funding such a segment will be more politically feasible if rail is used for actual commuters first.  Once it is show to be viable by commuter use (if it is), only then should we put in the central line for recreational users.

Denver, Austin, etc would disagree with you since that is how every other city has started it.

[RecycleMichael]

I think the starter rail line proposed for the few miles between the west bank and OSU-Tulsa is the right way to begin passenger rail service for Tulsa.

Connecting our city's largest campus with the state's largest office building and feeding the new arena and soon ballpark makes tremendous sense to me.

I know it would spur dramatic redevelopment of the Oktoberfest area of west Tulsa and the Fin-Tube area of north Tulsa.

West Tulsa, North Tulsa and downtown connected. Students, white-collar and entertainment fans all sharing transportation. This puts train stops within a few blocks of city hall, the library and RiverParks.