The Regional Transit Authority of Central Oklahoma (RTA) recently returned from Salt Lake City and the annual Transit Board and Administrators Seminar, sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association, and brought back ideas to provide more transportation options to the metro and state. “We’ve been looking at Salt Lake as the model for what we should be trying to accomplish here in Oklahoma City,” said Marion Hutchison, RTA board vice chair. A commuter rail line there runs from Provo to Salt Lake City, to Ogden, Utah. RTA BRINGS NEW IDEAS FROM UTAH AS EFFORTS CONTINUE TO BRING COMMUTER RAIL TO OKC
Hutchison said the RTA is anticipating creating a similar line here that would run from Norman to Oklahoma City to Edmond. Currently, those three cities are members of the RTA. “It’s one thing to look at those systems on paper or pictures. It’s so much more meaningful to go out there and ride it and experience it,” Hutchison said. “I think all of us that went, came back with just a higher level of enthusiasm to try to get this done.” RTA Board Chair and former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry said he is excited about what progress has been made with the RTA and what the future holds. “I think it is a natural evolution and the next step for Oklahoma City’s transformation,” he said. “I just want people to get as excited as I am.” “We’re doing the studies; we’re looking at other systems around the country – Salt Lake just happens to be one of the premier systems,” Henry added. “The bad news is: We’re a little late to the game in terms of transit, but the good news is that we’re a little late to the game, so we can see what everyone else has done. We can see the mistakes being made elsewhere and learn from those mistakes.”
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