OKC MAPS Economic Impact - Full Report

OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS

Downtown Transportation Transportation in the downtown study area continues to adapt to the rapid pace of economic and demographic change induced by MAPS. The most visible and significant sign of changing transportation downtown is the new MAPS 3-funded streetcar system. The streetcar opened in December 2018 and will provide regular passenger service throughout the downtown study area. Bus service continues to play a vital role in transporting residents to and from the downtown area. More recently, other more nontraditional forms of transportation have diversified the way residents move about downtown. These include the use of bicycles and scooters as a circulator in the business district and Bricktown. Ferry cruises on the Oklahoma River provide a unique form of water travel and entertainment. Amtrak service to Ft. Worth on the Heartland Flyer is available at Santa Fe Station. Multimodal Transportation Comprehensive Transportation Plan . The city continues work toward the development of a comprehensive intermodal transportation system in the downtown area. Beginning with the 2030 Fixed Guideway Plan (FGP), the city has pursued efforts to improve citywide transportation including bus enhancements, bus rapid transit, rail-based transportation, and a downtown streetcar system. 55 A key tenet of the city’s ongoing comprehensive plan is to develop a transportation system that works for everyone. The plan recognizes that autos will likely remain the primary mode of transportation for many years but that improving the condition, function, and connectivity of the existing street network is a top priority. 56 Other priorities include efforts to improve system capacity, land use efficiency, air quality, urban quality, and public health. A digital version of the city’s comprehensive development plan is available online. 57 Bus Service . EMBARK bus service will remain one of the key modes of transportation relied upon to accommodate future population growth and transportation needs in Oklahoma City. Embark bus service currently provides approximately 20 routes that link the downtown transit center to major destinations citywide. 58 A circulator bus route also operates between Bricktown and the downtown transit center. The bus system provided approximately 3 million passenger trips in fiscal year 2018 and averaged 2.84 million service miles driven each month (see Figure 48) 59 The number of passenger trips by bus entered an extended upturn beginning around 2011. Although down slightly in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, passenger trips remain more than 10% above 2011 levels. In late 2018, Oklahoma City was awarded a $14.3 million federal grant to develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor extending from downtown to Meridian and along Northwest Expressway. 60 BRT vehicles receive priority over other vehicles in traffic flow, typically through either traffic signaling or dedicated lanes. A recent cost-benefit study 61 of a potential BRT line to the northwest highlighted the large number of downtown area workers who live within a short distance of the planned corridor. The new BRT line will connect to the MAPS streetcar line downtown when it comes online in 2023.

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