Oklahoma City, OK — Council Discusses Streetcar

January 2013

According to the newsok.com site, an early January Oklahoma City Council meeting featured questions from a number of council members about the proposed streetcar project.

One group of five members asked that consultants developing the project consider alternate routings and a broader network than the route proposed so far. They also want to ensure that city staff and other stakeholders have a role in selecting routes, so that not just consultants are determining the future path.

A Z-shaped downtown track was proposed by the transit subcommittee last year that would run between downtown, Bricktown and St. Anthony Hospital, with NW 13th as a boundary line to the north and W Reno to the south. The $120 million project is part of $777 million in improvements approved in the 2009 sales tax election known as MAPS 3.

Council members expressed support for the streetcar system, but want to be certain the right route is built. The transit subcommittee expressed surprise at the concern, as city officials had been involved in the route selection process.

A public hearing is also planned for citizen input into the route selection and development of the streetcar system.