I think it would be great. It could be nice if the canal actually connected with the lake in the gardens, but it is my understanding that they are on different levels. Would it be worthwhile to put a lock in to lower and raise the boats?

However, I would rather see mass transit improvements before anything.

I think it would be worthwhile, but if we’re talking $15 million or more think of all the streetscaping that could be done. With that amount of money we could make a mile of streetcar track also. A canal extension would be fine and it would really help both Bricktown and the CBD. Like Andrew I’d also rather see a streetcar or transit first.

Steve, the key is your wording – “should…it be considered” – and the easy answer is “Of course!” There is no reason for us to take any ideas off the table until they have been adequately explored. I would agree with statements above though, that there are certainly more important things to do with the money for now.

Also, I would just ask everyone to think about the process by which all of our major decisions downtown have been and will continue to be made. I think we can improve the process to make sure the the best decisions are made and that all citizens have an adequate opportunity to contribute to shaping the city.

A better question is should there be a canal link between Bricktown, Devon, Myriad Gardens , the Ford and Cox Centers. How it would be paid for does not need an answer yet, and competition for dollars with any other project is not meaningful either.

The comments above are interesting and seem to be a good reflection upon the path OKC is on…despite the somewhat negative tone. It appears that OKC has reached the point where many are now considering looking past improving the “physical” characteristics of the city and toward the more mundane, but essential, infrastructure improvements that are necessary to support a vibrant workforce and commercial center. The talk is shifting from what a blighted, boring, same-as-every-other-midwestern-city OKC is…to, how can we improve the lives of the citizens who have chosen to live in the city WE have created. I’m not sure I totally agree that we no longer need the cosmetic improvements and I think we may still need to do more to try to “spruce up” the city in order to attract outside companies (including other corp. headquarters), but this seems to be another positive development.

Steve, I think the canal extension definitely SHOULD be discussed. It was originally planned for by the city. I think it would have tremendous benefit for multiple parties: The Myriad Gardens, Devon/downtown employees, people attending events at the Ford and Cox Centers, conference/convention attendees, potential Core to Shore developments, and very obviously Bricktown. Getting people from the Ford and Cox centers onto sidewalks running along the canal extension as a way back and forth from Bricktown, as opposed to making them cross a busy EK Gaylord, would also be huge.

But remember, the alignment would probably require changes along Reno, which would only be possible after the current I-40 alignment is replaced by the planned Boulevard. Who knows what the right funding mechanism is? It might be too early in the process to decide that.

But I don’t think AT ALL that canal extension/improvements and Myriad Gardens improvements, river improvements, mass transit, or anything else need be mutually exclusive. Remember, the canal only made up about 8 or 9 percent of the total MAPS I budget. The original MAPS demonstrated out-of-the-box ideas, creativity and vision, and I think the same type of imaginative thinking can make the things mentioned above happen, too.

The important thing here is that current developments, as they happen, should acknowledge the possibility of an extension, and not unintentionally create obstacles to it happening in the future.

What sparked this question (and I’ve been asking it all summer) is I’m hearing no hint that it’s on the city’s radar anymore even though it would seem that if one were to extend out to the gardens, the Ford Center changes, work on Reno and the Myriad Gardens and all would make this the time to at least dust off those old plans and see if they’re still viable. You can see those old plans on my earlier post: http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2008/09/03/extending-the-canal/

I just don’t see how it could work. It would have to displace much of Reno, and then what would line it? You’d have a block and a half as it passes under the tracks and between the Ford and Cox where you can’t build anything fronting the canal. Would it just be concrete steps leading to street level and the arenas?

And the the pond in the gardens is probably lower than the canal’s level. Just seems like a waste of money and an attempt to overuse the canal concept. Maybe if the canal were at max capacity lined with retail, hotels, and restaurants, but that’s hardly the case. Let’s get what we have filled in first, and let the Bricktown Canal be Bricktown’s.

Downtown, the Gardens, Devon, etc would be better served by being connected with a trolley line.

Jason, the plans I saw would not displace Reno. Instead, the canal would actually create a subterranian pedestrian level that could alleviate many of the crossing problems we see after major events at Ford Center. Remember Reno is quite wide and the Cox Center has a vast plaza that could be used for a canal pathway…

Perhaps, but yet again, what lines the canal there? A block and a half long concrete tunnel?

If that’s how you want to design it.

How else could you?

One could look at the ideas presented by the architecture students earlier this year – creating retail next to a convention center. The Cox Center has a vast plaza – why couldn’t one put the canal along Reno on the plaza space (which is rarely used) and also have enough room for some retail or public space?

These owners can only afford to bleed for so long. The ones who bought at the top are completely screwed and will be forced to bend sooner or later. This is happening in every city.