Comments on: MAPS 3 Central Park and the Myriad Gardens

By: OK Mom

OK Mom — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:56:23 +0000

By the way James, Cornett was still a reporter for the local news when the canal was planned, constructed and opened so you’re giving credit where credit isn’t due. If you want, you can thank former mayor, Ron Norick and a small group of others with vision, power and money. :/ Cornett inherited the empire, he didn’t build it from the ground up.

By: OK Mom

OK Mom — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:42:38 +0000

In respect to the proposed ice rink…there should be two ice rinks with at least one of them having facilities for year-round skating. Perhaps an indoor/outdoor, smaller ice rink at the myriad gardens and a larger, outdoor rink at Central Park. Serious skaters would appreciate the smaller park with less traffic and year-round access to ice. The recreational crowds will appreciate the Central Park location/destination and size of a bigger rink during the winter season with several other “Central Park” attractions close by. Building only one rink will limit the rink to mostly recreational skaters only, while serious skaters will still have to travel to Edmond or Moore and pay expensive ice-time fees to the monopolized ice-rinks which currently leaves ice skating mostly out of reach of inner-city and lower-income children/families. No slight to the current ice rinks; they can’t help it if they do not have competition. Still, it’s very expensive and mostly for the privileged if a skaters wants to advance their skills to a level higher than recreational skating. A “major league” city needs choices and opportunity which includes the sport of ice skating. How awesome would it be to have an olympic skater from OKC?

By: Brent Wall

Brent Wall — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:26:40 +0000

One has to realize that when NY’s Central Park was constructed few people lived above Houston street in Manhattan. Many people questioned the expense and effort put into a large public work in an area of NYC where few people lived. Whether you believe the park was an altruistic gift to the people of NY or a real estate development tool, it’s hard to deny that the park has not succeeded on both fronts.

This is exactly the kind of landscape development on post-industrial, inner-city land that we’ve needed to build density, and improve the environmental quality of our city.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:52:40 +0000

Discovery Park in Houston is a better comparison than parks in NYC, Chicago, or Boston -Right smack in the middle of downtown, just next to the new convention center and C.C. Hotel. Houston is spread out, like OKC and really doesn’t have the downtown density of older cities, yet has become the meeting spot for group festivals, outdoor concerts, aerobics, etc. Groups bring kids from all over the city to play at their fantastic sprayground, which is unlike anything I’ve seen. During convention breaks, the park fills up with people wanting a little air after being in the C.C. all day. Filling up a Central Park in OKC would not be difficult to do. Take a look at the site about Discovery, and I think one can envision just what OKC is thinking. http://www.discoverygreen.com/

By: Larry

Larry — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:38:27 +0000

James, I agree to the extent that OKC hasn’t ever really had a centrally located park for it’s 100 years of existence (except for a few years when the Oklahoman donated land for that purpose but then took it back when they needed it for their own use). Because we are spread out like we are, OKC’s answer was to build several smaller, neighborhood parks all over the City. And some larger, regional ones with more amenities. Take the parks to where the people are rather than make the people come to where the park is.

I am not against the Park, but we have to remember we aren’t New York or Boston or Chicago. If it is a good idea, that’s fine but it definitely needs to be Oklahoman in feel. One of the best arguments for the Park is a need to create as attractive and inviting gateway into the downtown area from the relocated I-40 exits (not talking about the Boulevard as I think few will use that path). That area is far from being that currently.

By: james evans

james evans — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:04:46 +0000

The San Antonio Riverwalk was routinely referenced as the inspiration for the OKC Canal, so I’m a little confused as to why the canal was a difficult thing to imagine when the idea was taken from a city that is within driving distance.

As for the idea of an urban park, obviously Central Park in NYC, Boston Common in Boston, or Millennium Park in Chicago are the inspiration for this park. What OKC doesn’t have that those parks do is several million people within a few miles of the park. The density in other cities creates an inherent need for green space. OKC doesn’t have that density-driven need for space, that’s why Cornett is adding ducks and ponies to the OKC version of the park, in order to manufacture interest in the space. Of course there will also probably be a Charleston’s or a Louie’s Bar and Grill in the park to get people down there. So that’ll be awesome.

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:12:49 +0000

Watched the recording of the video stream on the Chamber’s website (be EXTEREMLY patient with it, the 1st 30 min are watching people eat…LOL)

A question was asked about parking and as pointed out, the underground parking just cost too much. Neither seemed concerned about parking, said it would be looked at later. Said there was plenty of street parking surrounding the park.

While the images do look nice, the Presenter stressed at the beginning of her presentation, it was what MIGHT be. It was just to give people a visualization tool. What ends up being included/excluded is still up in the air (to be decided AFTER the vote. Said that there would be plenty of public input, (but where have we heard that before?).

By: slackmeyer

slackmeyer — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:56:29 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit I couldn’t comprehend what the canal was going to look like or how it was going to function until it opened – and I had more exposure to plans, etc. than most.

By: Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:43:37 +0000

Sarcasm is annoying.

By: Casey Cornett

Casey Cornett — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:22:29 +0000

Jill – See you there.