Project 180: What We’ll be Missing
It’s been a busy few weeks and I’m still trying to catch up on all that is happening downtown. We’ve seen a lot written about the cutbacks on Project 180. One early ambition that is apparently victim to all this is the desire to improve the intersection of NW 4, NW 3, E.K. Gaylord and Broadway.
A few years back Blair Humphreys, OKC’s own rising star on urban design and planning, suggested a change was long overdue for this intersection, a creation of the I.M. Pei Plan of the 1970s. Humphreys’ suggestion was rather simple: reconnect 3rd Street and Broadway, end E.K. Gaylord at 3rd where traffic either turns right or left instead of merging into one giant intersection with Broadway, 3rd and 4th Streets. Walkability Jeff Speck said a big “amen” to Blair’s concerns. Ironically, the project that prompted Blair to delve into the problems caused by this intersection, the construction of a new headquarters for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, appears to be in a deep freeze. But the issues for downtown commuters and pedestrians remain the same.
Here is what was proposed early on with Project 180:
Notice that when given a chance to pursue the fix proposed by Blair Humphreys and Jeff Speck, designers at the instruction of city staff went instead with a “dressing up” of the existing grid instead. Keep in mind, city staff was never enthused about the changes proposed by Humphreys and Speck.
So what’s next? Does this issue die all together?
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Comments
I did some quick measurements and calculations and Project 180 has already cut 40% of the street mileage from the plans originally approved by City Council; and that’s assuming they fully implement Package #6 which won’t be bid until next summer.
Also, they keep using revenue shortfalls as an excuse yet in their own presentation to the council last week, they state the original budget was $147 million and they are now showing it at $154 million.
Simply put, it looks they are planning to be at least 50% over budget and will be delivering just over half was promised when these tax dollars were agreed to be diverted via the Devon TIF.
a hundred plus years ago, urban planning was done to accommodate pedestrians. this was simply because that was THE primary method of transportation. the french quarter is a prime example. density was considered the desirable goal, because when you HAVE to walk to where you are going, the less you have to walk, the better. automobiles simply did not exist.
the staff at the city does not have this mentality, because it is absolutely foreign to them. that doesn’t make them evil, anymore than i could be expected to carry on a conversation in japanese. it’s just not how they have lived their lives, and is a very different and foreign culture to them. while i agree that we should make our voices heard, we will get much further if we can engage them in a positive manner rather than if they feel as though they are being attacked.
“the power broker”, by robert caro, is a fastinating read. bob moses loved automobiles (a new thing in his day), and wanted a modern city to be accessible to cars. the problem new york (and virtually every other city) found was that when you build a facility that is attractive to automobiles, YOU WILL GET THEM. unfortunately, no matter how many new highways moses would build, they would never alleviate the problem of car traffic. that is because when you build it, they will use it.
on the other hand, build a city that is truly pedestrian friendly, and you will have pedestrians. cities exist to accumulate people. wherever you have crowds, you will have traffic problems. this is a good problem to have! it’s just like taxes. we hate to pay them, but when you owe taxes it’s because you are making money.
i hope blair’s proposal does not die. it looks like a really good idea.
I am very familiar with The Power Broker It is an excellent book (a long one!) and was the inspiration for how Jack Money and I approached writing OKC Second Time Around
I am surprised that folks are shocked by this well known behavior. It is not the first time anybody with any historical memory has seen this before.
Pete: that is very interesting info. Can’t say I am surprised by it, as it fits the usual pattern that all too many refuse to open their eyes and see. The saying goes something like, “There are none so blind than those who will not see”
They promise an aircraft carrier and all we get is a heavy cruiser if we are lucky. It never changes.
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