Work zones present good problem for city

DRIVING in downtown Oklahoma City — what a mess! And what a blessing. A city that doesn’t have construction projects underway is likely a city that’s in decline. Oklahoma City doesn’t have that problem.

The drive through downtown can be maddening at the moment, with orange “Road Work Ahead” signs all over the place and stretches of several streets blocked off entirely. Yet we much prefer this to the alternative. We’re old enough to remember when downtown OKC was Nowheresville, particularly during the evenings.

It’s anything but that today, thanks to the original MAPS proposal approved by Oklahoma City voters 24 years ago this month. That plan, to use a 1-cent sales tax to pay for projects on a pay-as-you-go basis, produced a new baseball stadium, the Bricktown Canal, a new arena, a new library and other upgrades that in turn led to billions of dollars in private investment — restaurants, apartments, businesses, hotels — and, ultimately, to Oklahoma City landing a professional basketball franchise.

The torn-up streets in evidence today are largely the result of the latest MAPS iteration, MAPS 3, approved by voters in 2009. One piece of that plan was a streetcar system, and today the tracks for that system are being laid. That’s made it a hassle to get to Chesapeake Energy Arena for Thunder games or concerts, or to the Cox Convention Center, or to many other locations.

The good news is that the work is scheduled to be completed next year with streetcar service to begin in November 2018. As city reporter Bill Crum noted in a story not long ago, completion will mean “expanding parking options and bringing dining and drinking options throughout Midtown, downtown and Bricktown closer to the arena.”

It won’t mean the end of traffic cones and congestion. The state Transportation Commission last week approved a contract to build the two remaining core sections of the Oklahoma City Boulevard. Those sections will be constructed between Western Avenue and Shields/E.K. Gaylord Boulevard and will include a bridge over Western.

Construction should begin early next year on the new convention center complex, which was approved as part of MAPS 3. It will be located south of Chesapeake Energy Arena. The complex will include a parking garage and a 600-room Omni hotel.

Work is underway on the north portion of Scissortail Park, which comprises 37 acres of land between the future Oklahoma City Boulevard and Interstate 40. That section will eventually be tied, via the pedestrian/bike bridge over I-40, to 31 acres south of the highway.

And there is more going on, including the renovation and restoration of the Santa Fe Station, an overhaul of First National Center, other hotels being built, and businesses expanding.

At The Oklahoman’s Downtown Year in Review, held last week, an Omni executive talked about his company’s decision to build here.

“You have got more here than what we’ve ever had going at any of our other hotel developments in the past,” which have included Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville and Fort Worth, he said. “None of those cities have what you are developing here today. This is really special, and we are very excited to be a part of it.”

It’s a sentiment to remember while snaking through another work zone.