HITTING THE RAILS
Oklahoma City set to inaugurate streetcar service
After a rigorous safety review, two years of construction and six months of testing and training, the Oklahoma City Streetcar is set to announce, "All aboard."
Service on the $136 million, 6.9-mile MAPS 3 downtown streetcar system begins Friday.
Transit officials prepared to accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 riders on opening day, based on averages in other cities, and up to 50,000 for the opening weekend.
Rides will be free the first three weeks. After that, the fare is $1 per ride and $3 for a 24-hour pass.
A streetcar will be the backdrop as choirs and bands welcome the public to a grand opening ceremony starting about 9:30 a.m. at Leadership Square, 211 N Robinson Ave.
The ceremony on Leadership Square's east plaza will include dignitaries' speeches, old-timers' stories of the city's original trolley system, a ribbon-cutting, and confetti.
The irony is most people who attend will drive.
But advocates see the streetcar as a building block to the future.
"The vision," said Nathaniel Harding, a member of the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board and chairman of the streetcar subcommittee, "is to provide reliable, frequent public transit for everybody."
Attending a concert, play, or baseball or basketball game downtown? Catching dinner or shopping?
The streetcar will make it easy to park remotely and catch a ride to and from the arena, theater, or entertainment districts.
Safety first
A primary concern has been safety of those sharing the streets with the 66-foot, 5-inch streetcars.
Animated videos at okcstreetcar.com have safety tips for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.
Examples: Don't play on the tracks; cross at a 90-degree angle when pushing a stroller.
Oklahoma City's streetcars take nearly 60 feet to reach a full stop from 20 mph, so darting in front of one is highly discouraged.
Along the route, city ordinances require motorists to park inside the white lines. Vehicles that block the tracks will be towed.
"See something, say something" is emphasized, reminding passengers they are the first line of defense against terrorism.
Streetcars are equipped with cameras, inside and out.
Areas of weakness identified in an Oct. 31 emergency drill were addressed through training by first-responders, and staff from Embark transit and from Herzog Transit Services, the system operator.
How to ride
No more stepping up to board or stepping down to exit the trolley.
The Liberty model streetcars and the 22 boarding platforms have a roll-on, roll-off design, ramps and other features meeting disability standards.
Fares will be paid with coins or cards at platform vending machines, or may be paid with the Token Transit smartphone app.
Streetcars carry up to 104 passengers seated and standing.
Electronic devices installed on each streetcar will count riders, with manual counts to audit accuracy.
Taking the upper range of ridership estimates from around 2013, the streetcar system could have just under 500,000 riders per year.
The 4.9-mile downtown loop will traverse the central business district, linking Midtown and Bricktown, Mondays through Saturdays.
The 2-mile Bricktown loop will serve that popular entertainment district Fridays and Saturdays.
Limited Sunday service generally is reserved for special events but will be offered the first seven weeks to gauge demand for a permanent Sunday schedule.
"During these first seven Sundays, we’ll be monitoring ridership," Mayor David Holt said on Twitter.
"My view is that if there is real demand, we should try to meet it," he said. "We’ll be able to have that conversation more knowledgeably once we have some real data in hand."