OKC streetcar rides provide data for future decisions
You can join Steve Lackmeyer most Fridays at 9:30 a.m. at NewsOK.com to discuss all things Oklahoma City.
Q: What’s your impression of the streetcar’s success after its first few weeks of service? Is there optimism to fund further expansion?
A: Last night Mayor David Holt reported that since opening day on Dec. 14 and through Wednesday, the streetcar has hosted 55,760 riders.
The experiment with Sunday service, set to continue through January, has also performed strongly, enough so that I’d say City Hall under a new mayor and city manager may very well reconsider their approach to providing consistent Sunday service (right now the plan is only to provide service during Thunder games and major concerts and events).
We are clearly still in a honeymoon period coinciding with the holidays. But the numbers are very strong and the streetcars are carrying folks during weekdays and nonevent evenings.
People behind the scenes are talking about extensions that could be a part of MAPS 4 and might connect to more working class neighborhoods, providing an important link between people and jobs downtown and at the major hospitals.
Ridership could change as we get into January. But so far, it’s looking good.
Q: I have used the streetcar a few times. My main issue is I feel like several of the stops are unnecessary (way too close to other stops) and it really extends the time it takes to get to your stop. Leaving the Thunder game and trying to get to the stop on Hudson took over half an hour. Do you think the city will re-evaluate some of the repetitive stops?
A: This is a part of the honeymoon phase that should change over time. It’s difficult to imagine every stop having passengers waiting for every passing streetcar and it’s difficult seeing passengers getting off at every stop.
As the service hits its average pace, we will see the streetcars not stopping where there are no waiting passengers and only stopping for people to get off when they hit a button asking for the next stop.
Q: Is there a correlation between early ridership of streetcar and future use? How do our early numbers stack up against Kansas City?
A: The first question remains to be answered over the next several weeks after free ridership comes to an end.
For the record, I don’t think $1 per boarding on the Oklahoma City Streetcar or $3 for an all day pass is bad at all.
The Kansas City model is so different. It is free. It uses dual tracks instead of linear, but also started with just two miles of track whereas the Oklahoma City system spans 4.3 miles and includes a second shorter loop the serves Bricktown on weekends. The Kansas City Street car carried 550,000 riders over its first three months.
The Oklahoma City Streetcar has carried more than 50,000 riders over the first two weeks.
Q: Signal prioritization for the streetcar, are we getting it or not? I’m hearing we have extra funds left over from construction to accomplish it, but many people in the City are saying we don’t need it. Ridership is high now because it’s new and free, but it’s currently not practical for many things. Making the route faster and more efficient would open it up to many more uses for your average rider and potentially retain some of these high ridership numbers.
A: Questions persist over whether signal prioritization will make that big of a difference and we also really don’t have a good grip of what the actual timing is until the free honeymoon period is over.
Yes, the MAPS 3 surplus is looking good, but remember, we don’t have access to all that money yet due to project encumbrances, etc.
No one at City Hall is saying “no” to spending more on the signals (I’ve talked to the key players), but they do feel like they need more data from the operation to see if the signal upgrades are needed, whether they will make any dent in the length of the ride.
A lot of the length issue is tied to the linear nature of the design and the need to educate riders on how to get from one direction to another on the loop.
Q: What do you think about the new superintendent being bold enough to redistrict, limit transfers, and close some schools? I’m for it and think it has to be done as a first step in making our schools and neighborhoods stronger.
A: We have a huge amount of vacancy at our schools and one has to take seriously the idea that it’s time to kill the sacred cows, regardless of whether they are in an influential gentrified historic neighborhood or a neighborhood with vocal activists. The focus should be on the kids.
Q: I like the idea of Opening Night being held at Scissortail Park. It will have room for more people. And the north end having a Streetcar platform for both loops will make it more convenient. We might also look into repositioning the Festival of the Arts to North Scissortail beginning in 2020.
A: I really hope we are going to think long and hard before draining life from every other park and public space downtown to support Scissortail Park.