Credit: Brad Gregg Hizzoner will receive the Joseph P. Riley Jr. Award for Leadership in Urban Design from the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) for “his leadership in guiding the MAPS 3 initiative from concept to implementation.” While we here at Chicken-Fried News like the mayor — and particularly […]
MAPS 3
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Bumpy road
Construction of the $30 million, federally funded boulevard is the final phase in the state Department of Transportation’s Interstate 40 Crosstown realignment. On completion of the project in 2014, ownership will be transferred to the city. In response to concerns about the planned elevation, ODOT last summer enlisted a consultant firm, Stantec, to look at […]
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Unconventional concerns
Mike Carrier Credit: Mark Hancock The Cox Center is being subsidized fairly heavily compared to counterparts in similar markets, losing an average of $3.4 million yearly between 2006 and 2008. But a new convention center would still require subsidization by the city. Convention Sports and Leisure International (CS&L), the company whose study recommended Oklahoma City […]
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Re-examine the convention center
To replace it, we must keep our eyes on two goals: designing a convention center that best serves our present and future needs and conducting the design process with openness and transparency. Few dispute the fact that convention business has tanked nationally, particularly regarding larger conventions. The Oct. 13 Wall Street Journal reported on the […]
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Bike boom
Credit: Mark Hancock The city is planning for more than 200 miles of bike routes, which includes so-called “sharrow” lanes. The word “sharrow” is a combination of “share” and “arrow.” The lanes are designated by pavement markings showing a picture of a bicycle below two arrows. The bike routes will be added in phases. The […]
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Park places
The proposed designs were met with general approval by the crowd in attendance. Many audience members offered their ideas for the park, including suggestions for making the area more friendly to bicyclists and mass transit users. The park will comprise 40 acres south of the future downtown boulevard and 30 acres south of the realigned […]
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On the side
Patrick Ryan Credit: Mark Hancock In August, the MAPS 3 Trails and Sidewalks Subcommittee sent a sidewalks master plan to the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board. Out of 131 total alignments identified as in need of sidewalks, the plan prioritized around 31 of them. In the master plan, of the more than $9 million set […]
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Staying the course
The recommendation to hire Populous and GSB to conduct a conceptual study for the convention center will go before the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Committee tomorrow. If passed, it then will go before the Oklahoma City Council for approval. Populous and GSB were the firms responsible for weighing and narrowing down the prospective sites. Out […]
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In the park
More than 130 people attended the first of three public meetings on the MAPS 3 park. Credit: Mark Hancock Mary Margaret Jones, senior principal at Hargreaves Associates, the city’s consultant on the project, said it is important to consider many elements when making decisions about the park, such as Oklahoma’s climate, existing and future development […]
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More for Core for Shore
The planned location for the $252 million convention center, the former Fred Jones automobile dealership property across Reno Avenue from Myriad Botanical Gardens, is north of the boundary that currently defines the Core to Shore Urban Renewal Plan area. In order to buy the property, however, the city must redraw the plan’s boundaries to include […]