After decades of false starts, Downtown Oklahoma City is making room for alternative transportation with streetcars, electric vehicle charging stations, and a new bike sharing program, reports Steve Lackmeyer.
Downtown Oklahoma City was not always made for cars. But in the six and a half decades since its once-prominent streetcar system was shut down, it has come to depend on the automobile as much as any other red-blooded American city – in fact, a local produce market opening later this year "will remain the closest thing to a full-scale grocery," Lackmeyer writes.
And so the near-simultaneous introduction of three alternative transportation programs, for Lackmeyer, constitutes a "small revolution... [that] might just change the rules for decades to follow."
First, Oklahoma City is set to see the revival of the streetcar. Part of a 10-year public works program called MAPS 3, the system is backed by $129 million in funding and will connect at least five separate neighborhoods.
"Downtown also is set to get its start at 'green parking,'" Lackmeyer explains - "a system that will allow owners of electric vehicles to plug in along a curb. Two recharging stations are set to be built later this year as part of [downtown revitalization project] Project 180."
In addition, the city has approved the installation of new bicycle racks throughout the downtown. "Those racks just might get more use as 'Spokies,' a new bike-share program...is set to be inaugurated next month."
FULL STORY: OKC Central: Transit alternatives begin to emerge downtown in Oklahoma City

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)