11/14/2018
BUILDING A REGIONAL TRANSIT SYSTEM WITH OUR STREETCAR AS THE CENTERPIECE
We have over 3,000 followers on this page. Many of you regularly ask about extending the streetcar system into other areas and to other cities. Yesterday, a major meeting took place regarding building a comprehensive transit system that connects OKC to Norman, Moore, Edmond, Del City, and Midwest City. Presumably, this long-term plan will involve more buses, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Commuter Rail, and yes.. streetcar expansion. Many of us have worked for years on such an initiative. Next Tuesday, the OKC City Council will vote to join the RTA. See this very thorough explanation of the history and the process by our Honorable Mayor, David Holt.
Re: Regional Transit Authority
Currently, our city’s transit system is comprised of a bus system that is almost entirely within our city limits. A downtown streetcar will join that system next month.
Of course, our citizens travel around the country, see regional commuter rail systems that link multiple cities, and have wondered for decades whether that could ever happen here. The first thing you have to understand in any conversation about regional commuter rail is that it takes a long time to implement. Usually, it takes decades.
Recognizing this, various groups began the conversation over a decade ago. It started first with a plan, released in 2005, that envisioned commuter rail from Edmond to Norman and east to Tinker AFB. (This plan also envisioned some transit elements within OKC, including the streetcar, better bus service, a transit hub, and bus rapid transit. OKC continues to pursue those elements as well, but as of now, those plans don’t involve other cities.)
Mayor Cornett began leading regional talks in 2009 through what was dubbed a Regional Transit Dialogue. Meanwhile, the State Legislature passed legislation that authorized the possible creation of a Regional Transit Authority. In 2015, the Dialogue became a Task Force. All cities in the region were approached, and the following decided to join: OKC, Del City, Midwest City, Norman, Moore and Edmond.
For the last three years that Task Force has developed the plans for Oklahoma’s first Regional Transit Authority. Recently, it decided to move forward with creation of that Authority, a process that requires each of the six cities to approve an agreement.
This morning (see picture), that agreement was presented to the City Council and the board of COTPA (OKC’s transit authority) in a joint workshop. The agreement calls for a seven-member board that includes all six cities and a weighted voting system that gives OKC majority control (we represent 66 percent of the Authority’s taxing capacity).
The Oklahoma City Council is expected to consider approving the agreement Tuesday. If we do, and the five other cities join us, it is a bit of a historic moment. For the first time, we will have a government entity to oversee regional transit. For the time being, our transit system (COTPA, AKA Embark) will remain separate. As the years go on, we’ll continue to consider how the systems may interact. The RTA will also make decisions in the years ahead about its own mission. Though regional commuter rail seems to be at the top of the list, it is still an open question as to whether that mission may eventually include intracity transit as well. And of course, the biggest decision RTA will face in the years ahead is if and when to approach the voters of the RTA about a funding mechanism. But those conversations are still years ahead. As I said at the beginning, these processes take decades. But this is a big step and a milestone in this journey.
