‘Master Plan’ to bring rail system to Edmond

Photo by: Amber Smith

 

The votes are in and the Edmond City Council will be conducting what they are calling the Downtown Master Plan Study.

This proposed Master Plan Study, which was originally drafted in 1998, was revisited in 2010 and passed a vote on Sept. 9. Its approval has allowed for a $300,000 contract with Freese and Nichols Inc. to focus on the next steps in aiding the expansion of Edmond, focusing primarily on the downtown area.

The entire study will be conducted over an 18-month time period and Freese and Nichols’ study will only include the area extending from Danforth Road to Fifth Street.

“Edmond has definitely grown over the years,” senior Aimee Williams, Edmond resident, said. “Downtown especially has started catering to a wider variety of people so I can understand the city’s interest in expanding down there.”

The 2010 Downtown Master Plan looks to complete a number of goals including a commuter transit to connect Edmond, Norman, Midwest City and Tinker Air Force Base and a pedestrian bridge downtown. The study will provide more information concerning resources, costs, funding and other aspects related to the project.

The Downtown Master Plan will also include more parking for the downtown area. An estimated $485,000 will go towards a parking area that will feature 142 new spaces. This parking area is expected to go on the south side of West Edmond Road, just west of Broadway.

As of now, the estimated cost of the proposed rail system connecting the Oklahoma Metro Area is between $2 billion and $3 billion. The possible location for this new rail system is predicted to be located in an area south of Edmond Road and east of Broadway.

The proposed pedestrian bridge is estimated to cost around $500,000 and will make downtown more pedestrian-friendly. The pedestrian bridge is set to be located east of the railroad tracks crossing West Edmond Road.

“For that much money, they would really have to prove the benefits and be able to show that a wide demographic would benefit from these changes,” Aimee Williams said. “There are a lot of people here who have never used public transportation like this before.”

Aimee Williams isn’t alone in her opinion.

“The fact of the matter is that people are used to driving their cars everywhere,” senior Jessica Williams said. “They’re really going to have to prove to people that these new changes are worth making.”

There hasn’t been much word on the official dates of the proposed study, but people of Edmond are already talking.

“I’m really interested in what they’re going to propose and how they’re going to market their ideas to the people,” Jessica Williams said.

Edmond City Manager Larry Stevens says that federal funding will be the nature of financing this project but community leaders have expressed their concerns about funding.

Price tag aside, people have expressed their concern for whether or not this new public transit will be popular enough to generate enough business.

“The overall outcome is so dependant,” Aimee Williams said. “Ideally this new system would save people money, but at the same time you don’t want this brand-new rail system sitting there and not being used.”

Going along with Aimee Williams’ theory, ideally having this rail system would bring in business to Edmond and help local businesses grow. City councilman Nick Massey has said that the downtown area needs to become a magnet for Edmond’s business and tourism.

“I think this will help local businesses because there are a lot of new businesses and resources coming about in smaller cities like Midwest City and it would make a smoother transition for people who are coming and going,” Jessica Williams said. “It would promote the commute to Edmond.”

Other students agreed.

“Providing public transportation will not only interlink cities, but businesses as well,” junior Jessica Thompson, who is also from Edmond, said.

However, she has concerns about the traffic the proposed railway system will create in the already traffic-heavy downtown area.

“People will commute with ease, yet more traffic will be created,” Thompson said.

Despite generally positive responses in the anticipation of Edmond expansion, the feeling isn’t completely mutual. Some business owners like Pete Reeser, who owns property downtown, has recently tried to challenge the city council’s decision to conduct the Master Plan Study.

“Nobody has a problem with business downtown,” Reeser said. “We don’t want it fixed.”

Inevitably, change is coming to Edmond and the Oklahoma Metro Area whether city officials are involved or not.

“I think people are starting to change how they view not only Edmond, but Oklahoma in general,” Aimee Williams said. “These changes will make our state look more metropolitan and modern, which is good for the tourism Oklahoma is trying to achieve.”

Though city officials haven’t begun marketing the idea or giving many details, the city of Edmond can stay tuned for developments once the 18-month study gets underway.