Public Open House Questions and Answers

Questions from the public open house will be answered, a few at a time, on this blog. The questions below were answered by INCOG staff.

Q: What is the cost comparison to road widening/maintenance?
A: Rail-based transit projects range in cost. These costs are largely dependent on the type of technology chosen for the project along with any special circumstances, such as varying topography and urban conditions. Our research has shown project costs ranging from $9 million dollars per mile in Austin to $ 21 million dollars per mile in Denver. In addition to these issues, right of way, overhead electrification, and the often volatile pricing of construction materials affect capital costs. By comparison, the I-44 expansion currently under way in Tulsa between the Arkansas River and Yale Avenue has an estimated cost of approximately $100 million per mile. Arterial expansion costs are significantly lower than highway projects. The City of Tulsa estimates, for CIP purposes, arterial expansion to range from $11 million per mile for 5 lane (from 2 lanes) expansion, to $13 million per mile for 6 lane expansion (from 4 lanes). This cost includes design, right of way acquisition, construction, and utility relocation.

Q: What is the condition of the rails into Tulsa?
A: The existing condition of the rail lines in Tulsa vary. The Union Pacific line from Broken Arrow to downtown Tulsa is in good condition. It is welded rail, which is necessary for passenger rail service. There are several at-grade crossings on that corridor that would need upgrades for passenger service as well. Conversely, the rail line extending along the west bank of the Arkansas River is not in good condition for passenger service. At this time it is only rated for 15 mile per hour freight service. The SK&O line is in average condition, and would also need upgrades before passenger service could be used on that alignment.

Q: Tulsa will be updating our comprehensive plan. How can we maximize transit synergies as we move forward with the comprehensive plan?
A: INCOG is working closely with the City of Tulsa (as well as Fregonese and Associates and Kimley-Horn, who have been contracted to update the City’s Comprehensive Plan) to specifically look at transportation-related elements of that plan. Over the course of that planning process, several scenarios should emerge, some of which are anticipated to include transit options, such as rail. Those scenarios will model how transit might change the land uses and subsequent built environment around it. It will then be up to the citizens of Tulsa to determine how they want their city to grow, look, and feel, and to what extent transit is an element of the overall plan.

Interview with Cal Marsella on Studio Tulsa

An MP3 of Studio Tulsa Host Rich Fisher's interview with Cal Marsella is now available: http://www.incog.org/transportation/StudioTulsaInterview.mp3

Cal Marsella, General Manager, Denver RTD

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Cal Marella Presentation to the What About Rail? Open House Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sonya Lopez, Senior Planner, City of Austin

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Sonya Lopez presentation to the What About Rail Open House, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Jack Crowley, Special Advisor to the Mayor, City of Tulsa

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Jack Crowly presentation to the What About Rail Open House, Tulsa Oklahoma

Attendee Map

Here is a map showing where attendees of the What About Rail? Public Open House live. A PDF version is available on the INCOG What About Rail? page: www.incog.org/transportation/whataboutrail.htm

Your Comments

Read all the comments from the public open house at www.incog.org/transportation/rail/PublicOpenHouseComments.pdf.

Presentations available

The PowerPoint presentations for each of the speakers are available now at www.incog.org/transportation/whataboutrail.htm. Videos of presenters should be available early next week.

The questions and comments we received were great, and we'll begin posting those this week.

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone that participated in the public open house yesterday. We apologize that there wasn't more time for questions, but hopefully everyone enjoyed the great presentations from Cal Marsella, General Manager - RTD, Sonya Lopez, Senior Planner - City of Austin, and Dr. Jack Crowley, Special Advisor to the Mayor - Urban Planning. Thank you to all our panelists and speakers for sharing their experiences with Tulsa residents.

Also, thank you to our co-sponsors who helped INCOG in planning this event - the Federal Transit Administration, Tulsa Now, Tulsa Metro Chamber, and Tulsa Young Professionals.

As promised, we'll be posting answers to last night's questions here, a few at a time. If you have more questions, post them here or email transportation@incog.org. Please remember that comments are moderated, and anonymous comments cannot be posted (see our posting guidelines for more information).

Also coming soon - videos of all the presenters sharing their entire presentations.

Open House Presenters

We are excited about the caliber of presenters who have agree to participate in the public open house. They include:

Sonya Lopez - Principal Planner, Austin

Cal Marsella - General Manager of the Regional Transportation District, Denver

Andrew Howard - Kimley-Horn, consulting firm studying the integration of land-use and transit for the City of Tulsa Comprehensive Plan

Dwayne Weeks Federal Transit Administration, New Starts and Small Starts project review team).

You can submit questions for these presenters starting today. Questions can be added as comments to this blog or email to transportation@incog.org. Please include your name, city of residents or organization with the question. There will also be time before and during the open house to submit your questions.