Oklahoma City’s Public Works Department is nearing the end of one of its biggest and most prominent projects in years – one that is transforming its downtown area into a more pedestrian-friendly and attractive space. Dubbed “Project 180” because it spans 180 acres and represents a 180-degree change for the downtown, this project already has improved the core of Oklahoma City and made it a friendlier, more livable space, according to Director of Public Works Eric Wenger. 

“We now see people jogging at lunch,” he says. “We see baby strollers downtown, kids and families, and there’s yoga in the park.” 

Although Project 180 was a massive undertaking, Wenger says the city is seeing its hard work pay off. That’s due in large part to the exceptional efforts of the city, its consultants and the contractors it partnered with to make it happen, he adds. Wenger says the city has even seen private property owners follow the city’s lead by making their own streetscape improvements in line with what Project 180 has accomplished. The end-result, he says, is a more unified downtown that is exciting, more livable for residents and even more welcoming for visitors. 

A Friendlier Downtown

Project 180 was born out of a desire to make downtown Oklahoma City more pedestrian-friendly and more appealing. From a practical standpoint, it involved converting most of the downtown’s one-way streets to two-way streets, but it also involved making changes that improved access for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as drivers. The city added enough on-street parking to equal a high-rise parking structure, for example. Bike lanes and destination markers that identify areas of historic interest are also included. “It has completely transformed our central business district,” Wenger says. “It has united our community.”

The project not only makes practical changes to the downtown, but aesthetic changes, as well. Wenger says the city’s streetscapes have been enhanced with a landscaping program that created a more unified theme for the downtown, as well as street furniture such as benches, bike racks and decorative street lighting. “It really was a makeover,” he says. 

One of the most prominent areas being improved by Project 180 was the city’s Myriad Botanical Gardens. The four-square-block park was almost completely revamped during the first phase of the project, adding several performance areas, a children’s discovery garden and play area, an ice skating rink, water features and a dog park. The gardens’ Crystal Bridge Conservatory also received an upgrade, being completely re-glazed and having a new grand entrance built. 

Wrapping Up

As can be expected with any major infrastructure project in a metropolitan downtown, the biggest challenge that faces Wenger and the Project 180 team is the logistical challenge of coordinating construction and rerouting traffic. This was especially true during the earliest phases of the project, which required the complete demolition of numerous streets. “A lot of the streets were temporarily removed from the traffic grid,” Wenger says. 

One of the goals at the start of the project was to get work done as quickly as possible, and crews were working on the streets 10 blocks at a time. This created significant impacts on vehicle as well as pedestrian traffic at first, but Wenger says the project team addressed this in later phases by breaking the work up into smaller segments of two or three blocks, and providing a protective barrier system for pedestrians through areas under construction. With Project 180 underway, there is also considerable construction in other areas of the downtown as private development has followed. 

According to Wenger, the final streetscape phases that make up Project 180 are under construction. The remaining work includes two smaller parks, and those are expected to be completed in early 2016. “We’re within 20 months of finishing up Project 180,” Wenger says. 

Although the project has received a lot of positive feedback from Oklahoma City residents, Wenger says the city also is excited about the effect Project 180 has had on downtown businesses. Not only are businesses seeing increased foot traffic past their locations, but many of them are copying the project’s approach to streetscaping to make their storefronts more appealing and more connected to downtown. “When you create walkable, bikeable streetscapes, businesses are able to further expand and thrive in such a vibrant setting,” Wenger says.