MAPS 3 Proposes Central Park for OKC

A 40-acre park in downtown Oklahoma City hinges on voters passing the MAPS 3 proposal. <br /><br /><a href="http://kotv.com/utils/slideshow/?id=a21778c5-62bf-45b3-a0ac-890656db9ba0 " target="_blank">View&nbsp;a photo slideshow of the&nbsp;park proposal</a> |&nbsp;<a href="http://www.okc.gov/maps3/summary.html" target="_blank">See a complete list of projects on the MAPS 3 proposal</a>&nbsp;| <a href="http://yesformaps.com/" target="_blank">Read about the campaign to support MAPS 3</a>

Monday, September 28th 2009, 9:12 pm

By: News 9


By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A 40-acre park in downtown Oklahoma City hinges on voters passing the MAPS 3 proposal.

The park is what Oklahoma City Planning Director Russell Claus calls a once in a lifetime opportunity for Oklahoma City residents.

“It’s very rarely that you get an opportunity to plan something like this. This is a great opportunity for us to leverage Oklahoma City’s future. This will define downtown Oklahoma City

MAPS 3 Park Proposal

for hundreds of years to come. You have to think that far ahead. If we don’t set this space aside now then we will lose that opportunity and we will not develop the capability of what Oklahoma City is capable of,” Claus said.

The entire park would go from Hudson to Robinson and stretch from the current location of Interstate 40 all the way to Union Station. A pedestrian trail would run through the park. Plans for that trail go from the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial down to the Oklahoma River.

The proposed park would be heavily programmed, with activities planned at least every weekend. Plans feature what’s called a “Great Lawn” which would be geared towards large events and concerts. The area could accommodate 20,000 event goers.

There would be a children’s area for both young and older kids. A large feature of the plans is a pond which would go where the old downtown post office is currently located. Around it would also be interactive fountains for children to play in.

Clause said future generations are part of what the proposed Central Park is all about.

“We don’t want to lose any more generations to other cities. We want to make sure they stay here from here on out. We want to reverse the trend and draw other people to move here. We have to have the world class city amenities to do that,” said the Oklahoma City Planning Director.

Union Station would be the edge of the park and Claus said it’s an important component of the proposal. He envisions Union Station to house a welcome center, bike rentals, a possible restaurant, and be a potential spot for a farmers’ market.

Critics of the park say they don’t understand the need for another downtown park because Myriad Gardens already exists. Claus said the gardens don’t provide the open space that Central Park would.

“That space is what a metropolitan area the size of Oklahoma City and what we want to become needs to offer its citizens. This is a place that can offer large and small events. We don’t have anything like that here yet, but we need to,” the Oklahoma City Planning Director said.

The MAPS3 money allocated for Central Park will also go to 30 more acres of park space past where the new I-40 will be constructed. The space will connect to the river. Voters will go to the polls in December to vote on MAPS 3.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

September 28th, 2009

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024