MAPS 3 Trail Around Lake Stanley Draper Officially Opens

The City of Oklahoma City checked another MAPS 3 project off the list, as leaders push for voters to approve a list of MAPS 4 projects, coming up on a December ballot.

City leaders officially opened a $10 million, 13.5-mile trail around Lake Stanley Draper Saturday.

"Today is a great milestone to celebrate what we've been working on for the last decade," Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said. "It really took that long to plan it and built it."

"It's a culmination of a lot of work by a lot of different people," Ward 4 Councilman Todd Stone said. " A culmination of the dreams of the voters when they voted yes for MAPS 3."

With wide asphalt trails with concrete curbs that snake around the lake, the trail has more elevation change than others around town. 

"As you can tell today, we are not in downtown Oklahoma City," Stone said. 

"We spent 20 years making our downtown better, and we really needed to. So, I don't think anybody should feel bad or apologize for that," Holt said. "But, now having seen what MAPS has done for downtown Oklahoma City, I think it's entirely reasonable for people to say, 'hey, I want to see some MAPS projects close to my house.'"

Sending MAPS dollars beyond downtown is a trend Holt and supporters of MAPS 4 want to continue.

"We started doing that a little bit with MAPS 3, the trails, the sidewalks and senior centers, and it just reminds me in MAPS 4 we are doing so many more things like this," Holt said. "So many sidewalks, so many senior centers, youth centers, parks, transit."

The Lake Draper trail is the third and final trail included in MAPS 3. And like all MAPS projects, it includes public art. 

"Along the way, you'll see some interesting public art. We've got the Booya Car," Holt said. "It's a half-submerged, in the dirt, car.  Kind of hard for me to describe, I'm almost going to have to leave it to your imagination and encourage you to come out and check it out for yourself."

Of the list of MAPS 3 projects, two senior centers and a convention center are the only remaining incomplete projects. 

"A lot of people are already calling this the prettiest trail in Oklahoma City," Stone said. "I believe it."