Daily Links
September 19th, 2009-
Arguably the weakest of the components is the priciest: the new convention center, guesstimated at $280 million of the $777 million package, and, I’d bet, probably the highest priority of Movers & Shakers, Ltd., since they’d get to show it off to other guys in suits. It is true that the existing Cox Center is forty years old; it is also true that $60 million from the original MAPS package was spent on sprucing it up for its thirties. What’s yet to be determined is whether there will be any convention business left once this thing is built: if Washington manages to sucker the public into some sort of hyperexpensive yet ineffectual response to sunspots, fercrissake, nobody will be going anywhere anyway.
On the other hand, $40 million will buy fifty-seven miles of trail, which is a good thing, since the city’s Master Plan for trails called for more than 200 miles, and they’re a long way from finishing up.
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I love and admire my city of birth, OKC, but I have to admit it is very unlikely that a more or less comprehensive urban fabric will develop here in my lifetime. I am with many who have such hope for our city's center, and I too have had dreams of wind-powered trolleys, world-class dining from the most posh to the most funky and cheap, Farmer's Markets ripe with our great produce, fashion and art innovation happening at studios and boutiques all about our town, being able to walk or ride a bike to most errands and workplaces, having local grocers and cafes and hardware shops in each neighborhood, enjoying the diversity of Capitol Hill, the Asian District, NE 23rd street, etc. via connective transit, and even rail and bus transit, tying our city together in lovely ways, and freeing us from a long-incubated shackling to our cars. And glory be if we have a frequent, and fast rail connection from Will Rogers Airport to downtown!
September 20th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
What’s the chances of getting the convention center removed from the plan? If we spent 280mil in revitalizing the many population centers, people wouldn’t feel like they had to go see a big show every weekend. Smaller entertainment venues scattered abroad is a much more sustainable approach anyway.
280mil for sidewalks, boulevards, and beautification… is that too much to wish for?