The MAPS 4 'Beautify OKC' plan is being drafted. Check out proposals for its next phases.
The vision for beautifying Oklahoma City with the MAPS 4 initiative is becoming clearer and clearer, as consultants and engineers provided MAPS advisers with preliminary plans for projects throughout the city in the coming years.
The MAPS 4 program, approved by voters in 2019, is budgeting $32.9 million total toward beautification enhancements along major corridors across Oklahoma City. Officials and planners described the intent as improving the overall perception of the city and transforming the first impression its appearance gives visitors.
A list of nearly 20 potential locations — including major interstate corridors, gateways, pedestrian bridges, key arterials and intersections — were identified across all of the city's eight wards. The projects could include gardens, plazas, bridge enhancements, murals, landscaping and artwork.
More: MAPS 4 would include $30 million for beautification projects, staff
Thousands of comments gathered from local residents in 2022 painted a picture of how the projects should proceed.
"I think the difficult part of really looking at beautification of Oklahoma City is that it can be defined differently by pretty much anyone," said Daniel Sperle, an urban planner with the C.H. Guernsey architectural firm. "One of the things that came out of the engagement, though, that we really appreciated was that people saw the benefit of it being both for the community but also for visitors."
Based on the feedback, residents were most proud of the downtown Scissortail Park, the Myriad Botanical Gardens, and the city's various historic districts. But residents also were calling for more connectivity, more public spaces, more sustainable maintenance and more safety.
"People want community anchors, they want neighborhood identification, they want to support tourism and economic development, and they want to bring a sense of playfulness and delight to everyday spaces," said Paul Ryckbost, vice president of energy and utility solutions at C.H. Guernsey.
How the money in the MAPS 4 Beautification budget will be spent
The MAPS 4 Beautification budget dedicates a combined $26.5 million toward design, testing, land acquisition and construction, along with $1.3 million in contingency and $5 million in operating funds. Some MAPS 4 allocations already have been used to purchase land near NE 23 and Martin Luther King Avenue during the project's first phase.
Architects are now developing and drafting a master plan for the beautification's proposed second through fifth phases. The third phase likely will include enhancements to three pedestrian bridges at a total cost of $2 million. The bridges all cross over Interstate 44 and can be found on SW 24, Blackwelder Avenue and at Woodson Park.
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"I think everyone is probably somewhat familiar with these, probably more so as a gateway that they drive under rather than a pedestrian trail," Sperle said. "But I do think, while these aren't necessarily the most attractive pieces of infrastructure in our city, they are really critical, and they are really important to the neighborhoods that they serve."
Guernsey consultants are exploring how to incorporate various elements of public art, creative lighting and tree canopies for each of the bridges.
$1.8 million in corridor improvements for the plan's fifth phase also is being proposed along Reno and Eastern avenues. The project would extend from the city's Bricktown to First Americans Boulevard, and planners are already in talks with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation about what they hope to do with the corridor.
"Knowing that in the coming years, with the Olympic Trials potentially, that's going to be an exit that a lot of people will be taking, and so I think it's an awesome opportunity to thnk about how we're welcoming people into that area," Sperle said.
Planners and designers recently told the MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board they had been considering the examples set by peer cities, including Cincinnati and Indianapolis, for various enhancement ideas.
More: What MAPS projects will start in 2024? Everything to know about ongoing OKC projects
Cincinnati "has done a great job of using their historic districts to really catapult urban development" in "really tactful and low-cost ways," Sperle said. "And then another one I can think of is the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, and looking at how beautification along a bike trial can actually improve the economic development of a distressed area."
MAPS Program Manager David Todd said he hopes to have a finalized master plan to board and subcommittee members in the next two months.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Architects developing next phases of OKC's MAPS 4 beautification plan
