Transit Meltdown- Carless Rating #3: 63rd and May Avenue

The last 5 days have been full of trials for Beth and me; mostly stemming from not having an automobile. All were met with success, but that’s not to say having a car wouldn’t have made our weekend much more convenient. What is becoming abundantly clear in this experiment is the need for improved access to amenities in our daily lives, as well as improved infrastructure for accessing said amenities.

Sometimes you can prepare for a carless trip across town and have all the details ironed out; but the chaotic entropy of the universe oozes all over your plans and forces you to be able to change plans at a moment’s notice. One thing we needed desperately to make our apartment feel more like a home was a good mattress. Up until now we’ve been using a very nice air mattress I borrowed from one of my very gracious co-workers that replaced our camping mattress we were able to fit in our luggage that we brought from Georgia. We haven’t been getting very good sleep, and it has been affecting our energy levels throughout the days. So, Thursday, Beth decided would be “Mattress Day”.

I got off work an hour early since I worked an extra hour earlier in the week, and we were going to catch the bus, Line 7, out to 63^rd Street and May to go to Big Lots and purchase a mattress. Well, we ended up missing the bus we had planned to take at 4:15, but that shouldn’t have been an issue as another bus on the 7 line was arriving at the downtown transit center at 5:00pm. Beth and I got to the bus station with our bus fare in hand at 4:45 and sat down to wait for the bus. There were several other people waiting for our bus – a diverse group of all different ages and races. 5:00pm rolls around and the bus hasn’t shown up. This isn’t too surprising, it being rush hour and all, so we all sit patiently. 5:15 comes and goes, and everyone is getting beginning to get anxious or downright annoyed. It’s now 5:25 and the bus still isn’t there. I think one woman summed up the feeling of everyone, however uncouthly, with her frustrated exclamation, “God Damn it! I got things to be!” It was a funny moment amidst an air of growing frustration.

Finally, at 5:30, a bus whose marquee read “Going Home” pulls into the station, immediately followed by a bus with “Number 7” on the marquee. The driver of the “Going Home” bus was actually the number 7 bus that didn’t show up at 5:00, and had somehow fallen a half-hour behind schedule. She had no reason to have the “Going Home” marquee indicated, but none of the people waiting had any patience for her incompetency and boarded the second number 7 bus which could not pull into the station fully, half hanging out in the road, due to this very late bus. This was very frustrating, and clearly represented a dangerous liability for the Metro Transit system as people boarding a bus in a street are at risk for being hit by other vehicles.

Finally we get on the bus and on our way to the 63^rd and May. Everyone on the bus was enjoying our bus driver’s animated frustration and humor regarding the driver of the previous bus, and we all had a very pleasant ride being able to bond over a common crisis.

After about a 30-minute ride Beth and I dismounted the bus at the bus stop in front of the Big Lots. This bus stop, sadly, is typical for Oklahoma bus stops. A lone bench, with three 2x4s for a seat and an advertisement for a back, sitting on a grassy shoulder with no sidewalk is just about the bare minimum a transit system can provide for its riders. What’s interesting is that COTPA (Central Oklahoma Transit and Parking Authority) doesn’t actually provide the majority of the bus stops in the city. That is contracted out to an advertisement company that owns billboards in the city. The company seems to think that they are doing the city a service by providing these benches for bus stops, but it’s clear what the real motivation is. The bus benches are miniature billboards. The owners have an incentive to make the benches as unusable as possible so as to not obscure the signs on the backing. There is rarely any shelter and often no access for the disabled. It is a sad state of affairs that must be fixed if COTPA plans to have transit system worth anything. I can think of no better way to bolster the transit system and increase ridership than by improving the conditions of bus stops around this city.

Beth and I found a mattress we liked and purchased it. Big Lots will deliver furniture for a flat rate of $60, and will also hold furniture at their store for you to pick up later, which makes purchasing furniture without a car very manageable. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Also in the shopping center is an Akin’s Health Food store where Beth was able to get chocolate soy milk, which you can’t get anywhere in the downtown area, not even Native Roots!

After eating a fast-food dinner while we waited for the bus, our adventure began again. We caught the line 7 bus heading back to downtown, and it was the last bus of the night. It was the same driver we had coming out to Big Lots and she was still talking to people on the bus about how much the previous bus driver had thrown off the route schedule. Many people were upset about how their plans for the evening were disrupted because of these issues. It just goes to show how important it is for a transit system to be well-monitored and staffed with competent, responsible drivers. The ripple effect of this one driver’s inability to be on schedule and follow protocol affected hundreds of Oklahoma City citizens.

The way that it affected us was particularly bad. Because this was the last bus of the night, it was not en route to return to the downtown transit center, but was heading south on Pennsylvania Avenue back to the bus depot. We only found this out as we boarded the bus. The driver was able to take us as far as 10^th Street and Penn, which we accepted because it was a much shorter distance to travel than where we presently were. 10^th and Penn is about 1.5 miles away from our apartment, and is a quickly growing neighborhood. As we came to find out, however, it is still very rough around the edges and was legitimately scary to walk through after dark. I would not recommend anyone do this. We stayed on the well-lit 10^th Street all the way to Classen, turned south, and then east on 5^th Street back to our apartment. It was cold, somewhat frightening, and an overall pain in the ass that could have all been avoided had the one bus driver not ruined it for everyone.

Thursday night was an adventure that I won’t soon forget, and I’m very glad I had my brave and beautiful wife to go through it with, but I think it might be better to plan for trips of this length to be weekend activities that we can accomplish before nightfall.

The distance to Big Lots from our home is about 7 miles, which took around 30 minutes on the bus, which scores an outright F on our scale, but we only had to walk about a mile and a half in total, which would be a B. Given the fact that we had not planned on walking any substantial distance at all, I’m giving this a D.

The pedestrian and transit infrastructure on this journey varied in different locations. For the evening I don’t think I can give the transit system anything higher than a D. We did get where we were going, but we did not get back from where we were going, and the bus stop was down-right depressing. At Big Lots there were very few elements of walkability. The walk from 10^th and Penn was very walkable though, with sidewalks the entire way home. Regardless, I don’t feel comfortable giving anything higher than a D for this journey.

In terms of transportation options to and around 63^rd and May Avenue, the transit system failed to function correctly, there is a significant lack of pedestrian infrastructure, and there are no bike lanes. This location is only convenient to reach by motor vehicle. Again, I’m going to go with a D, because the transit system doesn’t always suck.

The land use choices in the 63^rd and May area are not terrible, if a bit corporate. As a retail hub there is a wealth of things to choose from, though the region may be suffering a decline. It’s hard to say whether the few vacancies in the numerous strip malls are the beginning of a trend or a temporary thing. While there are better areas to shop in the city, there were many people at the various stores. I’ll give it a C.

The atmosphere of this whole evening ebbed from a downright disaster, to a pleasant shopping experience, to a fearful trek home. It was definitely stimulating, but to encounter major inconvenience that puts you in a place where you’re fearful for your well-being is not an acceptable outcome of a car-less journey. The only real redeeming atmosphere was the helpful Big Lots staff. I’m going to give this a D.

So that’s four Ds and one C for a score of 9 out of a possible 25. I think this trip could have scored much higher if the transit system were better controlled. That said, there is a great need for improvements in the pedestrian infrastructure on 63^rd and May. The number one thing that I see that needs to change is that the busses should finish their routes back at the transit center downtown before heading to the depot for the night so as not to strand downtowners in dangerous areas. 

Complete Streets - What Are They? Who's Going to Use Them? How Should They Be Implemented?

Something I do in my work is to look at the concept of Complete Streets and how it might be implemented into the context of Oklahoma City. Complete Streets is the concept of making roads that are equitable for all modes of transportation; cars, bikes, pedestrians, public transit, freight, etc. In addition to this, Complete Streets strives towards appropriate place-making such that street upgrades are not a blanket solution for all areas of a city, but are tailor-made to enhance the character and usage of a place. Complete Streets policies have been authored, adopted, and implemented all around the country, and Oklahoma City is working towards this goal as well.

Philosophically, I’m a big fan of Complete Streets as a method of improving the lives of everyone in the city. However, I do worry that adding bike lanes and sidewalks (I can’t believe we have to add SIDEWALKS in so many places) will not be enough to make the investment something that impacts the majority of Oklahoma City citizens’ lives. We have to create a culture that appreciates walkability, bicycling as a means of transportation rather than solely exercise, and areas that are vibrant, small-scale places with character.

 Local planners, such as Blair Humphreys have been planning the future of one street in particular, Western Avenue. It’s no wonder that it’s a popular street for upgrading as it stretches further to the north and south of the city than nearly any other street. Western could become the non-automobile transportation spine that provides access to east-west streets throughout the city. Western changes character in many different areas, so there is no single silver bullet change that could be implemented to be effective the entire length of the road: In downtown there are four car-traffic lanes, intermittent sidewalks, no bike lanes, and spotty land use ranging from commercial to gas stations (Figures 1 & 2); around N. 45^th Street you see a totally different character, with 2 car lanes, 2 better-defined sidewalks, (still no bike lanes), and a diverse mix of retail, commercial, and residential (Figures 3 & 4); further north you enter suburbia, and Western is stripped to two lanes of car-traffic and nothing else (Figures 5&6).

Figure 1 - Downtown Section View

     

Figure 2 - Downtown Plan View

Figure 3 - Urban (non-Downtown) Section View

Figure 4 Urban (non-Downtown) Plan View

Figure 5 Sub-Urban Section View

Figure 6 Sub-Urban Plan View

I’m working on Complete Streets examples at work to improve these areas, including different scenarios based upon the amount of money that would be invested in the projects. For now, take a look at the drawings below that were created on StreetMix.net. This is the same section of Western in the Downtown area as the previous pictures, but with the spacing reorganized to provide multi-modal usage. The 4-lane street has been diminished to a 3-lane street with a center turning lane; bike lanes have been added to both sides; a sidewalk has been added to the eastern side of the street; and none of this would require tearing up pavement. The initial width of the street is maintained, but the lines on the street have been re-painted. Obviously, paint costs money, but approaching streets in this fashion could help make the implementation of Complete Streets in Oklahoma City affordable, and would be a good selling point for those worried about the cost of upgrading.

 Existing

Complete

Adding the center turn-lane would actually make traffic more efficient as no travel lanes are blocked when someone wants to turn left, and the ADT of Western does not require so many lanes, particularly in the downtown area. This design already functions in other areas of Oklahoma City, the downtown and elsewhere, and is being promoted by the Complete Streets Coalition that came to speak with City and County officials and staff last week.

Lastly, to come back to the concept of creating a culture around alternative modes of transportation, I think that it the most effective way to implement Complete Streets would be to begin in districts that already see a lot of people: your Plaza Districts, Paseo Arts District, Stockyard City, etc. In addition, upgrading the streets between these districts to make a network of Complete Streets would create a network of bike lanes and sidewalks so that people could bike to and from the different districts. From there constructing sub-networks that connect to different sites around the city would create an organic system of complete streets that becomes easier and easier to fill in.

The City has allocated a good amount of money to the initiative of improving the transportation infrastructure of the city, and it is imperative that it serve everyone: from those who are currently underserved by the system, to those who have the choice of driving – we need a total buy-in from the community to make this a successful endeavor.

Elizabeth's Trip To Work - Carless Rating #5

Good news, everyone: As of a week ago, I am an employee of the State of Oklahoma! The Carless Couple are now both employed. Looks like the ordeal of carless interviewing was a success!

I’ve been working for a full week now, and I have – of course – been taking the OKC Metro bus to and from work each day. Overall, it’s been a success, but I have hit a few snags.

Bus Commute to Elizabeth's Work: 15/25

The trek to work each day has been consistent and reliable. I get on the bus at the transit center at 7:15; it has, for the most part, arrived on time. The great thing is, the bus arrives at my destination around 7:40-7:45, so I have just the right amount of wiggle room in case the bus is late to the transit center. It’s not so early as to be annoying, but not so late as to make me too nervous if the bus shows up about 5 minutes late, which did happen once this past week. Luckily, the driver wasn’t messing around; she picked up passengers and got moving within about a minute of the usual pull-off time, so by the time all was said and done, the bus was only about 1 minute later than it would have usually been. I was very grateful for her efficiency!

Another big plus for my bus commute to work is that there is a bus stop directly in front of my building and another bus stop more or less across the street, so I don’t have to walk too far between my building and the bus stop either coming to or going from work. The pedestrian infrastructure in the area is another story – the bus may drop off directly in front of my building, but there are no sidewalks and a pretty sizable lawn between the building and the bus stop that I have to cross. It’s either trek across the sloping lawn, or backtrack down the road (on the curb – no sidewalks) to get to the driveway and walk up it. I usually choose the lawn, but if the grass were very wet or muddy, I imagine that I would take the driveway option.

Leaving work to come home is more stressful, and the lack of pedestrian infrastructure in the area is mainly to blame. First, there’s the lawn I have to cross, and as the return bus stop is a tad further down the road than right across the street, I have to walk on the grass/curb to get to where I cross the street to get to the bus stop. Then, I get to dash across four lanes of traffic with no crosswalks anywhere to be seen! Fortunately, it’s not a terribly busy road. The traffic on NE Martin Luther King is definitely consistent but I have been able to cross each time without feeling like I had to take any kind of unreasonable risk; the visibility is fair in both directions.

The bus stop, though… it’s not the best.

There’s the obvious lack of sidewalk, for starters. There’s also the ubiquitous borderline-unusable bench seat that is nothing more than a glorified ad space – they’re always sitting at some weird angle, aren't they? I almost feel like the builders put a level on the seat planks and then make sure that bubble is off to the side. Surely the earth in Oklahoma City is not shifting this much. We don’t live in a bubbling prehistoric miasma. I mean, it IS just an excuse to provide ad space; why would they want the bus stop benches to be comfortable? The feeling you get on an OKC bus stop bench is either that you’re sitting on a really hard wooden recliner or tipping over the top of the first hill on a rickety old roller coaster.

One of the worst things about OKC bus stops is that there is usually no kind of shelter. I would say that maybe 10% of them have a covering at all. Usually this isn't a big problem personally, as I tend to be well-prepared for my travels (on time to the bus stop, appropriately dressed, carrying umbrella if needed), but this lack is keenly felt here at this bus stop, where I have to wait a bit for the bus after work. This past week in particular was a time when a shelter would have been appreciated – I stupidly forgot my umbrella and had to wait over 20 minutes in the freezing rain before my bus arrived. I don’t usually have to wait that long, but our department was released early on Friday because of the inclement weather, so I wasn't at the bus stop at my usual time.

The pick-up time on my return trip home has been a bit of a pain. According to my route schedule, the estimated pick-up time for my stop in the afternoon is around 4:50pm. The actual pick-up time varied pretty widely this week, but it seems like there’s a fairly consistent 15-minute window of time within which I can plan on catching the bus home. As long as I am prepared every day with a coat, hat, and gloves and an umbrella (and some rain boots, once I find some – there were NONE at Target this weekend, can you believe that?), I should be okay. I also need thermal underwear. I learned quickly this week that the blustery wintertime in OKC requires thermal underwear, so I picked some up this weekend.

My other issue with the commute to and from work has less to do with the transit system or pedestrian infrastructure and more to do with the way people tend to view public transit. I really like my coworkers so far, but they’ve been a little weird about my bus travel. Don’t get me wrong; they’ve been very accommodating about it – my boss even told me that if I needed to arrive or leave early or late to make sure I could catch the bus, that we could work out a modified schedule for me. This gesture was ultimately unnecessary but I very much appreciated that she extended the offer. The problem is that people treat me like I’m less fortunate because I ride the bus, and this really, really bothers me. When John and I tell people that we’re living without a car, they are always confused, and their confusion turns to outright befuddlement when we tell them that our carlessness is largely by choice. 

My coworkers have reacted in much the same way, and I’ve already grown tired of trying to explain why we choose not to drive a car. Even more than that, I’m sick of trying to explain why it’s really okay: We live directly across the street from the transit center, I don’t mind waiting a little while for a bus, I always make sure to be prepared for the weather, so on and so forth. I've always known that there is a considerable amount of public transit stigma in many parts of the US, but I knew it in a more abstract way. Now this stigma is slapping me in the face every day. I struggle with this more than I care to admit; the idea of being pitied upsets me, especially when it’s for a condition (a voluntary condition, even!) that I don’t feel warrants any sort of sympathy or condolences.

The more I have to tell people that it’s really okay that I ride the bus to work, the more discouraged I feel about the future of walkability and alternative transportation. If people don’t view alternate forms of transportation as actual alternatives, then the whole system doesn't work. If a municipality works very hard and puts lots of resources into building up great programs like Complete Streets, but nobody who wouldn't have already used alternative forms of transportation makes use of the expanded options, what has truly been accomplished? I would like to believe that the concept of Complete Streets operates under a sort of “if you build it, they will come” system, but the more I hear from people who exclusively drive cars, the more I doubt that. To me, the big question then becomes: how do we make alternative forms of transportation attractive as true alternatives?

I know that John and I will both talk a lot more about this idea in the future here on Carless In OKC, but those are the feelings that have been stirring in me after this first week of work. With all that being said, let’s get to the walkability rating!

At a distance of around 5 miles, this trip gets an F on our walkability scale, but since public transit allows me to only walk about half a mile, which would be an A, I’ll rate it a B overall.

The pedestrian infrastructure on this trip does not rank well. The area around my work has zero sidewalks and no crosswalks, but the walk to the transit center by my home is very pedestrian-friendly. I’ll rate it a D overall.

The transportation options are not terrible here, but not great. The area has car access and great bus access, but, again, no sidewalks/crosswalks for pedestrians, and no bike lanes. I would think this area to be a pretty terrifying area to cycle, but I actually saw a lone cyclist the other day. He was wearing a full kit, though, so I don’t think he represents the average cycling commuter – he is probably very, very used to riding his bike on traffic-ridden roads with no separate bike lane. I’ll rate the trip a C in transportation options.

The land use in this area is pretty abysmal. It’s mainly one- or two-level government buildings set on large tracts of land for no apparent reason. I saw a state trooper playing outside with a police dog the other day, but there’s no formal K-9 training area that I can see, so I don’t think that the departments located there truly warrant the acres of lawn upon which these buildings are located.  There are no stores or restaurants within reasonable walking distance, although my department has the courtesy to provide an employee cafeteria for those who don’t bring their lunch but also don’t want to get in their car during their lunch break. I’ll rate this a D in land use.

It’s been a very overcast week, so I’ll try not to let that color my opinion of the atmosphere too much, but when you’re considering government buildings against a grey sky, it’s hard not to think it’s a little dismal. However, the lawn behind the buildings is quite pretty; it’s hilly, there are some scattered trees, and further back, woods. This is all visible from the employee cafeteria dining room and makes for an enjoyable view if you’re eating down there. Across the street, it’s not very nice, though. The return bus stop is surrounded by litter against a backdrop of a chain link fence that separates the shoulder of the road from a scrappy wooded area. The entire area does feel safe overall, mostly because of the fact that it’s crawling with state troopers. I’ll rate the atmosphere a B.

With a B, a D, a C, a D, and a B, my trip to work scores 15 out of 25. I can’t complain very much at all – I am able to get to work on time and with minimal hassle, and my commute home is a little less tranquil but certainly do-able. 

Poem

Tourists in Their Own City

It's curious that people take their cameras everywhere
Like tourists in their own city, they feel the need to share.

With smiles fixed, and hair just right, and loved ones in their embrace,
They perch on rocks in the park that's their's, they paid for in the first place.

One night a year, maybe two or three, downtown becomes alive,
with citizens who seem overjoyed, who've made the half-hour drive.

I wish they would do this more often, I wish they would take ownership,
of the city they paid for, the city that needs them to do more than take a trip.

It's dead when they're gone, and alive when they're there,
when they're out of their cars, when they all seem to care,
when they notice pedestrians, and are finally aware,
that people do live here, who walk, and bike,
explore the streets every day and night,
who don't need a car to get there.

So, take your pictures and don't forget, that it's more than your loved ones who make up the set.
It's the city around you, the streets and the lights, and others who use them, who give them their life.

The Plaza District - Carless Rating #6

One of the best things about cities is the tendency to form districts; that is, neighborhoods or areas where there arises a certain unique and undeniable atmosphere, an air that separates that district from other places in the city. This atmosphere can arise organically or it can be prescribed to a certain extent, but it usually seems to be a combination of both - a neighborhood will start to take on a particular character in its development, its residents and visitors will respond well to that character, and then the neighborhood will make a concentrated effort to encourage new growth that corresponds with that character. The quality that I'm talking about is called a sense of place, and it is one of the most attractive traits that a city can have as far as being able to encourage tourism and new residency. When a city fosters the development of its sense of place, the return on that investment cannot be overstated.

Walk to the Plaza District: 21/25

The Plaza District is such a place here in Oklahoma City. It gives city residents a place where they know they can depend on a certain atmosphere that is a departure from the white-noise drone of everyday life. The offbeat vibe is the antidote to suburban strip mall living, and when you visit the Plaza District, you can always count on that feeling of escape from the stifling constraints of corporate cookie-cutter consumption.

Located on NW 16th Street between Classen and Penn Avenue, the Plaza District boasts locally-owned restaurants, bars, and shops, all with a decidedly hip sensibility. It is one of our favorite places to go here in OKC, and this past weekend we spent a good bit of time there. On Thursday evening, we were in the mood to try something new, so we decided to walk down to the Plaza District for dinner.

One of our favorite things about the Plaza District is its relative accessibility from a pedestrian perspective. Located a little over 1.5 miles away, it's a tad on the far side, distance-wise, but that distance is made up for by the fact that virtually the entire route has well-kept sidewalks through safe and interesting neighborhoods. Our route takes us up Hudson, through Midtown, through historic Heritage Hills, across Classen (which is the one real negative to this walk, but I'll get to that in a moment), then through the Plaza residential neighborhood, until we finally arrive in the commercial Plaza District. Almost every step of the way is accessible (at least from an able-bodied perspective - as with most of the pedestrian infrastructure in OKC, it is lacking in disability accessibility), safe, and provides pleasant architectural scenery.

Every time we walk to the Plaza District, I feel like we start talking about how enjoyable the walk is, and then without fail, we arrive at the indisputable worst part of the walk.

Panorama view of the intersection at Classen and 16th

 A mutual sigh is heaved, and then we start trying to cross Classen at NW 16th without getting killed. The intersection there is, to put it quite simply, a mess - especially from the pedestrian perspective. This is where NW 16th meets Classen, and Western Avenue veers off here as well. The result is a sprawling, confusing intersection, where a pedestrian has to dash between three different medians with faded, questionable crosswalks and *not one* walk/don't walk signal. 

There's no walk signal!

The intersection is so weirdly aligned that it's even difficult to take cues from the traffic lights themselves; it's not even as easy as walking when your direction of traffic has the green light. I never feel that secure when I'm trying to cross this intersection; it always takes several minutes to get across because it takes that long to take the necessary precautions without proper crosswalks or signals.

We had never been to The Mule before, and have heard nothing but good things about it, so our plan was to have dinner there. Unfortunately, The Mule is even more popular than we ever imagined, as we arrived around 7:00 on a Thursday night and there was already a 40-minute wait! We had stopped by the OKC Holiday Pop-Up Shops at Midtown on the way and we had purchased a beautiful vintage lamp at the RetrOKC pop-up shop; because we were on foot, we had to pick it up on the way back home. We were afraid that between the wait, eating dinner, and walking back, that we might not be able to get in to pick up our lamp by the 9:00pm closing time, so we had to skip The Mule for the night. We are excited to try it out, but it just wasn't going to work out that evening.

OKC Holiday Pop-Up Shops at Midtown

We opted for Empire Slice House instead, which is a big favorite of ours. We love the atmosphere, which reminds us of the kind of funky restaurant we would have gone to back in Athens, Georgia. Empire is always bustling; the lighting is just the right balance between bright and dim, and the walls are covered with vintage rock and roll and pop culture posters. Empire serves whole pizzas as well as the slices promised by its name; the by-the-slice offerings vary daily. So far our favorites are the Fungus Among Us, which features shiitake, portobello, and button mushrooms with spinach and topped with truffle oil, as well as the Rocksteady. The Rocksteady is an amazing pizza achievement, with bacon, gorgonzola, and red onion, with a drizzle of balsamic reduction. We are absolutely crazy about the Rocksteady pizza and I would highly recommend that you walk on down to the Plaza District and get some ASAP!

Tallgrass 8-bit at Empire

The next day, we decided to go to Live On The Plaza, which is a monthly event that happens on the 2nd Friday of each month. The Plaza District website describes this event as "a monthly artwalk featuring live music, featured artists, special events, and local shopping," which to me only describes half of what makes it a worthwhile venture; I feel like the most important and exciting part of the Live On The Plaza event is the simple yet vital fact that everyone is there. I love that going to the Plaza District makes me feel like I'm part of a community. I got to feel like even more of a part of the Plaza community on Friday, as John and I were invited to the Friends of Plaza party to enjoy food and drinks before the Live event. We enjoyed food from Garbanzo (delicious) and cupcakes from Cuppies & Joe (which I had already heard amazing things about, and they did NOT disappoint).

After the Friends of Plaza party, we met up with our new fellow carless friend, Anona, and showed her around the Plaza because she's even newer to OKC than we are! We shopped at RetrOKC (we can't get enough of that place), The Salvage Room, and Bad Granny's Bazaar. We didn't get to stay out as late as we would have liked because we had all gotten up super early, but we still had a fantastic time while we were there.

Now... let's rate the Plaza District!

At a distance of around 1.8 miles from our apartment, The Plaza District rates a C on our walking distance scale. Once at the Plaza District, however, there may be no better walkable area outside of downtown.

The walk to the Plaza District gets a B for pedestrian infrastructure. The trip up to Classen, and after Classen, is about as much as we could ask for as able-bodied pedestrians; however, the trek across Classen is neither safe nor convenient for walking, and the sidewalks, while a welcome amenity for us, are not necessarily very disabled-accessible.

The Plaza District has a reasonably good array of transportation options. The pedestrian infrastructure is obviously alive and well; the Metro Route 10 provides bus access, and it is of course easily reachable by car. The one minus is that while you can ride your bike to the Plaza District, there are no bike lanes. The lack of bike infrastructure puts the transportation options rating at a B.

Land use within and on the way to the Plaza District is definitely one of the best qualities about it. The walk through the Midtown area takes us past food, retail, and residential buildings. The historic Heritage Hills neighborhood with its beautiful houses and park is always a joy to travel through. The Plaza district itself boasts exemplary land use, both in the residential area, with densely placed yet attractive historic homes, and in the commercial district, which is made up of all the restaurants, bars, shops, and residential that you could want in an urban neighborhood. Land use here is definitely an A. 

The Plaza District and the walk both to and from offer a fantastic atmosphere. That whole "sense of place" thing that I was talking about at the beginning of this post? That's what I'm talking about, and the Plaza District has it in spades. The atmosphere grade for the Plaza is a resounding A.

With grades of C, B, B, A, and A, the Plaza District gets a total score of 21 out of 25. 

I hope to see all of you at the next Live On The Plaza, or better yet, come say hi to us if you see us at the Plaza before then. We're sure to be stuffing our faces at Empire, picking up our next piece of vintage furniture at RetrOKC, enjoying some bird dog pie at Pie Junkie, or finally getting a chance to eat dinner at The Mule!

Walking While Female: Let's Talk About Street Harassment

I've been putting off writing this blog post for awhile because, to be quite honest, I wasn't quite ready to delve into all the feelings that I knew would be inevitable when writing about this topic. Street harassment makes me feel a lot of ways - angry, afraid, embarrassed, indignant - and I can ultimately deal with all of those emotions. The one emotion that street harassment arouses in me that I have a difficult time abiding is that of helplessness.

Margaret Atwood has been quoted on the internet a million times: "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them." I fear that at this point, this statement has become so ubiquitous as to lose its impact. It sounds quippy, but I don't think that its meaning can be overstated. What it illustrates is the base level of misunderstanding between the sexes that causes the dissonance that occurs when safety, and more specifically, perception of safety, is being discussed.

I've briefly talked about street harassment on a previous post, but I always knew that I wanted to devote an entire entry to this topic because I feel that it is so important to bring awareness to what women experience when they're out in public, particularly while traveling as a pedestrian or using public transit.

Every single time that I travel alone, I experience some form of street harassment. Sometimes it's just (I hate to say "just" like it's somehow insignificant) being ogled; other times, it's being catcalled, or having suggestive comments made about my appearance or what men would like to "do to me." Sometimes it's men who just won't stop talking to me, no matter how clear I've made it that I'm uninterested in having a conversation, or men who don't respect my personal space. It does not matter what I'm wearing; while there is definitely a spike in the harassment that I experience when I am dressed up, I am still harassed regularly when I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. It makes no difference. Like I've said before, street harassers aren't ultimately concerned with what you're wearing, they just feel the need to objectify a woman.

And to make it perfectly clear: No matter how a woman is dressed, it is not "for you." Whether she's wearing sweatpants or a miniskirt, she is not interested in your opinion of how she looks. She did not dress that way so that random men on the street would stare at her, talk to her, catcall her, or tell her what they think of her appearance. It doesn't matter what a woman is wearing, she does not deserve to be harassed. 

For those who think that women need to just get over it, or take it as a compliment and not be "so sensitive," I have to stress that the point here isn't a matter of just being offended. Street harassment makes women feel unsafe. It's not a compliment, it's not harmless fun, it's not "boys being boys" - it is called harassment for a reason, and that is because it literally makes a woman feel like her physical safety is compromised. At this point in my life, I feel lucky that I have a husband to travel with most of the time, but the problem is that I shouldn't have to feel that way. This isn't the dark ages; I shouldn't need a male chaperone to keep me safe while I travel. Unfortunately, having John with me is the only way that I can ensure that I won't be harassed - make that outright harassed, because although it eliminates the catcalls and suggestive comments, some men will still ogle me when I'm with my husband. He catches them doing it all the time, and then gives them the I-caught-you-you-piece-of-poop stare. Which means that there is actually nothing that I can do to make some men realize that I am a human being who deserves respect. 

The worst thing about street harassment is the fact that it's a lose-lose situation for the victim. On the one hand, it seems like it would feel really good to yell something clever back at the harasser, or to make a disgusted face, or even flip them the bird. And it really does, at first; then it sinks in that you've done almost exactly what they wanted you to do. I am a firm believer that street harassers do what they do because they want to exercise their power over women, whether consciously or subconsciously. When you respond to them, even if it's clever or angry or makes you feel good, to me, you've given them that moment of having power over you. They elicited that response from you. I never know which course of action makes me feel worse ultimately; when I react, I feel better for a moment and then I feel like I've been tricked into a response, but when I do nothing, I feel like I'm letting the harasser off, granting him permission to treat me that way by way of my silence. Either way, it makes me feel helpless, that there is literally nothing I can do to avoid being victimized, and in the words of the great Tavi Gevinson, "I shouldn't have to have a strategy to preserve my personal space."

While one should not have to have a strategy, there are resources online that can help women deal with street harassment: Hollaback is a great website/support forum that I would recommend. From my own personal experience, I can't say that I've found the best method of dealing with street harassment, as is clear from my conflicting feelings described above. However, getting yourself a good old bottle of pepper spray will at least make you feel safer. I also have a self-defense cat on my keychain that I really love. And until things are fair in this world, and the responsibility of ending street harassment is rightfully assumed to belong to men, you should have a few tricks up your sleeve to (hopefully) avoid some unwanted contact. You can avoid making eye contact, and use headphones as a way to discourage unwanted conversation. I was raised in the South, and it was ingrained in me to be "polite" to people, so I've had to practice how to be curt and firm in cutting off someone who is not respecting my boundaries. If you need to do this, you should practice, too. It gets easier the more you do it! If you're so inclined, you can also think of something clever, scathing, and/or slightly baffling (One great way to fend off a harasser? Seem crazier than they are) to yell back at catcallers. Some women like to yell "show some respect!" - which I like. 

The way things are at this point in time, the best thing that we as women can do is to empower ourselves, and try our hardest to not feel helpless. I hope that in the future, it won't be our job to avoid street harassment, but rather, men's job to stop doing street harassment, but until then, stay safe, stay firm, stay strong, and help raise awareness! 

Automobile Alley – Carless Rating #7

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to rate another one of our favorite destinations: Automobile Alley.
 

Carless Rating: Automobile Alley - 22/25

Automobile Alley was one of the first places I discovered when we first moved here. I needed to get a couple of shirts and ties cleaned for John. I had looked up Fashion Cleaners, which had great reviews, and is located very close to our apartment, so I took a walk up there to drop off his items. After that errand, I didn't have any plans for a bit, so I kept walking up 6th Street until I reached Broadway. I previously had no idea that this area existed, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see what looked like an exciting district to explore! I walked up the street, finding great stores like Plenty Mercantile, and restaurants like Hideaway Pizza, and eventually stopping in at Broadway Wine Merchants to pick up a six-pack of Big Sky Brewing Company beer to take home. That was the real kicker for me; I hadn't seen a place to buy craft beer since we had arrived in OKC, so I was really happy to come across a great selection in a fun location.
 

I hurried home, and I couldn't wait to tell John about Automobile Alley. As soon as he got home, I insisted that we head right back out to go up there. It turned out to be even better than I'd originally thought. That night, and in subsequent trips, we discovered many of our favorite places that have become fixtures on our weekend adventures. John is a huge Flaming Lips fan, and was totally overjoyed to come across the Womb Gallery. Similarly, I'm a huge cupcake fan, so I was excited to see (and taste) Sara Sara Cupcakes. John found his new favorite cologne and many other great gift items at Shop Good. On a friend's recommendation, we tried Iguana Grill and were blown away by the freshness and quality of their food. We discovered a great little wine bar with a patio called Peloton, tucked away behind Schlegel Bikes. Eventually, we fell in love with the awesome burgers, huge beer selection, and great atmosphere at S&B's Burger Joint, where I swear by the King burger (topped with peanut butter and bacon - I promise, it's delicious).

  
One of the best things about Automobile Alley is the fact that it is located very close to our apartment, and is therefore super convenient for us to walk to. We can walk straight up 6th Street just a few blocks and be there, which is nice when we want to pop in to Broadway Wine Merchants for a six-pack, or when there's tons of snow and ice everywhere, like there was a few weeks ago, when we were bored and wanted some S&B's burgers and made the wintry trek up there to eat dinner.
 

We're still making our way through Automobile Alley to try all the food and see all the shops. A great way to discover Automobile Alley is the Shop Hop, which is an open house type event on the third Thursday of each month, when shops and restaurants stay open late and offer samples and freebies, while food trucks serve delicious food outside. We love any event that includes food trucks, and the last time we went, we got to explore even more of Automobile Alley than we usually would. We'll be checking out tomorrow night's Shop Hop from 6-9pm (1/16/2014). And in the future, we're excited to try out Red PrimeSteak, which is a serious contender at this point for our Valentine's Day dinner!
 

Now, let's rate Automobile Alley!
 
Automobile Alley is located just under half a mile from our apartment, which would get an A rating for distance.
 
The walk to Automobile Alley gets a C rating for pedestrian infrastructure. There are good sidewalks, crosswalks, and walk signals on the way, but unfortunately, Broadway itself is lacking in crosswalks and pedestrian signals. If you have to cross as a pedestrian, you have to just take your chances, which is scary and difficult on such a wide road.
 
Transportation options - Automobile Alley has a good range of transportation options. In addition to the road for cars (it is Automobile Alley, after all), there are nicely kept sidewalks for pedestrians, and the bus runs through the area with Routes 2 and 24, and to a lesser extent, Route 3. As far as bicycles go, there are no bike lanes, which is a drawback, but the road is wide and easily cyclable, and there's a Spokies station at the corner of 10th and Broadway. Automobile Alley gets a B for transportation options.
 
The land use in Automobile Alley is one of its top assets. A good portion of the district features buildings with commercial units at street level and residential units above, which is a key concept to maintaining density in urban areas. Many of the buildings are repurposed spaces, and the mix of restaurants, shops, and offices provides a nice flow to the area. The walk to the district is lined with various business and government buildings, but they all make good use of the street level space. Automobile Alley gets an A for land use.
 
Automobile Alley has a wonderful atmosphere; the architecture is unique and the shops and restaurants provide a fantastic local eating and dining experience. Events like the Shop Hop and the (sadly semi-defunct) Gazette Halloween Parade lend an air of tight-knit community to the district. The walk to Automobile Alley has a pleasant atmosphere as well; the area feels safe at any time of day or night. Let's give it an A for atmosphere!
 
Overall, Automobile Alley gets a 22 out of 25. I'm expecting more great things out of this district! Go check out the Shop Hop tomorrow night (Thursday, 1/16/14) from 6-9pm - if you see us there, make sure to say hello!

If we don't catch you at the Shop Hop, you can see us tonight on OKC Fox 25 news at 9:00pm. We'll be talking about the blog with Wendy Suares!

So, When Are You Going To Get A Car? - Top 5 Responses To Hearing That We're Carless

You've probably already read about how we came to be Carless In OKC, and since then, we've gotten many different responses to what we're doing. We've been very pleasantly surprised to find that many people we talk to are curious, supportive, and enthusiastic about the fact that we're carless. So many people have reached out to us- in OKC and otherwise- who are either doing the same thing or who are curious about trying it themselves, and that's been so encouraging for us!

Then there are... other responses. And to be fair, I don't necessarily blame people for being initially confused by our decision to be carless. It's not what people are used to; it's not the status quo. For some who have always used cars as their primary form of transportation, it seems really crazy and very difficult to give up driving a car. It seems like it wouldn't be worth the trouble. I know this because I used to feel the same way. I've always been supportive of the reasons for going carless, like helping the environment and being healthier, but having grown up in the Metro Atlanta suburbs, I felt like cars were just necessary. Unless you lived in a place like New York City, but even then, I felt like having a car would be a nice safety net of sorts. I just couldn't imagine not having a car, because I had always owned, driven, or been driven in a car. So, you know, I get why it's hard to understand at first. I really do.

That being said, some people just refuse to get it. They don't want to get it, because they perceive what we're doing as a threat to their way of life. Some people don't really understand what walkability and transportation options really mean. If a city is walkable, that doesn't mean that someone is going to come forcibly seize your car and leave you to trudge everywhere in the cold and rain, even when you're old and infirm. It's all about options, truly. We just want people to be able to live and get around and have safe, viable choices about how they do so.  

I decided to use a blog post to get some of those initial questions out of the way in advance. Here are some of the top questions we hear when we tell people that we're carless along with our responses.

1. Don't you get cold/hot/wet?

Here's the thing. When I was primarily driving a car, I tended to be a little underprepared for the weather, making it seem worse than it actually was. It's easy to skimp on layers or not carry a good umbrella when all you're ever anticipating in the way of exposure is the time it takes to dash a few meters to and from your parked car. When you start walking and/or taking public transit, however, that mindset totally shifts toward being really prepared for the weather. Every time I go anywhere, I am aware of the temperature and the upcoming forecast, and I dress accordingly. At this point, I'm really good at knowing what I have to wear to be as comfortable as possible while I'm out. I always carry an umbrella with me, and in the winter, I always carry an extra pair of gloves and a second hat in case I need to double up later. Sometimes I have to wear thermal underwear, or two scarves, but I am almost always comfortable when I'm out walking or waiting for a bus, because I'm practiced and prepared. If you went carless, you would be, too. I promise.

2. What do you do about grocery shopping?

Ideally, we would have a full-service grocery store downtown, and this wouldn't be any problem at all. I would be able to take a short walk to pick up what I needed for the next couple of days, and our grocery shopping would be done in this twice or three-times weekly manner. As it is, that is not the case. Our closest full-service grocery store is Homeland, which is about a mile away. That being the case, we used to go there to go grocery shopping about once every week to two weeks, and depending on how many groceries we had, we would either walk back or take a taxi back. It's about a $7 cab ride, which wasn't at all bad to pay twice a month. Our preferred grocery store, however, is Sprouts, which is located at 63rd and N May, and was a very inconvenient option until we discovered TimeCar. Now that we use TimeCar, every weekend or two we can rent a car for a couple of hours, pop up there, buy our groceries, bring them home, and then return our car. It's so convenient and affordable that grocery shopping is now a total breeze.

3. Isn't riding the bus scary?

No. Really, it's not. It's a little bit intimidating at first, if you're not accustomed to using public transit, but once you're done it a couple of times, there's nothing to it. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself; we wrote a post about using the OKC bus which links to an excellent video from the OKC Metro Transit that explains how to use the bus. Also, feel free to ask the bus driver any questions that you have about the route! The OKC Metro drivers have kind of a bad reputation, but the majority of the drivers I've spoken with have been very kind and helpful. I have definitely encountered a couple who were a bit surly, but overall, I'm impressed with how approachable the drivers have been. When I was first riding the bus, in particular, they were really open to answering my questions and telling me where I needed to get off the bus in order to find my desired destination.

Also: contrary to popular belief, people who ride the bus aren't scary. There are definitely a couple of crazy people, but in my experience, they're harmless- weird crazy, not dangerous crazy. Just ignore them and you'll be fine.

4. You have to have a car to live in Oklahoma City.

Well, we've been in Oklahoma City for four months without a car. We are both employed, we have or are able to get everything that we need, we enjoy events, attractions, and dining around the city, and we have a social life. I would say that we're living proof that you don't have to have a car to live in Oklahoma City (and we're not the only ones, by far).

5. So, when are you going to get a car?

We're not planning to. Ever.

Watch Your Step! - Six Hazards of Being a Pedestrian

Today we're going to look at some things that make being a pedestrian more difficult. Most of the things on this list could be prevented, and in an ideal situation wouldn't be an issue. Let's take a look at some hazards involved with being a pedestrian:

1. Poop. Dog poop, everywhere.

We’ll start the list off with a bio-hazard. I love seeing people out walking their dogs, but I hate that nobody in this area picks up after them. There’s poop in the planters, poop in the grass, and poop on the sidewalk. Where do dog owners get off thinking it is acceptable to leave a steaming pile of feces on the sidewalk? Our building doesn't have any trash cans or disposal bags outside, which would make a big difference, but I don’t think it would solve the problem. If you own a dog, pick up after them. Period. It’s disgusting, unsightly, and selfish. If you can’t pick up after your dog, then you don’t deserve to own one.

Right on the sidewalk that's still covered in snow a week later.

Good grief; do you dog owners have no decency?

Oh come on! Horse poop?! In Midtown?!

2. While we’re on the subject of animals… 

Being chased by a dog is no fun… well, that’s not always true. We were chased down the street by three adorable puppies the other day, and that was the cutest attack ever. But I still felt like I had the responsibility to make sure the pups got back to their owner’s property, which wasn't easy. If you have dogs, please put them in an enclosure or have them leashed. We've been chased down by barking angry dogs and I’m not sure what to do in the situation. I don’t want to hurt an animal, but I’m not going to let an animal bite me or my wife.

Pit Bulls can be sweet, but I'm not willing to wait to find out when one is charging me on the street.

Other animals can pose a hazard as well. In downtown OKC when the weather is warm grackles are EVERYWHERE;  Thousands of them sitting on electrical wires and on the ground, just waiting for the moment to drop poop on you from above.

It’s amazing how much of an issue poop is when steps aren't taken to control animal populations.

Multiply this by several hundred, and you've got the flocks that swarm downtown OKC.

"This is my turf!"

3. Okay, no more poop. Another hazard is the weather.

If you’re a pedestrian you have to be prepared for Mother Nature. Whether it’s hot, cold, or both hot and cold at the same time (Oklahoma City has demonstrated to me that this is possible several times; freezing wind and baking hot sun. How do you prepare for this?!) you need to be sure that you've got the appropriate clothing and accessories. An umbrella, sunglasses, scarves, gloves, hats, and other appropriate clothing choices will keep you comfortable regardless of the weather.

4. Distractions

Texting and talking on the phone while driving is a serious issue that creates a hazardous environment for drivers on the road, cyclists and pedestrians. But pedestrians are not innocent here by any means. I’ve seen people texting while walking and walk right out into an intersection when they don’t have the right-of-way. This behavior is bad for many reasons. It puts your life in the hands of drivers who may not be paying attention either. It also gives pedestrians a bad reputation, which is the last thing that needs to happen if we want to successfully campaign for better pedestrian infrastructure. Groups of pedestrians that are too engrossed in their conversation to be aware of their surroundings are also at risk of injury.

Here Elizabeth demonstrates how not to cross the street.

5. Unsafe Intersections

In Oklahoma City there are plenty of road intersections that are perfectly safe, but there are also those that are potentially dangerous for pedestrians. In particular the Classen diagonal that runs from Midtown up to 16^th Street has several difficult intersections. These three intersections have very poor pedestrian crossings, either no crosswalks, faulty signals, or no signals. 

Classen and 11th: A six way intersection with two crosswalks

Classen and 13th: This intersection is HUGE. There aren't sidewalks on each side of the road, so this one is particularly difficult.

Classen and 16th: Do you want to cross this on foot?

6. Poorly Maintained Infrastructure

Sidewalks can fall into disrepair and become hazardous for daily use. This can be realized in many different ways: vegetation can be allowed to take over the sidewalk, with street trees making the sidewalk uneven, or shrubs having to be pushed out of the way. With all the snow and ice we've been having lately it’s become apparent that clearing sidewalks is not a high priority. While none of the streets are covered in snow thanks to the snow plow trucks, I have to walk like a penguin so that I don’t slip and fall on the ice-covered sidewalks in downtown. There should really be some effort given to ensuring that sidewalks are maintained as well as streets. It’s not fair that pedestrians have to deal with snow and ice for a whole week after it has fallen because pedestrian safety isn't a priority.

Where'd the sidewalk go? It snowed 5 days ago.

It's areas like these that make me glad I'm not wheelchair-bound.

These are just some of the hazards we face as pedestrians, and the majority could be avoided by taking personal responsibility. The others require municipalities to properly implement pedestrian infrastructure, which is our main goal at CarlessInOKC; walking needs to be a safe and easy option. What other hazards can you think of? Feel free to comment and start a discussion!