What is the 2030 Fixed Guideway Plan (FGP)?

The 2030 Fixed Guideway Plan (FGP) recommended commuter rail transit (CRT), a downtown area streetcar, bus rapid transit (BRT), dramatically enhanced bus service, high occupancy vehicle (HOV) highway lanes and more. Its preparation evaluated a broad range of options and placed the most promising and interrelated ones into a package called the regional 2030 System Plan, the FGP.The 2030 FGP process presented our metro area a unique opportunity to identify transportation solutions that improve mobility, bolster connections among growth centers, enhance economic development, help people save money, and benefit air quality.

The Plan was the outcome of the Fixed Guideway Study (FGS) finished in early 2006. The FGS, now referred to as the FGP, was a study of transit needs in cities throughout the entire region and was sponsored under the leadership of the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA). The FGP was developed with grassroots and grasstops involvement.  It featured a large citizens Steering Committee, consultant expertise, ACOG’s leaders, and broad public involvement in many cities.

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Is this 2030 FGP the same as the Fixed Guideway Study?

The FGP is the same thing, and calling it a study was a misnomer. All proper plans have study and process features. The FGS was done to be the basis for a multimodal regional plan for bus, rail and more. The FGS was done as the basis for its 2030 Systems Plan.

Who developed this 2030 System Plan and what citizens, business leaders and special interests groups were involved?

Based on COTPA’s regional foresight and initiative, and involved a Steering Committee of over 30 local leaders of business, government, chamber, and key interest groups. In fact the mayors of Norman, Edmond, Oklahoma City (OKC), and many other business and other officials served on the Steering Committee. The FGP and its 2030 System Plan was developed with the expertise of one of the worlds largest international planning and engineering firms, Carter & Burgess (now Jacobs). COTPA’s leadership sponsored the study and provided oversight of the consultant and the broad public participation process.

Is the FGP a regional plan? What does it say about my community's needs?

Yes, it is a regional plan and has bus and/or rail component recommendations applicable to the following communities:  Bethany, Choctaw, Del City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore, Mustang, Nichols Hills, Norman, Oklahoma City, Spencer, The Village, Warr Acres and Yukon, and yet it has implications for many other smaller area towns adjacent to the lines on the 2030 System Plan map. The FGP urges a regional approach and a regional transit authority (RTA) independent of any existing governments, one that likely evolves from the existing semi-regional COTPA (METRO Transit) and possibly from mergers with other transit providers in Norman, Guthrie, and Edmond. Transit planning done with COTPA’s assistance around 2004 in Norman and Edmond meant that the FGS Enhanced Bus component did not need to get more specific about those cities, yet these cities were integral to the commuter rail and HOV components

Who has officially adopted the plan?

The FGP has not been officially adopted by any entity, but that is not typically how local plans are put into effect in central Oklahoma. The Plan was formally recognized in 2006, however, by resolutions passed by the governing bodies at ACOG, COTPA and the City of Oklahoma City.

I've heard that to make this plan work we have to have a much larger bus system. Why, when I don't see anyone riding the bus?

Yes, a larger system of buses and paratransit vans is recommended. A transit’s bus system must reach a proper threshold of service to even act as “feeder” or circulator routes to rail and to transit hub centers. The region has less than third of the bus service one would expect, based on a study of peers. The current bus systems in Edmond, Norman and OKC may appear somewhat empty unless one looks closely. Buses are less occupied near outlying ends of routes, during mid day, and many people on buses are not visible due to the window pillars, seats, window tints, and other bus features that obscure passengers. METRO Transit buses carry about as many passengers per hour of bus service as does the average bus across America. Full buses are a rarity in the U.S., despite pop culture’s portrayal of buses.

What does it say about light rail? Is modern streetcar the same thing?

Light rail transit (LRT) as they have for commuters in Dallas and Denver or Washington D.C. is too costly to be feasible in our region in the next decade or so. Short two-to-four-car trains for commuter rail transit  (CRT) though, have promise and such a system can be built for perhaps a third of the cost of LRT. Downtown streetcar is a variant of light rail: it looks like a shorter-length LRT vehicle and is usually powered by overhead catenary wires but is specially well suited for sharper turning and for lower operating speeds, such as up to 45 mph.

What does the FGP say about downtown streetcar?

A downtown electric streetcar system was urged by the FGP, one that could link the heart of Downtown OKC with Bricktown, the Transit Center on Fourth, greater downtown housing, the Oklahoma Health Center, Midtown and the Boulevard/Core to Shore area. It would serve a variety of needs and MAPS3 has been cited as the likely way to fund the first couple of system miles. Downtown streetcar is a variant of light rail and it can operate in the same lanes as motorists. It has a modern appearance instead of an early 20th century vintage look and is practical for level boarding by wheelchair users, stroller pushers and others. It has been popularized by systems in Portland, Oregon and in both Tacoma and Seattle, Washington.

What does it say about passenger rail?

Passenger rail is about connecting cities well across the state such as connecting our metro area with Lawton, Tulsa or Enid in an AMTRAK style of service a small number of times per week. Passenger rail is not what the FGP was about, and passenger rail is not commuter rail. Both rail systems are valid but serve separate populations and separate needs.

What does the FGP say about needs of people with disabilities?

All the planned rail and other fixed guideway transit improvements will be amply accessible. The mix of land uses urged by the FGP can also make it much easier to reside, shop, get services, and have recreation near transit in a small, easy-to-navigate districts, that are very pedestrian-friendly and livable for all. The ramps, voice enunciation and the enhanced amount of bus and paratransit service would add much convenience to the lives of people with disabilities (PWD).

What is the next step and what obstacles must be overcome to get there? What other steps are needed?

The next steps?  Well, it is like a three-prong fork such that each prong moves at the same time:

One prong is for the year-long AA studies to do more planning on the most likely corridors such as the Norman-to-Edmond CRT corridor or the OKC-to-MWC/TAFB corridor.

The other outer prong is successful completion of the ACOG RTD process such that a larger nucleus of leaders forms and takes core actions.

The middle prong is for COTPA, coalitions, and ACOG to build citizen and voter awareness and trust in cities across the region for one or more modest sized tax initiatives that could satisfy many transit supporters and others to vote favorably (commuters, seniors, people with disabilities, clean air advocates, and so forth).

How does the 2030 FGP relate to the ACOG Regional Transit Dialogue (RTD)?

The 2030 FGP is a springboard that is the basis of the ACOG RTD process. The RTD process starts with the System Plan and the FGP’s recommendation of a true regional authority funded by a dedicated tax. The RTD will help leaders and city officials become acquainted with and discover the FGP and will likely help the region gain consensus on moving ahead on the basic steps recommended in the FGP. The RTD involves many leaders who came along after the circa 2005 leaders of the many cities that played a prominent role in the FGP process. This RTD process is forum whereby the earlier and more recent leaders can learn, discuss, collaborate, and foster the cooperation and trust necessary to set the stage for achieving the core FGP steps about funding and an RTA. The RTD will likely point to the need to reconfirm or conduct a minor update to the 2005 FGP.

What is an alternatives analysis (AA)?

AA stands for Alternatives Analysis and this is the planning study that evaluates a corridor to determine which routing option and which vehicle technology is best. AA is federally mandated step if federal highway or federal transit dollars are to ever be a possible finding source. Federal funds can only be secured by the FTA  to build something after a meritorious project leaps several hurdles, and AA is the second hurdle of about five.