Vetted Sidewalk Alternatives
The choice is in your hands.
We are quite proud of how many neighbors mobilized and worked together with the City of Oklahoma City to envision these options. There are FOUR alternatives that will be voted on.
Each of the alternatives involving some change/construction to Shartel have been vetted by the CH-EH’s board-developed walkability committee. Committee members each spent anywhere from 5 - 40 hours working to ensure our neighborhood had viable options to explore.
Great work team!
We believe, after many hours of work, that the four options below cause the least amount of disruption to the neighborhood, to the route of one of our most beloved events, the OKC Memorial Marathon, and to an equally important route for many, the Westminster School carpool line.
These four options were reviewed by representatives of the following groups:
OKC Beautiful
City Engineers
City’s contracted engineers
Historic Preservation
Oklahoma Historical Society
Westminster School
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
The possibilities below are vetted and are viable options for voting. We’ve listed them from the simplest to the most complex. Please vote – your voice is important:
No Change:
Keep existing road surface as it is.
Expanded Painted Bike and Walking Path (expands current bike lane):
The painted, separated path would simply be a repainting of the bike path to separate a space for pedestrians and bicyclists on the existing road surface. While this does provide for a legal pedestrian right of way, it may not meet ADA requirements without road re-surfacing, which may exceed the budget. The total width of the separated bike & walking paths would be wider than the existing bike path, and the car lane would be narrowed slightly. This option is for both sides of Shartel Avenue and does not impact trees.
Elevated Sidewalk (East side of Shartel in current bike lane)
The elevated sidewalk option is one that separates pedestrians, bikers and cars. It remains within the footprint of the existing roadway while providing a new curb. This would be substantially safer than the existing bike path as it would provide a devoted, protected pedestrian walk way. Additionally, the elevated path option has the potential to reduce car speeds. A designated bike lane would remain at grade-level with the road. This option is only for the east side of Shartel and does not impact trees.
Serpentine Path (in median)
The serpentine path is a concrete, meandering path through the median. This is safer than existing because it separates pedestrians from cars and bikes but would not likely impact car speeds on the corridor. Pedestrians also must cross traffic to get to the path which may increase risk. This option increases impervious surfaces and has the greatest potential to negatively impact trees.