OKC One Step Closer To Downtown Park

The city of Oklahoma City is one step closer to a 70-acre world-class downtown park.

The first of three public input meetings was held at the downtown library Thursday evening. The city gave citizens a survey to fill out as Oklahoma City designs its "front yard."

In the midst of a renaissance, people gathered to make sure Oklahoma City's downtown park becomes something truly special.

"We're going to design something that you might see in Chicago or New York, major other world-class cities," Jeff Bezdek, MAPS 3 transit subcommittee member, said.

The planning process is happening as citizens make suggestions. In designing the park, the one mandate the city has given the landscape architects is that the park be unique to Oklahoma City by showing off our proud heritage, climate and history.

"It enhances the overall quality of life for downtown just tremendously," new downtown resident Jessica Herrera said.

But with the excitement come some concerns. Some of that concern includes park safety, ensuring enough family-fun activities and limiting the amount of noise from nearby I-40.

"I'm also concerned about the funding sources, but I think that's a major issue for many of the MAPS Projects," downtown resident Mark Gibbs said.

Most funding proposals include park restaurant and food truck rental revenues and corporate sponsorships. But for now, the proposals realized in the master plan will not be final until 2013.

The city is still busy acquiring property for the park. It will stretch from Robinson to Hudson and the old I-40 Crosstown to the Oklahoma River.