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Embark plans bus bridge and event shuttles during arena teardown; streetcar to close for several days
Summary
Embark will run shuttle service for the Women's College World Series and a temporary "bus bridge" to replace streetcar service for an anticipated three-to-four-day closure during the arena teardown; the authority said shutdowns will be scheduled Monday–Thursday to minimize playoff impacts.
The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority heard staff outline planned service changes: shuttle service for the Women's College World Series and a temporary replacement bus service for the OKC Streetcar while the nearby arena is torn down.
"Later this month, we start the Women's College World Series. We're gonna continue to do the shuttle service that we do," said Jesse, the authority's administrator, describing two downtown pickup locations that will run shuttles directly to the event. "We'll have two locations downtown where folks can use our bus service to be picked up and taken directly to the front door of the women's college world series."
Nut graf: Agency staff also said a planned teardown of part of the Prairie Surf Center will require a temporary shutdown of the streetcar for safety reasons; Embark plans a "bus bridge" that will mimic the streetcar route while the track area is inaccessible.
Jesse described two primary safety concerns prompting the shutdown: utility manholes located close to the streetcar rails on Reno and Sheridan and the proximity of the arena overhang to Sheridan, which complicates safe wall demolition without closing streetcar tracks or eastbound Sheridan traffic. "We'll be running a bus that mimics the route of the street car, and we'll be picking folks up at the street car platforms using buses," Jesse said. Staff said streetcar operators will ride the buses to provide customer service and instructions during the outage.
Staff estimated the shutdown would last about "three to four days" and said, if a shutdown is required, it would be scheduled Monday through Thursday to avoid peak weekend events. The authority said it is coordinating with the MAPS office and city staff to minimize impacts. No exact dates or detailed service-change maps were provided in the meeting record; trustees were told staff are working on mitigating impacts and will communicate specifics to the public when plans are finalized.
The item passed without a separate formal motion because it was presented as informational and as part of other program updates; the record shows trustees received program reports for April and May earlier in the meeting.
