[ok-sus] [Fwd: An urgent plea for help in Oklahoma City]

[Robert Waldrop]

Tom's email is a reminder of what we are about to lose as ODOT proceeds 
with its plans to destroy the rail yard at Union Station and the 
underpasses on Walker and Robinson.  I agree with Tom that these are 
wondrous examples of urban transportation engineering.  It is so "20th 
century" that ODOT and OKC's attitude towards them is to destroy them.  
But this is the 21st century, and if we continue to let our governments 
apply 20th century solutions to 21st century problems, well, the 21st 
century won't be so good to us.  "Waste not, want not", is the rule of 
the 21st century.

Well, I don't know what can be done at this date, but even so tomorrow I 
am writing emails and letters about this, and in them, I will explicitly 
remind each elected official that this entire process has been 
thoroughly and completely and publicly documented.  As time passes, and 
the extraordinary nature of the mistake that the I-40 crosstown freeway 
is becomes obvious, there will be no place for any elected or appointed 
official to hide, because yes, we have been taking names, and no, we 
will never ever forget nor will we forgive this crime against the common 
good of central Oklahoma. 

Robert Waldrop, Oklahoma City

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	An urgent plea for help in Oklahoma City
Date: 	Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:42:14 EDT
From: 	Gtelmore at aol.com
To: 	SaveAmerica's_Treasures at nthp.org
CC: 	ekessler at okiemail.net, ogaps35 at gmail.com, rtandwj at cox.net, 
fannie_bates at yahoo.com, avenuetopeace at yahoo.com



For 80 years, the S. Robinson and Walker Avenue railway underpasses 
flanking OKC Union Station's terminal building (located at 300 SW 7th) 
have ensured safe passage for the people of the region.
 
These underpasses, like much of the rest of the sprawling, 
8-block-long OKC Union Station complex, were built, largely by hand, by 
craftsmen of our great grandparents' generation. They have required 
virtually no maintenance through the years since 1930 and would easily 
serve for another 80 years (despite the city of OKC's obvious disdain 
for them and avoidance even of sweeping the protected pedestrian 
walkways and keeping their lighting in working order).
 
Perhaps their quality, elegance and longevity is why the Oklahoma 
Department of Transportation is so hell-bent to destroy them.
 
ODOT has never built anything remotely to this standard of quality.
 
In fact, the longstanding east-west highway passage through downtown 
OKC they now call "The Crosstown Expressway," was built by them, and, 
because they claim that, like most of the other stuff they've 
built, it's about to fall down, they've insisted on creating a new path 
for the road directly through the Union Station rail yard. This plan 
will very soon destroy not just the rail yard, but the elegant Robinson 
and Walker underpasses, as well.
 
Sometime back documentary historian Robert Jackson, under contract to 
Parsons Brinkerhoff Engineers, explained why ODOT would thoughtlessly 
threaten these treasures to DAILY OKLAHOMAN colunmist Ann DeFrange: 
"Ann, highway builders don't /_care_/ what they destroy."
 
The story goes that when DeFrange actually included this statement in 
her story, ODOT threatened to withhold Jackson's pay until he 
"re-interviewed" with the columnist and altered his statement.
 
You see -- "a little light nearly got under the door" -- and ODOT just 
simply couldn't abide that.
 
Well -- now the question: It's very late. ODOT contractors have already 
destroyed the passenger platforms in the Union Station yard -- and will 
very imminently threaten the underpasses.
 
It's said of them that they are eligible to be listed on the National 
Register.
 
The State Historic Preservation Office completely collapsed under 
pressure from ODOT -- and never even held any public hearings about 
their proposed destruction.
 
/*_Can you help us save these underpasses_?*/
 
Thank you.
 
TOM ELMORE, Executive Director
North American Transportation Institute
PO Box 6617
OKC, OK  73153-0617
Tel: 405 794 7163
www.advancedtransport.org <http://www.advancedtransport.org>