Birthday Rant: Boathouse District needs transit access

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Believe it or not, journalists have opinions. While politicians and national news media might have you believe journalists’ opinions are all about politics, ideologies and (I’m looking at you, Mr. State Superintendent) ways to indoctrinate the public, my experience as a young journalist has been that most of our opinions tend to stay closer to home.

We express opinions on the quality of food served at the Oklahoma State Capitol (it’s pretty good — I recommend the burger), wager on the length of time a given board might stay in executive session (I always take the over), and complain about construction on our commutes. (I am SO ready for the Scooters at Northeast 36th Street and Lincoln Boulevard to be completed.)

Recently, a conversation with my editor about such mild frustrations sparked an idea for a new NonDoc commentary series: The Birthday Rant!

I turned 25 this weekend, and I have the honor of kicking off a tradition that will (hopefully) allow NonDoc journalists to blow off some steam in a lighthearted way that helps readers learn a bit more about us.

Without further ado, welcome to my Birthday Rant about a place near and dear to my heart: OKC’s Boathouse District.

A golden transit opportunity for OKC’s Boathouse District

I have worked in some capacity at the Boathouse District since 2016. It was my first real job, and I returned almost every summer throughout high school and college to work varying positions in guest services and as a raft guide. I still work there on weekends when I’m free — it is a great way to get paid to get tan.

Over the years, I have seen the district grow and change. I have seen it make itself a national player in the world of whitewater and flat-water sports, as evidenced by the recent news that Oklahoma City’s whitewater facility will host the slalom canoe portion of the 2028 Olympics.

I have also seen the district attempt to knit itself into the fabric of Oklahoma City’s downtown area. One of the district’s major draws is the views of our city’s skyline. At few other places in the country can you raft on Class III (or higher) rapids with an urban cityscape so nearby.

But seeing OKC’s skyline from the Boathouse District also serves as a reminder of just how far this major resource sits from everything else the downtown area has to offer. The district is a half mile from Bricktown and a mile from downtown, but the area is almost completely cut off, in practical terms, from the middle of Oklahoma City.

Eight lanes of Interstate 40 run between the Boathouse District and downtown. The district also sits at the point where Reno Avenue completes its transition from Bricktown fairway to industrial road.

There is one walkway from the district to Bricktown, although it is near the Chesapeake Boathouse, as far away as possible from the Whitewater Center while still in the district. That walkway goes underneath I-40 and follows the Bricktown Canal.

Anyone wishing to walk from the Whitewater Center to another OKC venue can either walk the quarter-mile to the tunnel or must go up and over one of two steep bridges to reach the other side of the highway. One of those bridges, the beginning of Oklahoma City Boulevard, lacks sidewalks and is clearly not meant for pedestrians. The other bridge — Lincoln Boulevard — climbs steeply to cross over I-40 and then drops down onto Reno. From there, any pedestrian must cross train tracks and walk nearly half a mile to get to the heart of Bricktown, including the nearest streetcar stop.

The streetcar does not connect the Boathouse District to Bricktown or downtown, and the district has no nearby bus routes.

The obvious solution to this apparent isolation involves simply driving your vehicle to and from the district. In a vehicle, the distance between the locations is minuscule and easy to navigate.

But this solution — which requires you to have a vehicle, of course — poses its own problems. On peak summer days and during special events, parking almost always fills up. The Whitewater Center also has a bar, so anyone pursuing a day of drinking and seeing Oklahoma City must figure out designated drivers or be prepared to call an Uber or Lyft.

These problems are not insurmountable. We live in a car-heavy culture, and navigating such challenges remains fairly typical for people living in a city such as ours.

But on a deeper level, I wonder what message it sends to have the Boathouse District cut off from all methods of transportation except cars. It truly is a world-class facility, and it deserves to be shown off to as many people as possible.

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I love introducing people from out of town. Indeed, many patrons of the district hail from someplace other than Oklahoma City. The kicker is that most of them have driven into the city with their own vehicles. I have to imagine that many visitors to our city who arrive via Will Rogers World Airport might have some difficulty making the trek to visit the Boathouse District unless they have rented a car.

I don’t know the best solution to this issue, but I would like to see city officials consider expanding the streetcar route to include the Boathouse District, although I know that would be an expensive project, and the OKC streetcar has its own issues. Perhaps some effort should be made to build a pedestrian bridge and walkway to connect the district to the downtown and Bricktown areas? Or perhaps a simple bus route or shuttle service would make some sense.

All I know is that with the Olympics coming to Oklahoma City and drawing people from all over the world, we should make it as easy as possible for everyone to explore OKC in the method that works for them — whether by walking, taking public transit, driving or otherwise.

(Clarification: This article was updated at 10:48 a.m. on Monday, July 15 to clarify the existence of a pedestrian tunnel underneath I-40 that connects the Boathouse District to Bricktown.)

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