Oklahoma River taxi proposal

Water taxi development plans presented to Oklahoma City Council
Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 28, 2006 by Brian Brus

The Oklahoma City Council is expected to request the movement of $2.2 million in federal funds today to allow work toward the development of an Oklahoma River corridor taxi system.

The first river taxi access ports could be in place at both ends of a seven-mile stretch of the river in early 2007, city officials said, with more terminals expected to be built soon thereafter, driven by local business demand.

It's more than just moving people. It's seen as fostering and encouraging significant in-fill development along that corridor, said Pat Downes, director of development for the Oklahoma City Riverfront Redevelopment Authority. Fixed transit corridors, such as a river or rail, have a history of a very colorful economic development impact on surrounding areas.

The City Council received the Oklahoma River Water Transport Mobility Plan prepared by the Goodman Corp. in late December. In mid- January, the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority approved a resolution that brought under COTPA's administration the water transportation system along the seven miles of the North Canadian River dubbed the Oklahoma River. The Goodman plan was recommended for approval by the Oklahoma City Riverfront Redevelopment Authority on Jan. 31.

In order to implement the plan, funds already received from the federal Ferry Boat Discretionary Fund must be transferred from the Highway Administration to the federal Transit Administration. Officials at the state Department of Transportation have said they'll file the appropriate paperwork upon receipt of a formal request by the Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, COTPA and the city of Oklahoma City.

Once that's done, work will proceed toward establishing river taxi routes between two initial taxi terminals - one at the Bricktown Canal's intersection with the river, adjacent to the Chesapeake Boathouse, another just east of Meridian Avenue, a few miles north of Will Rogers World Airport.

Other water taxi terminals are likely to be built at the Stockyards District, near the state fairgrounds, the Dell Inc. computer service campus and the American Indian Cultural Center, when it's completed. Those terminals will be supported by street trolley service to expand traveler access through the city's core. The Goodman plan projects 11 docks by 2012.

Interstate 40's impending realignment through downtown will pull the highway closer to the river, and actually will improve visibility and access to the river corridor, Downes said.

The Riverfront (authority) trustees see this as a development tool; the COTPA trustees see it as a way to move significant numbers of people in an efficient but fun way, he said. Many of the patrons staying at the hotels in the hospitality zone of the Meridian-aero corridor are in town to attend meetings or conventions held nearby or downtown.

John Rhodes, a trust specialist for the Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, said the river taxi concept originally was envisioned as something more akin to a fun canal ride. But the Goodman study suggested the river could become a viable transportation system for larger numbers of people.

We're going to try it and see what happens. There's nothing else like it in this part of the country, Rhodes said. It'll need a lot of publicity and marketing and corporate support. But we believe it's there. We're already getting questions from people about how they can tie into this.

The initial plan outlined by the Goodman group suggested an opening in 2006. The study says transit trips would number 317 daily, or an annual tally of nearly 80,000 riders.

The plan elaborates on rider numbers for the following year when the river taxi service is expected to take off. Depending on events at the fairgrounds, volume could reach as high as 163,000 riders annually. And by 2012, the total number of river travelers is projected to reach 235,000.

Many hotel operators have visited with us about the possibility of using their airport shuttle service vans to take patrons to the river taxi terminals, Downes said. That's a tremendous private sector partnership that would potentially feed ridership into the public transit system.

Copyright 2006 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

There was a reason I posted this...

Water Taxi pulls out of bid process

OCRRA Director Pat Downes. Photo/Mark Hancock

Heidi Rambo Centrella
8/29/2006

After Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority’s pre-proposal meeting Aug. 21, which surrounded concerns about its recent Request for Proposal, Water Taxi’s co-owner Bob Bekoff announced to the authority he is pulling out of the process.
The RFP was issued for two boats and the option to purchase two more to be operated on the Oklahoma River as part of the Oklahoma River Water Transport Mobility Program. Washington-based Art Anderson Associates served as consultants on the proposal.

In a letter Bekoff penned to COTPA officials on Aug. 28, he writes, “We believe this RFP is drafted to favor a particular design, cannot foster a fair selection process and will not serve, in the long term, as the foundation for a successful ferry project.”

Bekoff, who also is co-owner of Canal Boats II, said he was asked by COTPA to make recommendations for changes to the RFP; however, he said there are so many items that need to be changed, it would require rewriting the proposal altogether which he says he would deem inappropriate for any potential proposer to do.

“The root of the problems with RFP 2006-20 is that a biased consultant prepared it,” Bekoff stated. “For us to rewrite the RFP (if COTPA would so permit) would open us to the same criticism we have leveled against Art Anderson Associates and would further taint the process, not cure it.

“It is COTPA’s responsibility to write a fair RFP,” he continued. “It should not shift that responsibility to yet another interested party.”

Rick Cain, COTPA administrator, says a new RFP will not be written.

“If you’ve got a problem with it, tell us what the issues are and we can evaluate those,” Cain said. “He (Bekoff) is making accusations that he can’t produce a boat to those specifications, well then tell us what needs to be changed. And until he does that, we really can’t react to it. And we know we did not define an RFP that nobody can build to, so he’s just got to tell us his issue and clearly he’s opted not to do that.”

At OCRRA’s regular meeting today, City Manager Jim Couch said the specifications were put together in a generic manner so “a lot of people could provide boats under that scenario.”

“That is our goal and we still want to have an open process with a lot of folks in there,” Couch said. “So we don’t know whether it’s significant that one of the vendors dropped out or not at this time.”

However, Bekoff claims the consultant, Art Anderson Associates, reviewed the Water Taxi designs and molds of the vessels, then wrote an RFP to “specifically exclude” Water Taxi’s design. Bekoff further claims he has been denied access to the report Art Anderson Associates was originally hired by Triad Design Group to produce for OCRRA in regard to the design and tooling provided by Water Taxi.

“Based on the consultant’s statements to third parties, we have reason to believe the report is highly critical of the design and molds,” Bekoff stated. “Our frustration with and distrust of the bid process are heightened by our inability to ‘confront our accuser.’”

Cain said the report was provided to the city and states recommendations with regard to the mold’s design.

“It just pointed out some facts that it was a temporary mold, not a high-production mold and probably the city would be taking risk to ship it,” Cain said, admitting a high-production mold was unnecessary since the project calls for two boats with the possibility of two more down the road.

Couch says he believes they have “a very broad spec” that will accommodate several different boat manufacturers.

“But we don’t know that yet,” he added. “We’re doing research with potential vendors that are out there. We may have to come back and modify the specifications.”

Pat Downes, director of development OCRRA, acknowledged Water Taxi’s withdrawal from the process at OCRRA’s meeting and said, “Nonetheless, we are moving forward with the process and expect by the end of the week to know exactly where we stand with potential bidders.”