Waterway revitalizes city

Oklahoma City is known for many things – but water is not among them. Four years ago, however, the city decided to change its dry prairie image and created its own mini- Mississippi.

The area of Oklahoma City known as Bricktown had experienced highs and lows over the past century, flourishing through World War II and then gradually fading until the 1980s when developers started revitalizing the area. Now filled with restaurants, shops and entertainment spots, Bricktown is bordered by the Myriad Convention Center and the Bricktown Ballpark, home to the Oklahoma Red Hawks AAA baseball team.

To support citywide revitalization efforts, in December 1993, Oklahoma City voters approved a five-year, 1-cent sales tax to construct the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), a nine-project, $369 million package of new facilities and improvements. The Bricktown Canal, a mile-long waterway that would run through the district, was among those projects.

The canal, which varies in width from 18 to 40 feet and has a depth of 4 feet, curves through the city, passing under Interstate 40 and several pedestrian and vehicular bridges. It features four waterfalls and landscaping along its route, as well as an interactive water area with 40 jets of water in which children can play.

Sidewalks run parallel to the water. The Bricktown Canal area also is ADA-compliant with ramps, elevators and wheelchair lifts so that disabled visitors can travel on the walkways and enjoy boat rides. The canal gives Oklahoma City something it never had before.

Similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk, the Bricktown Canal has attracted people to the downtown entertainment district, in the oldest part of the city, and enhanced the city’s overall image. The canal offers a new experience for its residents with daily cruises through the Bricktown district. Five boats, each seating 40 people, take 40-minute tours. During the first 12 days of the canal’s opening, 20,000 people rode the boats.

Planning for the Bricktown Canal began in 1996, and the project was completed in July 1999. Construction, design, engineering and testing totaled just over $16 million, which was funded exclusively with MAPS money. Oklahoma City has committed $1 million per year to maintain the canal and the surrounding landscaping.

Before MAPS, about 1.7 million people visited the Bricktown area each year. The Ballpark’s opening in 1998 increased that number to 3.8 million. With the addition of the canal and other developments, the city expects the annual number of visitors to reach 7 million by 2001.