Bracing for growth: Jenkins widening on track for fall
Dec. 10—Plans to widen Jenkins Avenue from two lanes to four are on track for construction next fall after project delays have been resolved.
Voters approved the project along with 18 other improvements contained in the 2019 Transportation Bond by 66%. The $9.6 million project will expand the street from Imhoff Road to Lindsey Street.
The project was scheduled to be completed in 2021, but city staff pursued and won a grant for $7.5 million, which delayed the project by two years.
Public Works Director Shawn O'Leary said the once quiet street will be quiet no more as improvements to Reaves Park and increased capacity at University of Oklahoma sporting events will mean more vehicles in the area.
"It's lots of growth, lots of new traffic and a lot of new developments in that area," he said.
Softball and baseball fields are being added to Reaves Park as part of a voter-approved Norman Forward Sales Tax initiative, which continues to fund quality-of-life projects.
The university is preparing for student population and sports tourism growth as it prepares to join the Southern Athletic Conference. So far, the university intends to build more student housing in the area and expand sports facilities, The Transcript has reported.
"That's combined with Reaves Park, which is growing dramatically, and is going to be finished in the spring, I believe," O' Leary said. "We're talking about a quiet little Reaves Park for most of our existence is going to turn into a Reaves Park that has baseball and softball tournaments every weekend, lots of other activities.
"If you look at all that in total, we're seeing a massive amount of growth in that area for the city, for the university and for recreation."
Jenkins is heavily traveled during game days, but O'Leary said it's the new traffic on the horizon that drives the necessity of the project.
The project will include bike and hike trails, sidewalks for enhanced walkability and beautification. A slide presentation of the Jenkins plans shows large trees and landscaping, lighting, stormwater drainage systems, a new traffic signal at Timberdell Road and other traffic signal improvements.
Three residential properties are in the path of the project, but O'Leary said the easements required for the expansion onto private property is about 10 feet without the need to relocate residents. The city is in negotiation for those easement purchases.
"We're in the early negotiation stages right now with residents and the university," O'Leary said. "When you do that, you negotiate with each one that has their own interests, their own wishes and we try to honor all those."
O'Leary said the city has offered to replace trees that will have to be removed, build a retaining wall and restore landscaping among other requests.
O'Leary said the area has gradually grown throughout the years and transformed from a residential neighborhood to a recreational and commercial part of town.
"It's not staying the same," he said. "It's growing pretty rapidly."
