As a resident of Ward 4 in Oklahoma City and as a professional land planner, I am offering a site-planning solution that can be part of mitigating the impact of the proposed detention center (jail) on Del City, on neighborhoods in Oklahoma City, and on Ward 4 in general. The SP-588 will be heard by the city council on May 21.

Gist: My proposed “180° Mitigation Treatment” first and foremost controls where detainees can be released by having a key part of the detention center campus turned 180°, having a buffer area along Grand Boulevard, and Oklahoma City closing/fencing SE 22 Street near the SP-588 southern jail entrance.

I have prepared and attached an unpolished handmade concept graphic of the “180° Mitigation Treatment” that modifies exactly what was shown at the Oklahoma City Planning Commission.

The proposed SP-588 jail location and design are just the latest example of the city of Oklahoma City’s pattern and practice of dumping unwanted and undesirable land uses into the edge area of Ward 4, where I have resided over 40 years. Some examples are an asphalt batch plant, car crushing plant, the huge Bryant landfill and more. SP-588 also unacceptably left the western 1/3 of the site vacant for future jail large-scale expansion. There appears to be no legal way to guarantee that detainees would be transported downtown for release, so an urban planning design solution can be the answer.

The proposed design mitigation solution is the “180° Mitigation Treatment” I developed and first transmitted in April to elected officials with Oklahoma City, Del City and the county commissioners.

Opinion: Mid-Del School Board member: There aren’t resources to support the jail at the proposed site.

Del Cityans have a valid set of realistic security, property value and other concerns about the county jail/detention facility being a block from Del City. My preference would be to have the new jail somehow be in the downtown OKC area or part downtown, part outside. However it seems destined to be entirely located at Grand Boulevard.

The rotating of the public parking area, public access and offices/staff-areas by 180° to the west of the jail cell “pods” means the east area is proposed to be replaced by more than a 200-foot-deep green buffer space and an attractively designed concrete wall like those along some highways, both visible along Grand Boulevard. This site plan solution would hide the planned 12-foot-tall Grand Boulevard side’s ugly chain link fence (topped by looping razor wire) behind a wall.

That way, when looked at from the east, the buffer green space and wall keep the jail out of sight, out of mind to youth of all ages. This “180° plan” makes it to where any person released from the jail would have to walk over a half mile to Eastern Avenue, then figure out how to walk over a mile to enter Del City or any other Oklahoma City neighborhood. It is highly unlikely the released detainees would want to walk so far.

This 180° plan recommends various cooperative negotiated agreements to help other fund mitigation measures for the benefit of the impacted city of Del City to be part of the solution for all parties.

More: Del City residents fear a loss of their way of life if a jail is built nearby

Finally, I have been acquainted with and affected by this site for over 50 years now, as I grew up just inside Del City, hiked the site as a boy when it was still an old growth dense woodland, watched as that was chopped down and replaced with a massive public housing project (Hamilton Courts), and went to junior high with kids from there. All that is part of why I became an urban planner, so I want to help.

Larry Hopper is a certified planner and former principal planner and planning manager for the city of Oklahoma City Public Transportation and Parking Department.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric was down to about 1,900 customers without power Monday morning following the Sunday round of another 6 or 7 tornadoes in the state.

The heaviest outages were near Helena in northern Oklahoma and in the Village in Oklahoma City.

One storm was in the Oklahoma City metro area where a night-time tornado touched down near El Reno and proceeded east toward Yukon. The 6 or 7 tornadoes add to the 75 reported already for 2024 and 19 for the month of May. So it makes about 25 or 26 tornadoes in May so far.

The Oklahoma Mesonet suggests there is a potential for more severe weather for the next three days.

At least the storms brought more rainfall to areas of the state that needed it.

By OU Media Relations

The three-time defending national champion Oklahoma softball team has advanced in the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Championship and will host the NCAA Norman Super Regional at Love’s Field May 23-25, announced by the NCAA on Sunday evening.

The program is appearing in its 14th consecutive Super Regional and is hosting its sixth-straight supers.

No. 2/2 Oklahoma welcomes No. 14/12 Florida State, the No. 15 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, to Norman in a rematch of the 2023 Women’s College World Series Championship Series.

The Norman Super Regional begins Thursday, May 23 with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch. Game one will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Game two is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Friday, May 24.

Saturday’s “if-necessary” third game will have its first pitch time announced later this week.

The winner of this weekend’s super regional will advance to the 2024 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Season-ticket holders that requested postseason tickets will be charged Monday, May 20th in accordance with the confirmation email they received from the OU Ticket Office.

A limited number of remaining reserved outfield all-session tickets will go on sale to the public on Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT. Outfield all-session tickets will be $70 a piece and will provide admission into each game of the super regional. If tickets remain, single-game seats will go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT for the first two games. Orders will be limited to four (4) tickets per customer.

Once all reserved seats have been sold, a limited number of standing-room-only tickets will be sold for each day of competition.