Automobile Alley ribbon cutting to celebrate ‘Better Broadway’ improvements

Oklahoma City will celebrate a safer, more walkable Broadway Avenue as the Automobile Alley Streetscape project reaches completion. The city will hold a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Nov. 25 on the southeast corner of Broadway Avenue and NW 9th Street. Mayor David Holt will lead the ceremony. 

The event marks the end of the “Better Broadway” project, a major effort to improve safety, accessibility and the pedestrian experience in one of the city’s most historic districts. 

A project centered on safety and accessibility 

Shaped with input from the Automobile Alley board, the streetscape project focused on creating a more welcoming environment for businesses, visitors and residents. The redesign added new crosswalk striping at every intersection, with flashing pedestrian signs at NW 7th and NW 9th streets. All crossings were rebuilt to meet ADA standards. 

Crews also shortened crossing distances by installing curb bump-outs at each corner, reducing the average span from 75 feet to about 45 feet. Parking along the corridor was reconfigured to angled spaces, adding 30 additional spots—including 15 ADA-accessible spaces with ramps and access aisles. 

Other improvements included resurfacing Broadway from NW 13th Street to Dean A. McGee Avenue, widening and repairing sidewalks from Park Place south to Dean A. McGee, and adding 28 amenity poles along the west side of the street. The new poles will support banners, holiday decorations and potentially street music in the future. 

Fifty-one new trees were also planted thanks to the Parks & Public Space Initiative through the Margaret Annis Boys Trust at the OKC Community Foundation. 

The $5 million project was funded through the Better Streets, Safer City temporary sales tax and the City’s Capital Improvement Program. 

Better Streets, Safer City background 

Approved by voters in 2017, Better Streets, Safer City includes a 10-year, $967 million bond package and two sales tax initiatives addressing streets, parks, police and fire facilities, and other core needs. A permanent quarter-cent sales tax is helping hire 129 additional police officers and 57 firefighters with about $26 million in annual funding for public safety and daily operations. 

The temporary, voter-approved one-cent sales tax generated an additional $240 million for street resurfacing, sidewalks, trails, bicycle infrastructure and streetscapes across the city. 

A historic corridor renewed 

Broadway Avenue is one of OKC’s oldest streets. When it was laid out in 1889, it was the widest road in the city, broad enough to allow horse-drawn wagons to turn around. By 1922, the corridor had transformed into Automobile Row, home to more than 50 auto showrooms. At its height, 95% of all vehicles sold in OKC were purchased on Broadway, which eventually housed 76 dealerships. 

By the mid-1990s, however, many buildings sat empty, and the future of the district was uncertain—especially after the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. A study by the Urban Land Institute, paired with leadership from then-Mayor Ron Norick, helped launch the Automobile Alley Main Street Program. That work spurred more than $30 million in private investment and set the stage for the district’s revival. 

Today, Automobile Alley is home to restaurants, boutiques, studios and offices. It also hosts major community events, including Lights on Broadway, which begins Saturday, Nov. 29.