Executive Summary

This report provides a comprehensive summary of the research done in preparation for the Sunset Drive corridor report. The study area consists of Sunset Drive in El Reno, between Petree Plaza in the east and Adams Park in the west. The ultimate goal of this project is to compile a report of design and policy recommendations to help stimulate economic development and improve quality of life along Sunset Drive based on this research and community input. Specifically, this project is meant to reflect the study area’s history as part of Route 66 while making the neighborhood sustainable for the future.

The information collected for this report came from a variety of sources, including but not limited to the Canadian County Historical Museum, the Oklahoma Historical Society, the city of El Reno comprehensive plan and municipal code, the US Census, tribal government websites, peer-reviewed studies, and in-person field work. A brief historic summary of El Reno and the city’s “routes” is provided as well as demographic summaries of both El Reno residents and Route 66 travelers with visual aids for the data directly adjacent to the text as well as in the appendix. The following sections include discussions of El Reno’s existing assets and urban form generally and within the study area, supported by maps. In-depth data and maps are provided in the appendix on page 26. The report also includes a variety of precedents from various states containing the Route 66 highway and how their strategies can potentially overlap with El Reno. Lastly, the concluding section discusses next steps in the project, primarily community engagement goals.

Group of three, posing in front of their car in El Reno (Canadian) Vintage car cruising down Sunset Drive, 2021