Dooey makes my head hurt.
Mayor changes plans for Riverside Drive sidewalk, cites safety concerns
For more: Catch up on the latest news on the construction of A Gathering Place for Tulsa.
A plan for a sidewalk that would connect downtown to A Gathering Place for Tulsa was nixed after Mayor Dewey Bartlett intervened.
While sidewalks on the west side of Riverside Drive will still connect pedestrians to the park, Bartlett said he asked for a re-evaluation of the alternate path after receiving complaints from neighborhood residents.
"The reason was I think there is a very real safety reason on that whole issue," Bartlett said. "I thought it was a better choice to — at least at this point — have people on the west side."
The sidewalk was planned for the east side of Riverside Drive, connecting Veterans Park at 21st Street and Boulder Avenue to the entrance of the Gathering Place, near 27th Street and Riverside Drive.
Bartlett said he had complaints several months ago with concerns about safety and people parking inside the neighborhood.
He said he went to the engineering department, which already had the sidewalk planned with Riverside Drive improvements, and asked department officials to re-evaluate the sidewalk.
Bartlett said safety concerns for pedestrians came from complaints, but that became the deciding factor in changing the plan.
"They brought it up, and there were people that said look at it," Bartlett said. "I heard people voice concern and I think there is a legitimate concern."
Bill Leighty, executive director of the Smart Growth Tulsa Coalition, took issue with Bartlett's plan change, saying Bartlett allowed special interests in the affluent neighborhood adjoining the Gathering Place to limit pedestrian access from downtown.
"He made a decision that is not consistent with our community plan," Leighty said. "The decision is not in the public good."
Leighty said complaints from neighborhood residents were unfounded concerns that a sidewalk would increase crime rates.
"Because the city has backed off of this plan to build this sidewalk, the only pedestrian access from downtown is people will have to cross Riverside Drive," Leighty said. "To put people in harm's way is a bad idea."
A pedestrian walkway will cross Riverside Drive on the south side of the Gathering Place, and Bartlett said there are additional plans for a stop light and intersection just north of the Gathering Place's entrance where pedestrians can cross.
"I really think the whole thing hinges on safety," Bartlett said. "It wasn't a snap decision.”
http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/mayor-changes-plans-for-riverside-drive-sidewalk-cites-safety-concerns/article_019724d8-5e3d-5d40-8755-4076cf553fb1.html