Thanks for starting a new topic about this, Conan.
The premise is that successful waterside development in other cities is along relatively narrow channels, much narrower than the Arkansas River at Tulsa. The San Antonio River at the Paseo del Rio is about 30' wide. The same is true of the artificial Bricktown Canal. Zink Lake on the Arkansas River is 30 to 40 times wider. One of the problems Bing Thom was trying to solve with "The Channels" was creating a water feature narrow enough that you could wave at a friend on the other side.
But this sort of arrangement is possible in Tulsa without massive modifications to the Arkansas. We could reopen one of the buried tributaries to the Arkansas.
Many years ago, creeks in and near downtown were converted to storm sewers -- buried underground for most of their length.
One of these is Elm Creek. The main branch flows underground from 7th and Utica west to Centennial Park where it joins another branch fron the north. It is open in Centennial Park's new lake, then goes back underground through a 7' high tunnel along a south-southwesterly course, through the Gunboat Park neighborhood (11th to 13th, Elgin & Frankfort), to 16th and Boston, 18th and Baltimore, then along the western edge of Veterans Park. Elm Creek empties into the Arkansas beneath the 21st St. bridge.
In 1991, John Neas did a concept drawing of opening up the lower part of Elm Creek. Ignore the buildings and the street closings, and focus on where the channel would be. It would create a natural transition and connection between the clubs of 18th & Boston (SoBo) and River Parks.
More recently, the 6th Street task force came up with proposal to canalize Elm Creek between Centennial Park and a proposed detention pond further east, as a part of the stormwater management plan for the neighborhood. In this sketch, from the 6th Street Infill Plan, the canal is shown going down 7th St, creating a new location for a public promenade. It's my understanding that they've also discussed rerouting the creek down the center of 6th Street.
I've also seen, but can't find, sketches of a water feature on the Gunboat Park segment of Elm Creek, part of a grad school urban design project.
Another possibility for unburying a creek to be used as a waterside promenade: Cat Creek flows beneath Archer Street downtown, then bends southwest, following the railroad tracks (or more likely the railroad tracks followed it), emptying into the river under the I-244 bridge. The section along Archer could be opened up.
Crow Creek is not buried, but it is hidden and hemmed in by rock walls. It is the brook for which Brookside was named, and it would make a natural link between the river and Brookside. One concept would have replaced Place One Apartments (whatever it's called now) with a mixed use development, with paths linking that along Crow Creek to River Parks and to the site of the old Boy Scout Center just north of the Creek on Peoria. I've heard that the county commissioners' approval of a conduit loan to renovate the apartment complex put an end to that concept.
