Hi all -
On Tuesday March 23 from 6-9 pm at City Hall, TMAPC will hold its third public hearing regarding the comp plan. Between the PlaniTulsa logs and the public input we have much to consider and are honored to be entering our review in the near future.
Hopefully on Tuesday we will hear from those who have been unable to attend previously. What is helpful is to bring to our attention issues we haven't heard before. While public comment will soon close so we can begin review, the process is far from over. We will be sending the plan back to Fregonese for editing, wordsmithing, and it will come back to use for further examination. There may be one more public hearing at that stage. Once the Plan is perfect we will recommend it to City Council.
I personally would like to hear whether sections make sense. For example, the housing section had a rather dreadful run-on sentence. The plan should be a source of pride for Tulsans and readability is a must. I will be reviewing comments on Tulsa now this week-end so please add your two cents.
It's very encouraging that these are being taken seriously, so Im hoping the opportunity hasnt been misused.
Ill ask forgiveness in advance for my run-ons, but since my work schedule has limited my participation, Ill take one last shot at input.
My open letter to PLANiTULSA:
May I congratulate all on the months of work and public participation
that has gone into PLANiTULSA, and express my desire that this body of
work remain intact and inclusive of all that input.
I am very enthusiastic about the PLANiTULSA process to update our
blueprint for progress, but I'm concerned that a vitally important
detail of our city's growth was overlooked.
Streetlights are among a city's most important and expensive assets,
accounting for almost 40 percent of many city's electricity bills.
Yet for years Tulsa has invested in street lighting that is not only
unnecessarily expensive, but counter to growth and safety.
Good street lighting not only sets the tone of a city's image, but can
be instrumental in maintaining a vibrant, safer environment after dark.
...but not just any street lighting can be considered "good" or
accomplish these desirable goals.
Any municipal street lighting system must be designed to improve one's
ability to see at night. All other concerns are secondary.
Street lighting should be as free from glare as possible, with
illumination levels and uniformity that compliment human vision and the
environment.
Streetlight systems should not be designed to "burn" a minimum amount of
energy, but rather provide the appropriate amount of light given the
task and surroundings. That may mean lower-wattage, yet better focused
light.
I call upon PLANiTULSA to include a concise, written plan for street and
municipal outdoor lighting to be a part of the city's new Comprehensive
Plan.
Tulsa should require, by ordinance, that street lights purchased,
installed or maintained with public finds meet minimum efficiency
standards (such as the new EnergyStar rating for streetlights), and that
any streetlight be warranted by demonstrating that such installation is
needed to (and actually will) benefit nighttime vision.
The use of quality-of-living and vision-conscious tools like the
"Kennebunkport Formula" for avoiding waste and light trespass should
also be a de-facto step in this process.
Many communities throughout the country have re-examined their street
lighting and have corrected many of the mistakes we are currently
making. Some lighting ordinances have stood the test of time for
decades, and provide many models we could study. The American Medical
Association has even gone on record with a resolution calling for better
designed streetlighting.
Thank you once again for this monumental opportunity to better the
growth of Tulsa, and for your sincere attention to the needs of all of
it's citizens.
I would like to close with the words of the AMA, in their resolution:
RESOLVED That our AMA advocate that all future outdoor lighting be of
energy efficient designs to reduce waste of energy and production of
greenhouse gasses that result from this wasted energy use, and be it
further
RESOLVED That our AMA develop and enact a policy that supports light
pollution reduction efforts and glare reduction efforts at both the
national and state levels; and be it further
RESOLVED That our AMA support that all future streetlights will be of a
fully shielded design or similar non-glare design to improve the safety
of our roadways for all, but especially vision impaired and older
drivers.