QuikTrip 15th & Denver

[SXSW]

This very busy QuikTrip is set to expand.  Anyone know anything about the plans?  They say they will build a new larger store behind the existing one and then tear it down.  Will they be keeping the same amount of gas pumps?  I think if they are going to expand build out to the sidewalk to the south at 15th and to their property line to the east and incorporate the existing store into a new larger store.  Then leave the area just to the north along 14th Place as a small parking lot, in addition to the spaces in the front (west side) of the building.  Is an entrance at the sidewalk at the SW corner, a more 'urban' design, too much to ask?

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20091027_16_A9_QuikTr285565

[sgrizzle]

Be nice if this was a Mark III store.

[we vs us]

Is it gonna look like the one on 21st and Harvard?

[kylieosu]

Awesome. This is my neighborhood QT, so I'm glad this is happening.

[SXSW]

Wish they would have pushed this building to the sidewalk along 15th.  As it stands it will be larger but will have a small parking lot along 15th with NO direct sidewalk connection to the store...  

Maybe they can at least plant some trees and redo their sidewalks along their Denver and 15th St. frontage to improve the pedestrian experience for those of us who walk to this store.

[TheTed]

That location is extremely unfriendly to pedestrians. For those of us coming from downtown, it's very unpleasant to walk along Denver. Ignoring all the sketchy characters, walking two feet from 40mph traffic rounding curves is about as pleasant as standing in the middle of a NASCAR track. Especially when you think of the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed or maimed in the last few years in the metro area by drivers leaving the roadway and driving onto the shoulder or sidewalk.

If I take Cheyenne to avoid that, one of those side streets is closed where that church burned down  a year ago. Do they think its collapse is imminent, or what? Not pleasant to walk or bike around. And I see no signs of the issue being dealt with.

[PonderInc]

Here's the link to the BOA exhibit.

http://www.cityoftulsa-boa.org/BOA%20Agenda/15713-Aa.pdf

The landscaping plan was approved by the TMAPC recently, but I can't find the documentation online.

I'm curious if they had to submit a new lighting plan...as this was technically a "modification" of a variance granted in 1991.  (Even though it's a total re-build.)

One interesting thing is that the store will have entrances on three sides: north, south and west.  Theoretically, this should be great for pedestrians.   However, the increased parking (and lack of protected sidewalks) that surounds the building will negate that.  

Pedestrians trying to enter from 15th street will have to dodge a lot of traffic: traversing a parking area as well as the flow of cars entering and exiting via the two curb cuts on 15th.  Pedestrians wanting to enter from Denver will cross a deep gauntlet (145 feet or so) of traffic vying for fuel pumps.  Pedestrians entering from the north will probably have the best access based on less traffic...but still will have to cross a parking area.

Neighbors on Carson may be interested to know that all vendor trucks/traffic will now flow behind the building that will be much closer than the current building.  The truck driveway will replace the current sidewalk and wide band of greenspace.  Putting the truck traffic easily 100 feet closer to the neighborhood.  (I predict that a wall will soon replace the trees, as neighbors tire of the trucks...which will create yet another barrier for pedestrians.)

Still, it will be interesting to see what QT's "Gen III" store will be like.  They will be offering "more fresh items" whatever that means.  Hmmm.

[patric]

Is it gonna look like the one on 21st and Harvard?

If you want the glare shielded (like the one at 21st & Harvard), you are going to have to ask that it be required (or at least that they enforce zoning code 1303-c).
The lighting at that QT isnt perfect, but it is leaps and bounds better than QT's default glare plan. 

[Conan71]

I guess I'm the only one seeing the irony here that people are disappointed our major gasoline retailer in the area doesn't have pedestrian-friendly stores.  Sorry if that makes me a donkey, but I'm having a great chuckle at my desk right now.  Thanks, it's helped break the tension in an otherwise very stressful week.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue

[patric]

I'm curious if they had to submit a new lighting plan...as this was technically a "modification" of a variance granted in 1991.  (Even though it's a total re-build.)

I didnt see one in the exhibits, but regardless they are supposed to show that they comply with the zoning law that regulates "light trespass" from their site either way (1303-c).

It should look something like this:

[swake]

Back in the early 90s I lived in a house on Carson directly behind this store. At 2-3am you "could" walk out my back door and go right in the back door of QT and buy something, say, a case of beer.

Good times.

[DTowner]

Back in the early 90s I lived in a house on Carson directly behind this store. At 2-3am you "could" walk out my back door and go right in the back door of QT and buy something, say, a case of beer.

Good times.

Why in the world did you ever move!!!

[PonderInc]

I guess I'm the only one seeing the irony here that people are disappointed our major gasoline retailer in the area doesn't have pedestrian-friendly stores.  Sorry if that makes me a donkey, but I'm having a great chuckle at my desk right now.  Thanks, it's helped break the tension in an otherwise very stressful week.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue

Ahhh...there's the rub.  Is QT a "Gasoline Service Station," a "retail trade establishment" or a "convenience goods and services?"  (It matters from a zoning perspective.)

But you're right.  QT's business plan is based on getting cars in and out.  The fact that, in some neighborhoods, a lot of people walk to QT to purchase items (I used to walk to this store on a regular basis to buy milk), is irrelevant to them.  They, like all national chains, have developed a "one-size-fits-all" mentality.  Great for them.  Bad for historic neighborhoods, where Tulsa's zoning code encourages suburban models of development.  (Remember, shops on Cherry Street and Brookside would be illegal under current zoning.)

In keeping with my quixotic attempts to encourage appropriate urban design in urban areas, I spoke with one of the QT reps about offering an "urban QT" in downtown Tulsa. (No gas.  Walkable design.)  To her credit, she didn't laugh in my face.  (I'm sure she held it in, and then laughed so hard she snorted her QT fountain drink all over the inside of her car upon leaving City Hall...)

[swake]

Why in the world did you ever move!!!

I got married.

[DTowner]

I got married.

Ah, the sacrifices we must make....