Will there ever be an expressway going through the city of Bixby in the future?

[Okie1986]

Bixby located at the southern end of Tulsa is one of the fastest growing cities in the state of Oklahoma. Bixby has seen recent developments on the northern side of town around memorial and it's always busy. Bixby may need an expressway for infrastructure reasons helping out with rapid population growth.

[shavethewhales]

Maybe... if we were like Texas there'd already be one. This is Oklahoma and it will take another decade or two before we even begin to discuss such things, and then another couple to get dirt moving. I could see a potential route following close to Haikey creek and connecting to the Creek Turnpike eventually.

Here's the thing though, will we still be using the same type of transportation twenty years in the future? Electric, autonomous vehicles are already a reality and are rapidly increasing in popularity. Younger people are seeking out more urban lifestyles and moving closer to the core of the city. Mass transit is becoming more popular again.

Maybe we should get real progressive and start discussing the feasibility of commuter rail/street car/rapid bus down to Bixby.

[DowntownDan]

If you move to a suburb for "cheap" housing, you take it as is. Don't come asking me as a taxpayer to spend a few billion dollars to make your commute easier. You chose to live there and didn't absorb the cost of a new road. I feel the same about road widening.

[buffalodan]

I could maybe see turnpike expansion depending on how those are paying back, but that would be a 2030s type of development I imagine. I think it makes more sense to remove the drives from Hwy 67 than it does to connect take a road through Haikey. People north of the river are already within a few miles of a highway, so I don't think you unlock anything by building that. If you go to the SW side of the river though you could create a ton of new cheap land. I think they could do better just by offering better connections to their residents. Do they have a plan to at least 3-lane any N/S roads, or are they depending on memorial for everything? Their neighborhood roads probably have better throughput capacity than Sheridan does.

That said, I agree with Downtown Dan. Don't tax me to fund expensive sprawl. The appeal of that area is how remote you are from the city. You shouldn't be moving there because you expect the government to make it easy to travel downtown eventually.

[Markk]

Agreed.  Building more and more roads when we can't even properly maintain the roads we have is irresponsible and bad policy.

[Red Arrow]

If you move to a suburb for "cheap" housing, you take it as is. Don't come asking me as a taxpayer to spend a few billion dollars to make your commute easier. You chose to live there and didn't absorb the cost of a new road. I feel the same about road widening.

Back to that discussion?

We really need to think of ourselves as a region, not a bunch of fiefdoms.

I don't think Bixby needs an expressway but another bridge over the Arkansas River would go a long way to reducing traffic intensity on Memorial.  So far the rich folks on Yale have stopped even a toll bridge in that area.

Public transit is almost never without subsidies.  Do you believe all the money for MTTA comes from within Tulsa City limits?

[TheArtist]

I believe all roads should be electronic toll roads (and or privately built and maintained). Only those using the road should pay for it. The more you drive, the more roads you go over, the more you pay. Wider roads and intersections cost more. Highways cost more. etc.

[buffalodan]

I believe all roads should be electronic toll roads (and or privately built and maintained). Only those using the road should pay for it. The more you drive, the more roads you go over, the more you pay. Wider roads and intersections cost more. Highways cost more. etc.

The gas tax used to be a really good proxy for a user fee without getting into all the implications for making parts of town more expensive for a person to travel. I don't hate toll roads in general, but turning city streets into toll roads when we don't even have sidewalks connecting everything just seems like a slap in a face to so many people.

As far as a bridge, I get why people want that, but there isn't a ton of development south of the river anyway. We have quite a bit of land left to develop around tulsa, so I'm not sure spending the money on a bridge to unlock those acres makes sense to me. Bixby specifically has fully developed areas served by small 2 lane roads without any sidewalks or bike trails. Once they convince me that they have the power to fix those issues, we can talk about helping them get more land.

[Red Arrow]

Bixby specifically has fully developed areas served by small 2 lane roads without any sidewalks or bike trails. Once they convince me that they have the power to fix those issues, we can talk about helping them get more land.

Our neighborhood has large lots.  We don't have sidewalks, don't need them and I don't want them.  If you cannot ride a bike in our neighborhood without a specific bike lane or trail, you probably shouldn't be riding anyway.

As far as more land is concerned, I'd rather the city not promote apartments, etc. We also have enough additions with houses 5 feet from each other.  If you want to hear your neighbor talking in the kitchen, move to Tulsa.  But even that won't help in sections of mid-town.

[Red Arrow]

I believe all roads should be electronic toll roads (and or privately built and maintained). Only those using the road should pay for it. The more you drive, the more roads you go over, the more you pay. Wider roads and intersections cost more. Highways cost more. etc.

Only if public transit is totally unsubsidized.  That would include transit buses paying tolls equal to other vehicles the same size/weight using those roads.  The tolls paid by buses would go to maintaining the road, not rebated to the transit authority.

Buses and other vehicles using the road for free that the (real) trolley companies had to maintain as part of the right-of-way was a large contributor to the demise of most trolley / streetcar companies.

[Ibanez]

Back to that discussion?

We really need to think of ourselves as a region, not a bunch of fiefdoms.

I don't think Bixby needs an expressway but another bridge over the Arkansas River would go a long way to reducing traffic intensity on Memorial.  So far the rich folks on Yale have stopped even a toll bridge in that area.

Public transit is almost never without subsidies.  Do you believe all the money for MTTA comes from within Tulsa City limits?

Another bridge, or two, are exactly what is needed.

Wasn't the Creek Turnpike originally supposed to be built further South? I seem to remember it was supposed to be aligned along 121st or somewhere around there. Might have dreamed it though, that was a long time and way fewer gray hairs ago.

[Vision 2025]

The regional transportation plan at one time included a bridge at 121st St. 

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

If you want to hear your neighbor talking in the kitchen, move to Tulsa.  But even that won't help in sections of mid-town.

What do you mean by that?

I've lived in Tulsa a long time and have never heard neighbors talking in their kitchens in any house. Are there parts of Tulsa where the construction was so lousy and thin-walled and compact that you can hear your neighbors talking in another house? If that's the case, is that unique to Tulsa and not in the suburbs? It seems like there's more low-quality subdivisions in the suburbs.

[Red Arrow]

What do you mean by that?

I've lived in Tulsa a long time and have never heard neighbors talking in their kitchens in any house. Are there parts of Tulsa where the construction was so lousy and thin-walled and compact that you can hear your neighbors talking in another house? If that's the case, is that unique to Tulsa and not in the suburbs? It seems like there's more low-quality subdivisions in the suburbs.

You are reading waaaay too much into it.  I only meant the houses are really close together in a lot of places.  But... there are sections of mid-town where the houses are not jam packed.

[heironymouspasparagus]

If you move to a suburb for "cheap" housing, you take it as is. Don't come asking me as a taxpayer to spend a few billion dollars to make your commute easier. You chose to live there and didn't absorb the cost of a new road. I feel the same about road widening.

You never go out past about 21st and Peoria?? 

It's a shared experience that does actually benefit all.  If you go by that logic, then downtown should receive the smallest bit of support from taxes, since it is what, maybe 3 or 4% of our metro land area?   Or maybe should just put a toll booth at 21st for anyone leaving town....