City Councilors continued their planned tours of all nine Council Districts with a tour of District 3 in northeast Tulsa on November 10, 2021.
The goal of these tours is to highlight areas of growth, district needs and opportunities, economic development drivers, City facilities and other points of interest that make each district unique. Launching these tours was a direct result of discussions at this year’s Mayor-Council Retreat.
Councilor Crista Patrick led the tour, showing off District 3 to her fellow Councilors and the Mayor. Highlights of the tour included:
• A tour of the Tulsa Air & Space Museum & Planetarium at 3624 N 74th E Ave https://www.tulsamuseum.org/. TASM’s mission is to preserve Oklahoma’s aerospace history and inspire science-based learning through tours of unique and priceless aircraft, computer flight simulators, cockpit trainers, demonstrations, and simulated space voyage experiences.
• A drive through tour to see the new Costco development at the northeast corner of 46th Street North and U.S. 169 that is targeted to open in the fall of 2022. Costco will join other businesses along the U.S. 169 corridor such as Amazon, Macy's, NORDAM, Greenheck and Milo's that are spurring economic development and quality job opportunities on the north side of Tulsa. The WEN Route 969 from Tulsa Transit provides transportation to this corridor and fare is free through December 31. Access to good jobs can be life-changing for residents in traditionally underdeveloped areas.
• A tour of Tulsa Raceway Park at 3101 N. Garnett Road to view the 10,000-seat, ¼ mile drag racing venue and talk about strategies to reduce street racing http://www.tulsaracewaypark.com/. Tulsa Police encourage residents to report areas with high concentrations of street racers. And officers urge those who want to street race to do it on a track like the Tulsa Raceway Park as the results of illegal racing can be deadly. On May 15, a young mother was killed after an alleged street racer crashed into her car. An 18-year-old has been charged with 2nd degree murder in the case.
• A drive through tour of the City of Tulsa Mulch Site at 2100 N. 145th E. Ave. https://www.cityoftulsa.org/mulch. The site will reopen Nov. 17 for drop-offs following a closure due to a fire in the mulch piles. The site accepts tree branches, grass clippings and leaves and is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
• A tour of the Tulsa Glass Blowing School at 7440 East 7th Street in McClure Park to view a demonstration and hear more about the programs offered https://www.tulsaglassblowing.org/. The school offers classes for underserved youth, veterans and community members. VETri is a free program designed specifically for veterans, active-duty military, guards and reserves that allows them to work and find support with others who have shared similar experiences.
• A tour of the renovated, historic Rose Bowl at 7419 East 11th Street to learn about the programs offered by One Hope Tulsa http://www.rosebowltulsa.com/. The Rose Bowl is an architectural Route 66 landmark with 2 ½ symmetrical concrete domes that opened in 1962 as the Rose Bowl Lanes. One Hope Tulsa offers free sports clinics, tutoring, and mentoring programs to at-risk youth to help them avoid juvenile arrest, do better in school and graduate from high school and college. The 34,000 square foot Rose Bowl with 35-foot-high ceilings is perfect to house the organization's collegiate-sized basketball court and sports turf for flag football and soccer.
• A drive through tour of the Admiral Corridor to discuss the possible use of ARPA funds for pedestrian refuge islands. East Admiral Place from the traffic circle past South Memorial Drive has a high rate of auto-pedestrian collisions as many people on foot try to cross the busy street to reach businesses. A pedestrian refuge island is a median with a refuge area that is intended to help protect pedestrians who are crossing a road. According to the Federal Highway Administration, installing a pedestrian refuge island can help improve safety by allowing pedestrians to cross one direction of traffic at a time.