My Take on Tulsa's Plan to Develop the Arkansas

With a vote quickly approaching to determine if people in Tulsa county want to tax themselves to develop the Arkansas River, I thought I'd better educate myself on just exactly what Tulsa county is planning to build. If you are interested, the master plan can be found here. Now, I think developing the river is a great idea, whether it comes from private funding or from taxes (although I think Tulsan's money could be better spent on things like street improvements). So you can imagine, I was leaning toward voting for it. But after looking at the master plan, I will be voting no.

From what I saw, there are seven major areas of improvement. Each of these is spread out really far. There are areas in Sand Springs, Tulsa, Jenks, Broken Arrow, and Bixby. In my opinion, it's too spread out. Take Oklahoma City, for instance. When they renovated Bricktown and built the canal, all of the improvements were essentially concentrated in one area. It has wow factor. The improvements Tulsa county want to make are all too small to have a similar impact. I think the proposed Channels project had more wow to it--it was focused in one area and could have turned out really cool.

The Tulsa Zoo

I haven't blogged in a long time. I've just not been in the mood. That has changed.

Over the weekend, I went to the Tulsa Zoo. I've gone many times before, and one thing has always bothered me about this zoo and a lot of other zoos. Some of the exhibits are way to small for the animals they house.

For instance, all of the big cats are in small exhibits. The cheetahs have the largest area to roam, but it is still not that much. The lions, tigers, and leopards have the smallest areas to roam around in. I looked this up on Wikipedia, and a tigress may need around 65,000 square feet to move around in. A male tiger may need as much as 328,000 square feet. The tigers at the Tulsa Zoo have maybe 50 square feet to roam in. The other cats have approximately the same amount of territory to live in. A few years ago one of the tigers died. I'm not sure the cause was every determined, but I have my theories--lack of purpose.

The bears are also is similarly small cages. Maybe I'm applying some anthropomorphism to the situation, but when I look at these animals, they all look deeply depressed and bored.

What really angers me is that Mohawk Park (where the Tulsa Zoo is located) is huge. Wikipedia claims it is the third-largest municipal park in the country. So, it's not like there isn't room available.

I can't stand the organization known as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatement of Animals). I think a lot of their stances are ridiculous. However, I have seriously considered writing them a letter to see if they could apply some political pressure on Tulsa to try to do something to help these animals out.

Kick-off of the Oklahoma Centennial

The Great State of Oklahoma is turning 100 next year. I got a thing in the mail the other day with some of the upcoming celebrations. The three that caught my eye are fireworks displays on three consecutive nights.

On November 16th, there will be a fireworks display at the 96th Street bridge near Jenks. The following night on the 17th, there will be one at the 21st Street bridge in Tulsa (where they have the 4th of July fireworks display every year). And the grand finale will be on the 18th in downtown Tulsa. This one I am very excited about as it is literally a once in a lifetime event. The downtown display will have not only fireworks but also lasers. A few years ago when Tulsa turned 100, they did the same thing, and it was spectacular. I thought I'd never see it again.

Right Lane Closed

Here is something that happens in Tulsa (maybe other places too) that is really aggravating to me. A lot of times (usually on the weekend) you'll see an orange, diamond-shaped sign on the side of the road somewhere that says "Right Lane Closed". So you'll immediately dart over in the left lane, only to find out that the right lane really isn't closed, and some lead-footed (possibly clairvoyant) jerk will pass you by on the right. Every time this happens, you'll see the cones or barrels that were used when the lane was closed on the curb. So basically the road crew finished up its work on the road and moved its cones out of the way. But these guys always leave the damn sign up. What's up with that? Laziness? Sick sense of humor? Incompetence? What?

The Channels

A new project, with Dubai-like coolness, has been unveiled for Tulsa. It's called The Channels. My initial reaction to it was that it sounded absolutely absurd. It seemed like a waste of money.

Basically, the plan is to dam up part of the Arkansas River and build a series of islands in the middle of the newly formed lake. Then residential and shopping areas would be built on the islands.

It's a crazy idea, and an expensive one. They want half a billion dollars from Tulsans to bring it to fruition. However, Tulsans have been saying for years the Arkansas River must be developed to help the city grow. This might be our best chance to do that.

Okay, so it still seems like way too much money, but after I saw the artist renditions I am in love with the concept. And I love that it incorporates green technology, such as solar cells, and it will generate hydroelectric energy. This thing could potentially turn into a tourist resort.

But it'll never happen. Nothing cutting edge like this would ever see the light of day in Tulsa. Tulsans have big dreams but never enough follow through. We're too conservative.