The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

I know most of the posters on this forum and most of the people I have talked to have a jillion problems with the Channels Project, but I don't know enough to be for it or against it yet.

I won't decide until I get more information.

I love the use of alternative energy. This is the kind of forward thinking we need.

But then I see the wind map and it looks hard to do. I hear the Stakeholders say they have hired the best consultants in the world, so I trust they know something I don't. Again, I can't be for, nor against, until I get more information.

I also don't know how much money will be spent on the dam, the islands, the banks, etc. All I know so far from the presentation, the website and the Tulsa World is the end total amount.

But of all the information I need, one thing stands out more than all the rest.

What is the shoreline of this new lake?

Will the refinery edges be under water? Will the WestPort Apartments be under water? What about the RiverParks amphitheater?

How far up on the east bank will be water and how much of the riparian ecosystem will be taken to harden the banks? How much RiverParks land will be needed to build the two bridges to the islands?

I look at an eighteen foot dam at 21st street and to my untrained eye it looks like it is going to be a very wide lake near that bridge.

If I could see a more detailed map of what the shoreline of this new 26.5 mile lake will be, I would feel more comfortable about the project.