Expo Square looks better than Downtown

[RecycleMichael]

I cruised around and through the fairgrounds today (looking for evidence of the beheading). I have to say it looked very good. The grass was neatly mowed, the new trees were all freshly watered, and I didn't see any trash anywhere.

I compared this to downtown Tulsa. The appearance was as different as night or day. I don't see any flowers downtown and the trees there look almost dead.

I don't understand. We just came back from a family trip and every downtown had flowerpots with beautiful color on every block. From Bloomington to Madison to Chicago to St. Louis, all of them had touches of nature everywhere. Sapulpa has planter boxes all along Main Street.

Why can't our downtown?

Do we just underfund the maintenence?

[TheArtist]

Either that or they dont prioritize gardening and flowers. I noticed that unmowed median and poorly kept area around it, on 7th st towards Houston I believe, when I was downtown the other day. I think someone else mentioned that area as being poorly kept as well. Not to mention I have always thought Veterans Park looks a bit shabby. Should be a showcase that near to downtown.  Other than that, I cant really think of many areas that have planters, hanging flowers, etc.

I do like what they have done around Blue Dome though. But yes, that kind of thing needs constant upkeep or it can get shabby real quick.

I hope that the new park downtown will add some much needed green space. Also the green space around the Arena has the opportunity to be made to look very nice with the appropriate "garden features".


I have heard rumors of "someone" thinking of pulling off some stealthy Guerilla Gardening tactics. Buy some large, heavy duty planters of some sort, some flowers and greenery in them... then in the middle of the night use them as weapons of mass beautification. Once this person or persons stakes out some potential sights for an attack, they may enlist some troops from here and form a downtown Tulsa cell to help. One often has to use rapid fire planting techniques and then fade back into the urban jungle to evade capture by the police. They say in such cases its usually good to recharge at a local pub with a beer or glass of wine.  You can get ideas from similar cells all over the world.  One has used Flower Bombs (mixing wildflower seeds in soil) and dropped them onto medians or near highways. But the main thrust of the insurgency in this case should probably be downtown.

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

[cannon_fodder]

I'll say it, downtown Tulsa looks like sh!t.  Tons of road and sidewalk projects started and not finished.  No landscaping.  The singage is horrible.  One one streets have temporary stop signs pointing both ways.  trees are dead.  Trim grass or flowers don't exist.  The new brick trim is unfinished, and already falling apart.

To date, the money spent on roads and the new walk have produced no results.

More of downtown needs to look like Delaware near TU (note: I am convinced our city can't do brick, just do fake brick and admit defeat. FAIL).

Sorry, an honest assessment a couple years in to the downtown project.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I cruised around and through the fairgrounds today (looking for evidence of the beheading). I have to say it looked very good. The grass was neatly mowed, the new trees were all freshly watered, and I didn't see any trash anywhere.

I compared this to downtown Tulsa. The appearance was as different as night or day. I don't see any flowers downtown and the trees there look almost dead.

I don't understand. We just came back from a family trip and every downtown had flowerpots with beautiful color on every block. From Bloomington to Madison to Chicago to St. Louis, all of them had touches of nature everywhere. Sapulpa has planter boxes all along Main Street.

Why can't our downtown?

Do we just underfund the maintenence?

Answer:

Downtown Tulsa Unlimited, anyone?

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I'll say it, downtown Tulsa looks like sh!t.  Tons of road and sidewalk projects started and not finished.  No landscaping.  The singage is horrible.  One one streets have temporary stop signs pointing both ways.  trees are dead.  Trim grass or flowers don't exist.  The new brick trim is unfinished, and already falling apart.

To date, the money spent on roads and the new walk have produced no results.

More of downtown needs to look like Delaware near TU (note: I am convinced our city can't do brick, just do fake brick and admit defeat. FAIL).

Sorry, an honest assessment a couple years in to the downtown project.

Now I have to disagree somewhat. I havent looked closely at the brick sidewalk pavers, but I havent noticed anything bad. Not saying its not there, just that I havent noticed. I think Boston Ave looks much better now. I can certainly understand the frustration with whats still torn up and not done, but those areas will get done someday.  

I also want to put in a nod of appreciation for a small thing they did that is definitely an improvement. On the SW corner of 5th and Boston is an old building with a nice awning. There was an ugly light pole right in front of the awning, right in front of you as you walked out and, frustratingly to me, it blocked the way if you wanted to take a picture lol. It appeared to me that they may have been putting one of the new lights in its place. I ranted on here about it and when I went back after that area was done, noticed that there was no light in front of that awning and instead there were 2 nice benches facing each other and I believe some plantings. Kudos to whoever either paid attention to my rant, or decided to do the right thing in the first place. Small thing yes, but also a nice improvement. Lets give some credit where credit is due, otherwise, well if I were them I would feel frustrated about trying to do or improve anything if no matter what I did it was all wrong and never appreciatted.  I always try to lead with a compliment... "I really like what you did here" or "I agree with this.." BUT lol. Though people who know me, their warning radar goes on when I start to give them a compliment lol.


Here is a pic I took of the awning I am talking about. Its nice now that there is no light pole stuck right in front of it just a few inches away.

[sgrizzle]

According to DTU there will be a complete wayfinding system designed and installed by September. I tend to assume they will be installed by the 4th street fountain and the lunchtime parking barricades.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by Friendly Bear

Downtown Tulsa Unlimited, anyone?

By pushing the perpetual expense of "Acorn" streetlights down the throats of taxpayers, both DTU and TU lean more towards expensive form than practical function.

It's a choice that has less to do with providing useful light than it is revenue for a business partner.  
Somewhere down the road, we will have to spend millions correcting their "mistakes".

When Minneapolis faced the music, police and the retired were among the most vocal critics of the city replacing streetlighting with "decorative" Acorn lighting.  This analysis might sound familiar:      

In my opinion, the whole street light fiasco is just another example of how small groups of people in Minneapolis dictate how services are provided...
The most interesting question raised in the article, and not answered, is why if the city knew that the lights were defective in 1999 did they continue installing them?  My now cynical viewpoint would be that ornamental streetlighting fulfilled one or more of the city's informal functions:
it provided subsidies for corporations, it put profits in the pockets of contractors, it generated a lot of graft or political contributions, or it created wages for union workers.
It's much less comforting to think that it was just pure incompetence and neglect.  One way or another we'll all be paying for it now.    

http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls/messages/topic/iVVMiAQpvjj2hKTfvLHO9

(the article in question is copied here.)

So no, I dont see DTU as a model for city upkeep.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by Friendly Bear

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I cruised around and through the fairgrounds today (looking for evidence of the beheading). I have to say it looked very good. The grass was neatly mowed, the new trees were all freshly watered, and I didn't see any trash anywhere.

I compared this to downtown Tulsa. The appearance was as different as night or day. I don't see any flowers downtown and the trees there look almost dead.

I don't understand. We just came back from a family trip and every downtown had flowerpots with beautiful color on every block. From Bloomington to Madison to Chicago to St. Louis, all of them had touches of nature everywhere. Sapulpa has planter boxes all along Main Street.

Why can't our downtown?

Do we just underfund the maintenence?

Answer:

Downtown Tulsa Unlimited, anyone?

Correct, I believe.  Downtown services are their mandate, and they have FAILed.  Hence the competitive bidding coming up this fall.

[rwarn17588]

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why everything looks like hell in downtown.

It's because there are still many streets still under construction. There's dirt, brick, torn up surfaces and equipment all over creation. It's hard for anything to look nice when everything's in upheaval.

Get back to me about its appearance when the city employees finally finish their work.