RiverSide Jogging Trail

[sauerkraut]

quote:Originally posted by charky

quote:Originally posted by Enid

There are a few street crossings on the Katy trail.  They are well marked, but if youre cycling they will slow you down.  Its a great trail to run for marathon training.  If you start at 41st and riverside and go to the end of the Katy its almost 10 miles.  Flat and fast and most of it is protected from the wind.

Now that we've been talking about it...I've run it a couple of times over the past week. That first mile (from the Riverside/11th St. Bridge intersection) has several hills...but otherwise...it's a generally flat run. You run by an old police car graveyard as well.

I like to hear that the Katy Trail is flat. I'm pretty old fashioned when I run, and I like it flat. I know some hills are needed for good workouts but I don't like them. I just like to run on flat open trails. The RiverSide trail is nice & flat and that's what I like about it. Some of the trails in the Omaha area have hills but they are nice places to run with lots of wildlife around and no street crossings. My favorite trail in Omaha is the Werhspann Lake 6-mile loop trail.. There's alot of Deer in that area and I have seen a few wild trukeys in the weeds and brush a few feet from the trail and also some black snakes with a stripe on it's back, I don't know if they are poisonous or not so I keep my distance..[xx(]

[charky]

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut

quote:Originally posted by charky

quote:Originally posted by Enid

There are a few street crossings on the Katy trail.  They are well marked, but if youre cycling they will slow you down.  Its a great trail to run for marathon training.  If you start at 41st and riverside and go to the end of the Katy its almost 10 miles.  Flat and fast and most of it is protected from the wind.

Now that we've been talking about it...I've run it a couple of times over the past week. That first mile (from the Riverside/11th St. Bridge intersection) has several hills...but otherwise...it's a generally flat run. You run by an old police car graveyard as well.

I like to hear that the Katy Trail is flat. I'm pretty old fashioned when I run, and I like it flat. I know some hills are needed for good workouts but I don't like them. I just like to run on flat open trails. The RiverSide trail is nice & flat and that's what I like about it. Some of the trails in the Omaha area have hills but they are nice places to run with lots of wildlife around and no street crossings. My favorite trail in Omaha is the Werhspann Lake 6-mile loop trail.. There's alot of Deer in that area and I have seen a few wild trukeys in the weeds and brush a few feet from the trail and also some black snakes with a stripe on it's back, I don't know if they are poisonous or not so I keep my distance..[xx(]

Ahh now...gotta mix in some hill work...tempo runs and some long runs. [] They'll do wonders for your 5K time.

I had my best 5K and 10K times during my marathon training.

[cynical]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

quote:Originally posted by cynical

quote:Originally posted by charky

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

Really, Charky, its called the 11th street bridge because it connects to 11th street. If Google calls it SW Boulevard its because they don't live here. It doesn't become SW Boulevard till it hits the west side of the bridge.

The same confusion exists on the 21st street bridge which connects with 23rd street on the west side of the river.

Its not an accident that they are marked like this. The river curves slightly and both of those streets are not due east/west orientation.

That's cool and I believe you. But the street sign does read SW Blvd. where you cross to pick up the trail.

If you drive downtown from the on 244/75 from the west and get off on the 7th Street exit, the first intersection you reach after the curve shows Heavytrafficway to the left, 7th Street straight ahead, and Southwest Blvd to the right.  So the bridge that we geezers call the 11th Street bridge is really Southwest Blvd.  Yes, I always called it the 11th Street bridge, but Southwest Blvd is the street that crosses the river on that bridge.

When you take that exit, I think they mean it directs you towards SW Boulevard. If the signs say SW Boulevard on the bridge...they need to change it straightaway. I'm in no mood for more change in my street life.[] No one calls it the SW Boulevard bridge anyway.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to have dual bridge names, huh? Avery bridge would be a better name.

I know.  It surprised me.  The sign is one of those standard green street signs that you see at most corners.  It identifies the street you turn right onto is Southwest Blvd.  It's not 11th Street.  

Google maps lists it as Southwest Blvd. all the way to 7th Street.  Mapquest lists it as Southwest Blvd. all the way to 7th Street.  The map used by the official City of Tulsa Live Traffic Report shows it as Southwest Blvd. all the way to 7th Street.  http://www.cityoftulsa.org/AccidentMap.aspPerhaps they're all wrong.  Sometimes we just have to accept change.  

But calling it Cyrus Avery Bridge might be a nice tribute.  If I was in charge I'd probably name the original bridge after him, not the one built after U.S. 66 became a memory.

[sauerkraut]

Hey Gang~ here's a link to the jogging trail systems in Omaha, NE. My favorite running trail in Omaha is the Wehrspann Lake Jogging trail, it's a short 6-mile loop around the lake and lately it's been full of wildlfe. I have seen alot of deer and wild turkeys as I run there, and also some black snakes with a stripe on it's back I dunno if they are poisonious or not so I keep clear of them... www.omahatrails.com click on the Wehrspann Lake link and see pictures of my favorite trail. It's weird Omaha has tons of jogging trails and I run on the same darn trail all the time. people really are creatures of habit. [xx(]

[sauerkraut]

I think it would be so cool if Tulsa could get a trail system like Omaha's... A huge network of inter-connecting jog-bike trails with no street crossings. []

[sgrizzle]

All street signs at 7th say "Southwest Blvd"

The old bridge was 11th St but a lot has change since it was built.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut

I think it would be so cool if Tulsa could get a trail system like Omaha's... A huge network of inter-connecting jog-bike trails with no street crossings. []

Dude, there's not a single street crossing between 11th & 81st on the east side of the river and none between 11th and 71st on the west bank.  IOW, You can run rougly a 12 to 13 mile loop w/o crossing traffic once.

[sauerkraut]

Yes but what about the other trails like The Creek-TurnPike Trail and some of the others? Anyhow, I just think it would be great to have a inter-connected system of trails in Tulsa like what other cities have. That could be a long-range goal for Tulsa. OKC is working on a trail system as is Indianapolis, and Denver already has a great trail system in place as does Omaha. Tulsa has a golden chance here to do something really postive. JMO on the subject.[xx(]

[sgrizzle]

Tulsa has over 80 miles of trails and growing fast. Here is a map:
http://www.incog.org/transportation/trails/trailsmap.pdf

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Tulsa has over 80 miles of trails and growing fast. Here is a map:
http://www.incog.org/transportation/trails/trailsmap.pdf

We've got the network.  He's got a valid point though about no street crossings.  There are quite a few around our trail system.  I still like what we have but crossings are a PITA.  I hate clipping in and out of my pedals every mile or so.

I've not seen Omaha's trail system and generally don't make a habit of commenting on ohter city's trail systems where I don't live.

[sauerkraut]

Tulsa has a bigger trail system than I first thought. Sometimes a few street crossings can't be helped if you want to have a inter-connecting trail system that can take you to different parts of the city safe from motor vehicle traffic. Omaha's trails have a web site www.omahatrails.com The list of the trail names and a map of that trail's location is on the left side of the screen. Omaha is working on adding many more miles of trails and they are working on having a trail link that runs from west Omaha to Lincoln, Nebraska that connects to the trail system in the Lincoln area, that will be a 50 mile trail, early plans are to have it follow I-80's right of way, or the Platte River. That trail is still in the planning stage..[]

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut

quote:Originally posted by charky

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut


I was farther south and didn't see any trail at the point I crossed the river. Tulsa should run that trail down to 101st and connect it into the Jenks Trail. That would also make one big loop trail. Tulsa can do alot with that river, When I was in Tulsa 3 weeks ago I was working on my speed training, getting ready to enter another race. I pulled 2nd place in a 5K on July 6th in Hilliard, Ohio. I need to improve my time. I did the 5K in 25:30 not too bad but I feel I could of done better.

I might be wrong...but I think there are plans for a multi-use trail that would run from Turkey Mtn. south...hooking up with the existing Aquarium Trail. Nothing funded that I'm aware of at this time.

If you want something different...run the Katy Trail. You can access it from the north end Riverside trail. Just keep going north across Southwest Blvd. The trail eventually turns west and heads out to Sand Springs. There's a long stretch of shade...which makes it good for warm weather runs.

OK- Thanks that sounds great, I never ran that trail. It sounds like a great place to run.. I have been just running on the RiverSide Trail and Creek Turn-Pike Trail, I never even ran on the Mingo Trail- I hope there are no street crossings on the Katy Trail, during a timed run the last thing I want to do is cross a street and/or wait for traffic to clear.[]

Omaha to Lincoln?  I'm a little ambivalent about that kind of development, personally.  It's the kind which only benefits few individuals compared with the tax dollars contributed by the entire population.  Trails  add to the liveability factor of a metro area, but putting in a 50 mile connector trail seems like a boondoggle to me.  That'd be like putting one in from Tulsa to Bartlesville, or thereabouts.

[sauerkraut]

Heck, Over in C. Bluffs, Iowa across the river form Omaha They have the famous "Wabash" trail that is 63 miles long and is built on a old rail-road right of way- It runs from C. Bluffs, Iowa to the Missouri state line. The trail is a gravel trail it's not paved. Needless to say it does have street crossings.

[Ed W]

Eventually, the Osage Prairie Trail will connect Tulsa to Barnsdall, I think.  Old rail corridors like this are ideal for bicycling, and they often bring new development that caters to cyclists and pedestrians.  Think of it from the standpoint of a town like Skiatook.  Cyclists ride into town, spend money, and leave.  It's not unique to our area.  The Oil Creek trail between Oil City and Titusville, PA, had a Pizza Hut just past the northern terminus.  That restaurant had bike 3-4 deep along the wall every weekend in the summer.  

Linking such trails would benefit tourism since cycling tourists spend just as much money as their motoring counterparts (except for fuel) yet they do it in a smaller area.  Oklahoma has more remaining original miles of Route 66 than any other state.  We have the Chisholm Trail.  We have diverse ecosystems and frontier history that can attract tourists.  It makes sense to slow them down and have them spend more money along the way.

Not that being mercenary is a bad thing....

[carltonplace]

^ Please find a Tulsa trail that leads towards Omaha and continue in that direction as far as you can go Forrest.