Cherry Street

[rdj]

Did someone have a few too many rounds last night and wake up a bit cranky?

Sure it could be improved but Cherry St is an example of how organic, urban shopping & entertainment districts grow and evolve.  If you want these massive sterilized sidewalks with picturesque trees it will be Disneyland full of chains.

[AquaMan]

I have my doubts that areas like Cherry Street are ever going to be easily walkable, organic, authentic neighborhood districts. At least not until they get rid of the curb parking and run a by God real trolley through the middle of the street. Yes, you can walk them but they were designed at the beginning of the last century when cars were narrow, short and tall and mass transit was reality. Then they were mangled, re-habbed, suburbanized and generally prone to miserably short sighted planning processes. Expanding 15th street for cars at the expense of sidewalks makes walking from Maple Park to Utica an exercise in faith. You snake between telephone poles, guide wires, parking signs, overgrown bushes, and retaining walls while hoping the lady on her cell phone turning left actually sees you. Strangely they do. Most people drive to Cherry Street bars and never get to experience all that.

Still, they stand out in comparison to Woodland or Southroads as more unique, more fun and, ironically, safer than crossing an intersection on foot in those areas.

[Cats Cats Cats]

I think that might be a little harsh.  Walkable not only means being able to get around within it, it also means that you can get there.  Try living in the area behind woodland hills and walking there.  then try walking to cherry street.  While I agree that the sidewalks need to be widened and the signs moved off the sidewalks, I have never been nearly killed by signs or motorists on cherry street.  Even after I have had a few rounds.  While I think that adding more parking is NOT the solution, removing two of the lanes will help to change the street by slowing people down.  Also, I wish I was in your position.  Maple park area is freggin awesome.  Oh and I think that you guys as home owners in the maple ridge area should get a petition together to get rid of that Mcd's.  It has bothered the crap out of me for a long time.  The A&W too.  So get on it.

Its "walkable" but not much I want to walk to/from.

[SXSW]

Did someone have a few too many rounds last night and wake up a bit cranky?

Sure it could be improved but Cherry St is an example of how organic, urban shopping & entertainment districts grow and evolve.  If you want these massive sterilized sidewalks with picturesque trees it will be Disneyland full of chains.

Disagree, and I fully agree with swampee.  Cherry Street is not a pedestrian-friendly district in its current form.  It has the bones to be but is being held back by a lack of consistently wide sidewalks and shade trees.

And Cherry Street already is full of chains: Subway, Hideaway, Genghis Grill, Panera, Chipotle, Jason's Deli, soon-to-be Mi Cocina, La Madaleine, Lululemon...

Brookside is much more local and 10x more walkable, although it could be improved as well (mainly due to there being 4 lanes of traffic on Peoria).   

[TheTed]

I also agree that Cherry Street is not very walkable. Have fun trying to cross 15ht anywhere between Peoria and Utica. There's a crosswalk or two, but getting hit by a car is equally painful whether or not you have the right of way.

I walk there occasionally from downtown. Navigating that intersection at 15th and Peoria is also frightening. Fast traffic a foot away from you. Turning drivers not yielding. Then you have to navigate all the fast food driveways.

When I finally make it to the bridge over the BA (with its wall between speeding cars and peds, I feel much better). All of downtown is much more pleasant to walk down (lack of businesses notwithstanding). At least you don't have to worry about speeding drunks/cell phone users. I'm normally out and about at night, so that paints my perception. Cherry Street is busy at night, while most of downtown is desolate, so no worries about traffic.

And I don't see need for more parking. On the busiest night of the year, you can still park within two blocks of your destination in the residential neighborhood there.

[Townsend]

I also agree that Cherry Street is not very walkable. Have fun trying to cross 15ht anywhere between Peoria and Utica. There's a crosswalk or two, but getting hit by a car is equally painful whether or not you have the right of way.

I try to stop for every pedestrian that is obviously trying to cross on that part of 15th but many times I don't see them due to signs, parked cars, or other obstructions. 

Then there's the other side of the issue where I stop for people so they can cross and they just stare at me until I go.

Then there are the times I stop for them but the opposite traffic doesn't.

[we vs us]

Agree agree agree.  15th isn't walkable so much as it's only slightly less desirable to drive on. 

[rdj]

It isn't a master planned development so until the landowners give up some real estate and the city has the funds it won't change on a wholesale basis.  In many areas the sidewalk goes all the way to the building.  Are you advocating the street be made more narrow?  Personally, I find it just fine.  I've walked from one end to the other (and past North Maple Ridge) during markets, lunch time, evening, way late night.  Never felt unsafe even with the kids in a stroller, only during the day time mind you.

The fact chains are coming to Cherry St is a positive sign for the district and midtown Tulsa.  As a localphile it isn't may favorite thing, but it shows the area is healthy, has plenty of income and the traffic to make a franchise work.  You have to remember people are attracted to places that feel comfortable and for most of the population visiting the Tulsa version of a Dallas based restaurant makes them feel comfortable in visiting or living in the area.  My hope is that the chain development on Cherry St will push the local eateries north towards 11th St & the Pearl District.  That's how organic urban renewal, infill, gentrification, etc works.  The cutting edge, risk taking locals take the risk on an area and the national chains follow.  Its like when you were a teenager and you had the band you loved that no one knew about, then they had a radio hit and the QB of the FB team and the head cheerleader suddenly thought they were awesome and then you burned the album and moved on to the next big band.

[Conan71]

I try to stop for every pedestrian that is obviously trying to cross on that part of 15th but many times I don't see them due to signs, parked cars, or other obstructions.  

Then there's the other side of the issue where I stop for people so they can cross and they just stare at me until I go.

Then there are the times I stop for them but the opposite traffic doesn't.

I like playing Frogger with the pedestrians on Cherry St.

Speaking of the area: the Eats 2 U building between 13th & 14th on Peoria looks great!

[rdj]

I like playing Frogger with the pedestrians on Cherry St.

[DTowner]

It isn't a master planned development so until the landowners give up some real estate and the city has the funds it won't change on a wholesale basis.  In many areas the sidewalk goes all the way to the building.  Are you advocating the street be made more narrow?  Personally, I find it just fine.  I've walked from one end to the other (and past North Maple Ridge) during markets, lunch time, evening, way late night.  Never felt unsafe even with the kids in a stroller, only during the day time mind you.

The fact chains are coming to Cherry St is a positive sign for the district and midtown Tulsa.  As a localphile it isn't may favorite thing, but it shows the area is healthy, has plenty of income and the traffic to make a franchise work.  You have to remember people are attracted to places that feel comfortable and for most of the population visiting the Tulsa version of a Dallas based restaurant makes them feel comfortable in visiting or living in the area.  My hope is that the chain development on Cherry St will push the local eateries north towards 11th St & the Pearl District.  That's how organic urban renewal, infill, gentrification, etc works.  The cutting edge, risk taking locals take the risk on an area and the national chains follow.  Its like when you were a teenager and you had the band you loved that no one knew about, then they had a radio hit and the QB of the FB team and the head cheerleader suddenly thought they were awesome and then you burned the album and moved on to the next big band.

I definitely agree.  Biggest thing hurting Cherry St. "walkability" is lack of stop lights or stop signs between Utica and Peoria.  This creates constant traffic flows that make it very difficult to cross the street and encourages higher traffic speeds.

[ZYX]

Maybe it's just because I live where you can't walk to anything, but I honestly think Cherry Street is pretty walkable. The sidewalks aren't very wide but it's not that big of a deal. I honestly don't see how Cherry Street is not walkable.

[Townsend]

Maybe it's just because I live where you can't walk to anything,

I'm there with ya Bixby.  What'd your address score as far as "walkability"?

Could you beat my "8"?

[ZYX]

I know we're almost neighbors .

No, actually I can't, I got a 17. Yeah, but judging by where you said you moved to, I can see why you got an 8.

[TheArtist]

I try to stop for every pedestrian that is obviously trying to cross on that part of 15th but many times I don't see them due to signs, parked cars, or other obstructions.  

Then there's the other side of the issue where I stop for people so they can cross and they just stare at me until I go.

Then there are the times I stop for them but the opposite traffic doesn't.

The thought may be noble, but wrong imo, for I personally hate it when someone does that.  (I wouldn't stop and stare, I am the one who would curse at you and flip you off lol) My expectation is that traffic is going to flow normally so that as I am looking left and right before I cross I can judge where my opening is going to be.  Occasionally you get the speeder which is an added factor to be on the look out for, but what really messes one up is the person who stops, or kinda stops, but then your messed up and trying to figure out if they are going to stay stopped while you watch for traffic from the other direction, then just as you get ready to go, the person behind the stopped car looks like they are going to try and pull around, then the stopped car decides not to wait any longer, all the while your on the curb doing this little dance, step off the curb, on the curb, on , off, on, off, etc. as your trying to figure out the situation the person has so "kindly" created for you.   It's just far, far, far easier not to have to mess with that.  I have no problem crossing streets, even busy, fast moving ones, which Cherry Street really isn't.