Pedestrian Bridge

[heironymouspasparagus]

The city once again has proven that the only thing it does at a high level is incompetence.

Serious question: Has Bynum made anything better? Can someone point to something he has improved over the previous 2 mayors? Seems like he has just taken everything and made it a bit worse or the same while acting like he is some sort of great compromiser/negotiator.

Doesn't seem to be living up to his hype.  And certainly not expectations.  Oh, wait - I have no expectations from him or Dooby or any of them so far, so I guess they are fulfilling those expectations perfectly.

[BKDotCom]

The city once again has proven that the only thing it does at a high level is incompetence.

Serious question: Has Bynum made anything better? Can someone point to something he has improved over the previous 2 mayors? Seems like he has just taken everything and made it a bit worse or the same while acting like he is some sort of great compromiser/negotiator. See: 71st and Riverside parkland development, Tulsa Flag, BMX/fairgrounds fiasco which wasn't his fault but still a bad look, crime rates continue to rise, terrible Amazon pitch, and the Oh so very helpful statement that "Greatest issue facing Tulsa is racial disparity".  

• 71st and Riverside:  inherited turd.  how would you like him to polish it for you?
• Tulsa Flag:  Private venture.   You think the mayor should get involved?
• BMX:  Tulsa county, not the mayor.   Wasn't bynum involved with the new site selection?
• crime rates:  not enough warm fuzzy from the mayor, should he be patrolling the street?
• terrible Amazon pitch:  apparently you have inside info
• Greatest issue facing Tulsa is racial disparity:  you got a problem with that?

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

• 71st and Riverside:  inherited turd.  how would you like him to polish it for you?

Side with the people. Most people do not want the generic outdoor retail development to go in there. Bynum seemed to side with the people before he was in office and then claimed having it built was a good compromise. The developer would still gets the land for a tiny fraction of what it's worth.

• Tulsa Flag:  Private venture.   You think the mayor should get involved?

Yes. The "City of Tulsa" flag is not private. Sure citizens spurned on the effort, but the official change needs to be pushed by leadership. He claims to be different and wanting to bring something new to Tulsa. This is an opportunity for that and to show some leadership. There were naysayers but I bet the vast majority of people would be ok with changing to the new flag. Maybe tell them to reopen voting for a much longer amount of time to get more votes. Or something. Work out a deal to change it. The new one is very nice and something people are rallying behind.

• BMX:  Tulsa county, not the mayor.   Wasn't bynum involved with the new site selection?

It was a terrible waste of fairground space to dismantle it and not work out a deal with BMX. Rather than abandoning plans to build there, the mayor should've just used the new site as leverage to get the county to work it out. It was possible. The new BMX location would've been much better to be used as something else more mixed-use considering its proximity to downtown (It has had several more interesting proposals. Eventually something better would likely work). The fairgrounds are a far better place for a big BMX facility that doesn't really help walkability.

• crime rates:  not enough warm fuzzy from the mayor, should he be patrolling the street?

You are oh so funny!!! Or maybe you're just a clown who doesn't understand what a mayor is. Did he not run on improving public safety and better management of resources? So far things are seemingly getting worse. Statistically, this is one of the worst years for crime in a long time. That ultimately falls on the mayor.

• terrible Amazon pitch:  apparently you have inside info

His interview about it posted on the Amazon thread was terrible. If he wasn't far more polished and convincing by that point, it is almost certain his official pitch was pretty bad.

• Greatest issue facing Tulsa is racial disparity:  you got a problem with that?

Yes because it is not even close to true. Most would say education is the #1 issue and poverty is #2. Health and crime are massive problems also. Racial disparity might be top-100 or top-50 but not even remotely close to the very top. Education is in crisis mode right now and that is a huge driving force behind all of the other issues so it should be a top priority.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

• Greatest issue facing Tulsa is racial disparity:  you got a problem with that?

Yes because it is not even close to true. Most would say education is the #1 issue and poverty is #2. Health and crime are massive problems also. Racial disparity might be top-100 or top-50 but not even remotely close to the very top. Education is in crisis mode right now and that is a huge driving force behind all of the other issues so it should be a top priority.

Also, if they mayor truly believes that, that means he will think that any kind of "Social Justice" victory his administration has will be a victory for him he can tout as some kind of achievement (like proclaiming city contractors aren't allowed to discriminate based on orientation... which is not really enforceable and is probably already the case... just a proclamation so he can act like he did something). In reality, most of those types of things do little for helping anyone.

Despite all the supposed symbolic "victories" for people of color through the Obama era, it appears black poverty is as bad as it ever has been in recent history and home ownership is at a 50-year low! So far worse off in many ways than before the Equal-Opportunity and PC culture that aimed to improve equality. A mayor who focuses on those types of things might just be wasting his time and is almost certainly pandering for votes.

[ZYX]

Donald, chill out.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Donald, chill out.

Another funny guy. I did not vote for Trump. So anyone who says they don't like the brown-nosing politics and lack of achievements of certain politicians is "Donald". I'm surprised you didn't just straight up call me hitler considering I probably hurt your feelings.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Donald, chill out.

And that's your only reprisal to facts you don't like. The mayor is not living up to expectations. The PC/Equal Opportunity Act ways he touts have not done anything to help boost the black population financially in the US at all and they are near a 50-year low financially. Turns out giving groups of people a pacifier doesn't help them grow up but can get you elected. And now we're left with a mayor who is messing up the largest project he has dealt with to date as mayor in a major way and we might get a $25 million plain concrete bridge.

[TeeDub]

$1.3 million to find out the budget wasn't even close?

If it was contractors, someone should be fired.   If it was in house "costs" using city staff, then I care a lot less.

[ZYX]

Another funny guy. I did not vote for Trump. So anyone who says they don't like the brown-nosing politics and lack of achievements of certain politicians is "Donald". I'm surprised you didn't just straight up call me hitler considering I probably hurt your feelings.

Alrighty then. I'm not interested in taking this thread in this direction.


With regard to the bridge, it is frustrating that we aren't allocating enough money to it to get anything nice. I would rather no pedestrian bridge be built at all until we can give it the resources it needs.

[swake]

And that's your only reprisal to facts you don't like. The mayor is not living up to expectations. The PC/Equal Opportunity Act ways he touts have not done anything to help boost the black population financially in the US at all and they are near a 50-year low financially. Turns out giving groups of people a pacifier doesn't help them grow up but can get you elected. And now we're left with a mayor who is messing up the largest project he has dealt with to date as mayor in a major way and we might get a $25 million plain concrete bridge.

Another white guy with hurt feelings. Please take to the politics board.

And while racial disparities continue, you statement that blacks are "near a 50-year low financially" is very wrong.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/1-demographic-trends-and-economic-well-being/st_2016-06-27_race-inequality-ch1-03-2/

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Another white guy with hurt feelings. Please take to the politics board.

And while racial disparities continue, you statement that blacks are "near a 50-year low financially" is very wrong.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/1-demographic-trends-and-economic-well-being/st_2016-06-27_race-inequality-ch1-03-2/

I said "they are near a 50-year low financially" and did not say in income (Notice that everybody's income went up in that chart you linked to). I was referring to home ownership being at a 50-year low which per the article below is their largest portion of wealth:

"Homeownership is the number one way for African Americans to build wealth,"

"We lost a trillion dollars worth of wealth that we must regain"

If someone makes $43k/year but owns no home and has no savings, how much better off are they than 10-20 years ago when they owned a house and had savings on a little less income? With real estate booming lately, many who own homes are getting those gains and it looks like most blacks will be left out of that boom and to make it worse, home prices are substantially higher.

http://www.nareb.com/african-american-homeownership-falls-50-year-low/
http://time.com/money/4665272/mortgage-homeownership-racial-gap-discrimination-inequality/

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

City officials say they have not spoken to GKFF about building pedestrian bridge


City has yet to determine whether it will partner with River Parks

A Mayor's Office official on Tuesday left open the possibility that the city could partner with River Parks Authority to build the new pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River but added that the city is not talking to the George Kaiser Family Foundation about assuming control of the project.

"No," Nick Doctor, the city's chief of community development and policy, said when asked whether the city had spoken to the foundation about the construction and maintenance of the project. "This (discussion) is with River Parks."

The city and River Parks signed an amendment to their 1975 pedestrian bridge lease in November that allows the city to either build the bridge directly, or "partner with the Authority to lead the design and construction process."

The amendment was executed along with the city's new master lease with River Parks Authority to ensure that the parties can work together effectively in the future, Doctor said.

"The amendment we made for this lease provides a clear path and a framework to ensure that both the city of Tulsa and River Parks are cooperating throughout the design and construction of any new dam or pedestrian bridge," Doctor said. "And it ensures that as we're working toward River Parks also maintaining that new dam and bridge long term, that they are part of the process from the very beginning."

Doctor said the city has yet to determine whether it will partner with River Parks on the construction of the pedestrian bridge or the mechanics of how such an arrangement would work.

"There are not a lot of details I can talk to you (about) at this point," Doctor said.

He did add, however, that since the Gathering Place is a subsidiary of River Parks, "I think it (Gathering Place) is an example of how River Parks could lead on a project of that scale."

If the city were to partner with the Gathering Place through River Parks Authority, it would seem unlikely that such a deal could be reached without discussions with GKFF.

The foundation is building Gathering Place park along Riverside Drive. The park will connect with the new pedestrian bridge at approximately 29th Street and Riverside Drive. The foundation donated the park to River Parks Authority in 2014.

Mayor G.T. Bynum announced last year that the same company that designed the park, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates of New York City, had won the public competition to design the bridge.

At the end of the public process, which included 234 submissions, MVVA's Gateway Bridge edged out The Crossing Bridge, designed by KKT of Tulsa.

Jeff Stava, executive director and trustee of Tulsa's Gathering Place LLC, was not available for comment Tuesday.

Jamie Marchesano, chairman of the River Parks Authority board of trustees, said last week that River Parks retains the lease on the pedestrian bridge but that there are several options as to who will control the project going forward.

"The question will become, Who is going to take care of it? Is it the city? Is it the authority? Or could it be the Gathering Place, because it ties in with the Gathering Place," Marchesano said. "It could be multiple people that end up managing and controlling that."

The city initially planned to rehabilitate the 100-year-old-plus pedestrian bridge and add a second deck in time for the opening of the Gathering Place this summer. But the idea was scrapped in 2014 after an inspection uncovered deficiencies in the bridge that made the planned reconstruction impractical and cost-prohibitive.


The city then worked with MVVA and Gathering Place officials for more than a year on a bridge design. The city came up with six major bridge styles ranging in cost from $14.9 million to $30.4 million, but none of the concepts garnered unanimous support.

In March 2016, soon after taking office, Bynum announced the public design competition.

At the time, he laid out three criteria by which the bring designs would be judged: that it relate to the Gathering Place and the natural surroundings of the area; accommodate pedestrians and cyclists; and be no more expensive than the $24.5 million the city has budgeted for the bridge.

At the end of the selection process, however, the mayor asked the finalists to come up with two final designs: one that could be built within the city's $24.5 million budget, and one that could be built for $35 million.

Doctor said Tuesday that the latest cost estimates for the bridge are $24.4 million, for a basic 16-foot-wide structure, and $25.9 million for a bridge that varies in width from 16 feet to 21 feet.

The city hopes to find private donors who can pay for the wooden decking, shading, vegetation and other amenities that were part of MVVA's $35 million bridge design.

The city, for its part, has only $23.2 million left to contribute to the project.

City officials plan to build the pedestrian bridge and a new Zink Dam simultaneously. The city is expected to go out for bids on the projects in September, with construction expected to take 18 months to two years.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/city-officials-say-they-have-not-spoken-to-gkff-about/article_0a8de775-e791-50a7-9011-37f94d2a4601.html

[Townsend]

City officials say they have not spoken to GKFF about building pedestrian bridge


City has yet to determine whether it will partner with River Parks


http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/city-officials-say-they-have-not-spoken-to-gkff-about/article_0a8de775-e791-50a7-9011-37f94d2a4601.html

Quick - someone read all the comments on the story and report back.

[Hoss]

Quick - someone read all the comments on the story and report back.

Challenge accepted.

Comment 1 complains about the bid being contracted to a NY company and not a Tulsa company.
Comment 2 complains about the length of time taken for the Gathering Place to be completed.
Comment 3 complains about the cost and the inefficiency of our local government.

As of my posting just 3 comments.

[Conan71]

Challenge accepted.

Comment 1 complains about the bid being contracted to a NY company and not a Tulsa company.
Comment 2 complains about the length of time taken for the Gathering Place to be completed.
Comment 3 complains about the cost and the inefficiency of our local government.

As of my posting just 3 comments.

Where's Sauer been?  Kind of odd he hasn't been popping in to complain about how the taxpayers can't afford to maintain the Gathering Place.