Protected bike lanes coming to downtown

[MostSeriousness]

I mean it as a sort of education for drivers. It should ease some of the fear that a constant flow of cyclists will be going through lanes, when in actuality they'll adhere to traffic flow as well.

[Weatherdemon]

My issue isn't the intersection but where the bike lane comes out from behind(east) the parking lane and crosses the R turn lane.
I can't find a picture of that crossover anywhere.

I don't ride so if you all feel safe then cool.

I wouldn't like my kids riding under 244 with that config though.

[cannon_fodder]

My issue isn't the intersection but where the bike lane comes out from behind(east) the parking lane and crosses the R turn lane.
I can't find a picture of that crossover anywhere.

I don't ride so if you all feel safe then cool.

I wouldn't like my kids riding under 244 with that config though.

Makes sense.  But at some point the bikes and the right turning vehicles will cross.  All this is supposed to do is make it so that crossing takes place before the intersection, I think the idea is to eliminate as much conflict as possible at the intersection, since there is a lot going on there already, as well as allow right turning cars (and bikes) to sit off to the side and be passed if they have to wait to turn.

As a cyclist, the jog away from the curb told me "hey, you better look behind you and make sure no one is going to squish you since you are crossing a traffic lane."  You are definitely going from a more protected to a less protected area.   For younger kids it would certainly be an area of concern - perhaps they would have to resort to the pedestrian mode to cross at a signal at that point? I just can't think of a way to avoid it bikes and cars crossing at some point, so making it very clear doesn't bother me.  And I do think its better than the old solution of "just mix the traffic together and restart the bike lane on the other side of the intersection."

[sauerkraut]

None the less bike lanes or not, the bottom line is bikes and cars don't mix. We need more trails that are free of motorized vehicles and street crossings. They are spending $24 Million dollars for a new Trail bridge across the river when the old one is fine, why not use that money for expanding our trail system instead?

[swake]

None the less bike lanes or not, the bottom line is bikes and cars don't mix. We need more trails that are free of motorized vehicles and street crossings. They are spending $24 Million dollars for a new Trail bridge across the river when the old one is fine, why not use that money for expanding our trail system instead?

Because the voters in the city of Tulsa voted for the bridge? Just a thought.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Because the voters in the city of Tulsa voted for the bridge? Just a thought.

Careful.... trying to think/interact logically with cabbage ain't gonna work for ya...!

[johrasephoenix]

Bikes and cars actually mix fine as long as traffic is less than 25mph.  I regularly rode as a bike commuter in heavy Boston and Chicago traffic and never really felt unsafe.  That is very different than riding in light traffic on Peoria, much less my one attempt on 71st street, where my life felt in imminent danger of a horrible end.  Same when I lived in Austin - Texas drivers looked like they would take great satisfaction in running over bikers.

[cannon_fodder]

They are spending $24 Million dollars for a new Trail bridge across the river when the old one is fine, why not use that money for expanding our trail system instead?

If by "just fine" you mean "structurally deficient," then the engineers agree with you:

Engineers did an assessment of the century-old bridge recently and determined that rotting wood and eroding piers took rehabilitation off the table, officials said.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/idea-phase-for-pedestrian-bridge-closes-committee-combing-through-residents/article_aa3c7fdc-d499-506c-b32c-a48f9a24f3dc.html

If you have a more recent engineering  study, I agree.  Share it with the city so we can save $20mil.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Interesting article related to this post about bike lanes and improving infrastructure for Tulsa:

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/meet-the-tulsa-artist-and-activist-getting-young-adults-excited/article_cf0b859c-1bba-5be9-b1a8-9f6fbc664817.html

[ComeOnBenjals]

Looks like the City has added quite a few bike lanes downtown with the newest street work. Not sure of the specific streets off the top of my head, but pretty sweet.

[MostSeriousness]

I think they're pretty much following the GO Plan as is.

https://incog.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=bc8b7363bf814d87b69196b6dd5ee373

[Tulsan]

Yes they just put new thermoplastic striping on the crumbling asphalt of Elgin Ave. to take it to two lanes with buffered cycle lanes and new street parking.

Cost about $100,000 and looks like trash. Like painting an old house without replacing the rotted wood.

[ComeOnBenjals]

I think they're pretty much following the GO Plan as is.

https://incog.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=bc8b7363bf814d87b69196b6dd5ee373

Hadn't seen that before, thanks!

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Not sure where best to post this, but this thread seems active and about as good a spot as any.

Interesting to see the mayor working on this. I like that he created a task force and website about this. Scooters are one thing, but he's smartly getting ahead of what is almost certain to be the future of cars: Driverless vehicles.

To skeptics: it's already legal to have driverless vehicles in multiple states and there are ride share apps that already offer that service and the first trans-continental delivery by a self-driving Semi-truck was recently completed. Elon Musk estimates the industry needs about 6 billion driving miles cumulatively for AI to be developed enough for approval (They currently have 2 billion just by themselves and expect the industry to meet the minimum sometime in the next 2-3 years).

Glad the mayor is acknowledging things are about to change. Besides infrastructure, traffic and car ownership, this will affect a significant number of jobs, along with the way cities are built. They would be wise to work with the state to get the appropriate laws ready ahead of time for this and to aim to enhance and encourage smooth transition rather than try to stifle it.

Tulsa wants to get ahead of curve of next transportation revolution


In the summer of 1908, at least 31 people died in car crashes in Detroit, where the new technology seemed to be especially popular and where many of the victims were pedestrians who naively stepped in front of vehicles moving at unbelievable speeds in excess of 20 mph.

The carnage led to some of the world's first traffic regulations, including such visionary innovations as stop signs, lane markings and designated crosswalks. And other cities, including Tulsa, quickly followed Detroit's lead as similar regulations spread nationwide.

Municipal governments, however, fell behind technology again. After the electric-scooter craze hit Tulsa in late 2018, officials had to scramble to come up with appropriate regulations. Should scooters be allowed on sidewalks? Should riders have to wear helmets? Should kids be able to rent them?


"Scooters caught everybody off-guard," said Adriane Jaynes, the energy programs coordinator at INCOG. "Tulsa wasn't the only one. Cities all across the United States were caught flat-footed."

Tulsa wants to anticipate and prepare for the next wave of changes that will affect transportation in the city. And that effort will include a public forum Thursday evening at Marshall Brewing, where officials will showcase some of innovations they expect to change the way Tulsans move around in the near future.

Presenters will include Shuffle, an Oklahoma-based start-up company that offers ride sharing for short distances using small electric carts instead of full-size automobiles. Tulsa Transit will show off the new Bus Rapid Transit system that is trying to attract new ridership with more frequent service. And Skyway36, a technology project by the Osage Nation, will look at drone research and development.

"A lot of changes are happening and we want people to know they're not just happening in other places but are happening here in Tulsa," Jaynes said. "In a lot of cases, Oklahoma businesses are really doing a lot of the innovation and are the ones leading the way."


Thursday's Mobility Open House will be part of a wider effort that started in 2017, when Mayor G.T. Bynum convened a Mobility Innovation Strategy task force "with the goal of assisting our city as it adapts to new forms of transportation and prepares for future modes of travel," including automated "driverless" cars.

The task force includes city officials, business owners and developers as well as national consultant firms such as Stantec, Mobility e3 and Crafton Tull, all overseen by the Indian Nations Council of Governments.

The group will report its findings to the mayor and City Council later this year, officials said. In meantime, the task force wants more Tulsans to take a mobility survey at cityoftulsa.org/MobilityPlan.

"Over the last two decades the internet and smart phones have changed our lives," Mayor Bynum says. "But our streets and transportation networks have functioned in much the same way as they have for the last 50 years. Now cities and transportation systems are poised to have their 'iPhone moment.' "

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-wants-to-get-ahead-of-curve-of-next-transportation/article_19dddf99-e5ae-54e6-951d-275e0403079a.html

[Conan71]

As a cyclist, I can say with pretty good certainty that bike lanes are little more than a "feel good" proposition.  Looking at the layout on our most recent trip to Tulsa, there are too many ways to get clobbered by a motorist using the lanes, especially at intersections in downtown.  Cyclists are much safer taking a lane of traffic, especially with cross streets every block like in downtown Tulsa.  Unfortunately, I know many cyclists from back in Tulsa who are not much more traffic aware on their bike than they are in their car and a very well honed sense of your surroundings is necessary using bike lanes like the ones used in downtown.  That is partially due to potential turn conflicts through bike lanes and lanes which are between a parking lane and the curb for passengers exiting vehicles to have a collision with a cyclist who is not paying attention.