RiverWalk Update

[waterboy]

Spent a lovely Friday evening there last nite and had some reflections.

This was a nite that was warm, a barbeque cookoff was in progress in Tulsa, as well as the Porter Peach festival yet the crowds were good. There are more tenants than my last visit and they are smart enough to be open late. Cabos and Tsunami are of course the bigger draw with plenty of alcohol but the others were doing ok, especially the Marble Slab Creamery and the Fun House.

The music was actually good. Gary Matthews I think and well attuned to the crowd. The crowd was the surprise. Extremely docile. Equal amounts of young teens, parent types and grand parent types. The 22-35 group were absent. Not a place for singles or college kids. Not a bum to be seen. Security was bored.

Visually quite arresting. The bridge lights reflecting off the river (some water, not much), the Riverwalk sign backlit, and the path filled with strolling couples and lighted pedi-cabs. Rich guys with their trophy women smoking cigars at a gar bar across from a caricature artist, while toddlers screamed and ran though fountains. Generally well mannered, well dressed people. It felt more like a festival in San Diego than Jenks.

Now the down side. Talked to some of the workers there. They are a little concerned that there is some hangup on opening the next phase. A seafood restaurant stands partially finished in that area and work seems to be stopped to the north. Parking is dreadful from my perspective. Maybe suburbans endure it better than urbans. When the theatre let out at 10:30 it was gridlock. A four way stop sign at the exit then a stop light slows things down. If they get any larger crowds it will be bad. Meanwhile on the other side of the bridge huge open parking lots. A jitney/trolley maybe?

Huge potential. The pedi-cab operators were a nice touch (golzernpedicabs.com)and easy to talk to. An enjoyable evening.