Transportation

By Patricia Dinoa, INCOG Principal Transportation Planner; and Jane Ziegler, INCOG Senior Transportation Planner

Tulsa’s updated PlanIt Tulsa comprehensive planning efforts continue initiatives related to livable, context-sensitive design options surrounding public infrastructure that can be sustained with available funding. The Indian Nations Council of Governments has been studying these efforts as public interest seems to be at its peak for making a change in transportation investments and finding safe alternatives to personal transportation to keep up with mobility needs.

Since INCOG adopted the GO Plan, the regional bicycle/pedestrian masterplan, in 2015, followed by the City of Tulsa adoption in 2017, the City has implemented approximately 60 lane miles of bicycle infrastructure and filled in many more miles of sidewalk gaps. This plan still provides a blueprint at the planning level for regional connectivity and focus to bicycle travel, as well as pedestrian treatments in the region.

In addition to creating safer streets by designing and implementing a public right-of-way that accommodates all ages and abilities, a goal of the GO Plan is to inform and educate the public about “rules of the road.” INCOG’s Travel With Care program is funded through the Oklahoma Highway Safety office, and includes many facets. In 2022, Travel With Care posted educational commercials on Facebook and YouTube that included safety messages such as “yield to pedestrians” and new traffic rules passed at the featured state level. A video that Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell highlighted the decrease in crashes on 11th Street due to the “Safe Streets for All” configuration that included bike lanes and continental crosswalks. Pinnell highlighted the connection between safer streets, economic development and tourism on Route 66 and how this benefits the City of Tulsa. In addition to videos and safety messages on Facebook and Instagram, Travel With Care attended numerous public events in the City of Tulsa to talk with kids about bicycle and pedestrian safety.

In 2022, both INCOG and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation were awarded federal funding from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program for two projects located within the City of Tulsa. INCOG’s Tulsa-Jenks Multi-Modal

Safety Project is a $20.25 million regional trail and road safety project. USDOT awarded INCOG $16.2 million, the City of Tulsa committed $3 million in local match funds, and the City of Jenks committed $1.05 million. The project includes 7.5 miles of new or improved paved multi-use trails on both the east and west banks of the Arkansas River, and safety improvements at eight arterial intersections that includes better ADA access, pedestrian signal improvements and median refuges.

USDOT awarded ODOT $10 million for a $15.5 million project to reconnect neighborhoods in west Tulsa to River Parks and Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness via a new sidewalk along a reconnected West 51st Street, which was severed when the highway was constructed. For many years, the existing railroad and U.S. Highway 75 have been a barrier for these residents to easily access these amenities.

INCOG continues to work with the City of Tulsa and its partners to keep a pulse on transportation technology trends that affect the entire region. After four years of the first launch of shared micromobility in the form of e-scooters and bike share in downtown Tulsa, INCOG believes micromobility as an alternative to single-occupancy vehicles is here to stay. Shared micromobility is a convenient mode of transportation for a first and last mile connector to use in conjunction with public transit, for a short trip a couple blocks away, or to hop across downtown to meet up with friends and family.

1 DOES NOT INCLUDE WATER, RAIL, POSTAL OR SCENIC TOUR TRANSPORTATION. SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, NOVEMBER, 2021.

Another innovation is the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. INCOG’s Clean Cities program is working with the state and regional partners to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure and establish an interconnected network that will connect the national interstate system to local road networks.

An update of INCOG’s Regional Long-Range Transportation Plan, Connected 2050, was adopted in November 2022. The new plan is a federally mandated policy document that identifies a vision and addresses the transportation needs of the Tulsa region.

The 2050 Plan update develops a specific set of actions to improve safety for all transportation users, achieve adequate roadway capacity, improve maintenance standards and advance Intelligent Transportation System strategies in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area. The plan calls for the detailed study of several high-traffic and high-growth corridors and the implementation of commuter-choice options.

The Gilcrease Turnpike in west Tulsa, a part of the Driving Forward Oklahoma Turnpike program, opened in 2022. Partnership between ODOT, INCOG and the City of Tulsa enabled OTA to break ground in 2020 and opened last year. The expressway connects Interstate 44 to U.S. Highway 412 and includes a 10-foot-wide concrete trail for bicycles and pedestrians from the Katy Trail to West 51st Street.

In 2016, the City of Tulsa voters approved a local tax package to support Bus Rapid Transit investments for both capital and operational funding, including the Peoria Bus Rapid Transit line. Bus Rapid Transit is a premium fixed-route bus service that provides faster and more reliable