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Public transportation is needed for a thriving, healthy community.
The results of PLANiTULSA are in and, surprising to this TYPro, 49 percent of the respondents chose Scenario D as their favorite, which may be the most ambitious of all the proposed plans incorporating the most transit and density of development for the city.
This is one giant leap for Tulsa and the surrounding community. Fortunately for those who voted for Scenario A, B or C, this wasn’t a “winner take all” vote. More work must be done to devise a plan which takes into account how different parts of the city voted.
Interestingly, hardly anyone voted for scenario A (no change at all) and all of Tulsa’s demographics were represented in the votes. Apparently, Tulsa wants change! So, while the PLANiTULSA crew is working tirelessly on Scenario T (for Tulsa), allow me to philosophize on why moving toward a more transit-oriented city with mixed-use developments (incorporating retail, office and residence) is progressive and positive.
If you have ever had the opportunity to live in a city with excellent public transportation, it offers a different kind of freedom that automobiles cannot. Never once did I get a RUI (Riding Under the Influence) on the T in Boston. Nor did I ever get a speeding ticket, parking ticket, lose my car in a enormous parking lot, blow a tire, get keyed, or let my tags expire. All I did was buy a $45 T pass once a month. Okay, so now they’re about up to about $60 a month... Get out your calculator and multiply that by 12 — that’s cheap. So cheap, in fact, you could afford to keep your car for those trips to the lake! As a side note, one of the first things I noticed about Bostonians — they are more svelte. Not because they are more image-conscious — they just walk more.
Now, you may be considering that Tulsa is not Boston; that we don’t have near the population per square mile to warrant a light rail, but herein lies an interesting truth: it doesn’t work that way. Cities with rail have shown that once the rail is in place, development grows around it. There is ample evidence that if we build it they will come. Coffee shops and delis and bookstores and drycleaners and a myriad of other retail will take advantage of the foot traffic at the various stops along the line. This is reminiscent of Tulsa’s early days. Hardly anyone had a car. They rode the bus. They knew the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker because they were all neighbors within walking distance of their front doors.
Public transportation also means less wear and tear of our roads and the opportunity for more green space or parkland in the absence of parking lots. It means fewer ozone alert days during the hottest parts of the summer. It means not having to waste time looking for costly event parking. It means something more useful can be built in place of those asphalt parking lots. It means we can be better connected to our outlining communities. It is a means to an even greater Tulsa.
When Tulsa has a more efficient and comprehensive public transportation system and walkability, we will have more community, more entertainment, more beauty, more activity and your bottom will be glad we made it happen.
Jonathan Bolzle is a Platinum album-earning audio engineer, commercial real estate broker and developer for KMO Development Group Inc. in downtown Tulsa and active TYPros member.
