It's no coincidence that the city's proposed $919.9 million capital improvements package calls for rehabilitating Riverside Drive at the same time a $250 million park is about to be built along - and atop - the roadway.
Paul Zachary, the city's Engineering Services Department director, said it makes no sense to hold off on long-needed work along Riverside Drive only to have to redo it once The Gathering Place for Tulsa is constructed. Work on the park is expected to begin next year.
"If they are not done simultaneously, we will end up - when we do improvements along Riverside - we will end up tearing out some of the improvements that were done at The Gathering Place," Zachary said.
The city's capital improvements package as currently proposed would provide $19 million to widen Riverside Drive from 24th Street to 33rd Place.
The proposed package also includes $7.75 million in enhancements to the Pedestrian Bridge near 31st Street and Riverside Drive. The capital improvements package will be voted on Nov. 12.
Phase I of A Gathering Place for Tulsa, which is being funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation and other private donors, will be constructed from 24th to 31st streets on the east side of Riverside Drive and from 24th Street to 33rd Place along the west side.
The city's proposal for Riverside Drive would not build additional lanes but would widen the existing four lanes from 10.5 feet to 13 feet each, widen the median, and add trees and landscaping.
In addition, the dip in the roadway at approximately 29th Street would be removed and the street straightened, and enhancements would be made to the Crow Creek bridge south of 31st Street.
Jeff Stava, project manager for The Gathering Place, said the improvements to Riverside Drive are needed for practical and aesthetic reasons.
Most cities with parkways along the water have made them into something special - exactly what the proposed trees, landscaping and wider lanes would do for Riverside Drive, Stava said.
The practical reasons for fixing the road are many, he believes.
"The roadway is not in very good condition, not to mention that the dip and the little bend near the Zink Dam turnoff is a dangerous place," Stava said.
The proposed widening of Riverside Drive would lead to a realignment of the River Parks trail along the west side of the roadway, work to be paid for by the Kaiser Foundation.
Stava said that in addition to replacing the existing trails, the foundation will add trails "that actually follow the edge of the bump-outs near the edge of the Arkansas River."
And then there are the 300-foot-wide land bridges - signature pieces of The Gathering Place that are to be constructed to the north and south of the Pedestrian Bridge.
"When you're building over the road, you know the width of the roadway and the road position," Stava said. "That is why the city was interested in getting that done."
The funding for the Pedestrian Bridge improvements would pay for a double-decker bridge - bikes on top and pedestrians below - and add new railings and lighting.
Stava said the new bridge would provide a gateway to The Gathering Place.
"It will still come along Riverside Drive at generally the same location, and it will connect with the Midland Valley Trail as it currently does," Stava said.
"But it will be a nexus point that will connect to several trails that connect to the north and south side of The Gathering Place."
The city in June applied for a $14.8 million federal transportation grant that would help fund improvements along Riverside Drive. Should the city receive those funds, it would need only $4.2 million for the improvements, not $19 million.
The City Council this week is expected to begin considering a possible modification to the so-called "Bartlett amendment" to city ordinances.
Proposed by then-City Councilor Dewey Bartlett and approved by the council in 1994, it requires a separate vote of the people to fund any improvements along Riverside Drive contemplated in the 1993 Conceptual Plan for Riverside Drive and Houston Avenue.
Twenty years later, the administration of Mayor Dewey Bartlett is proposing that a fifth exception to the Bartlett amendment be approved by the City Council.
The exception would cover improvements to Riverside Drive between the 2300 block and the 3400 block as shown in the conceptual plan for The Gathering Place.
Project descriptions
Riverside Drive widening, 24th Street to 33rd Place ($19 million): Increase lanes from 10.5 feet to 13 feet; widen median and add trees and landscaping; add traffic light at north entrance at The Gathering Place for Tulsa at approximately 26th Street; redo the street light at 31st Street; remove dip in road near Pedestrian Bridge; Crow Creek bridge enhancements; add lighting; address other infrastructure needs such as stormwater and sewer lines.
Pedestrian Bridge enhancements ($7.75 million): Make Pedestrian Bridge two levels with bikes on top and pedestrians below, add new railings and lighting. Reconfigure the landing of the bridge to accommodate the new grade and elevation of Riverside Drive.
Town hall meetings
The City Council last week approved a draft list of $919.9 million in capital improvement projects that it will present to the public in town hall meetings over the next month. Councilors will use the input from those meetings to complete its list before sending it to voters Nov. 12.
All are at 6 p.m. unless noted.
6:15 p.m. Tuesday: Garnett Assembly of God, 2930 S. Garnett Road
Aug. 5: OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center Auditorium, 4502 E. 41st St.
Aug. 6: Rudisill Regional Library, 1520 N. Hartford Ave.
Aug. 13: Carbondale Assembly of God, 2135 W. 51st St.
Kevin Canfield 918-581-8313
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Fixes on Riverside
