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Tulsans Asked for Safety, Connectivity Improvements in 'Let's Talk Tulsa Parks' Meetings

Tulsa Parks

The City of Tulsa Parks Department held nine public feedback sessions last month to find out what residents think will make their parks better.

So, what did they learn?

Parks Director Anna America told the city’s parks board last week a major theme that emerged during the “Let’s Talk Tulsa Parks” meetings was safety.

"And that meant different things in different parts of town: better lighting, better enforcement of traditional public safety issues if there were nefarious things happening, better enforcement of loose dogs, better access, you know, in some parts of town where people feel like they can’t safely get to parks because they have to cross a busy arterial and there’s no crosswalk or anything like that," America said.

Something else residents in all parts of Tulsa want is improved connectivity.

"They want to be able to leave their house and walk or bike or run to a park and walk or bike or run in that park, and we heard that in every part of the city, that people want more of that kind of opportunity," America said. "And that’s not something, frankly, that we had prioritized in our capital planning. So, we’re going to probably try to recommend some shifts there."

People also want more amenities like shelters and benches for gathering at parks. Feedback from the October community meetings will be used to guide city spending on parks.

The parks department will present feedback from those meetings to the city council in the future.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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