Tulsa’s two remaining mayoral candidates have shared their views on various aspects of the city’s budding public transit system.
County Commissioner Karen Keith praised MetroLink Tulsa’s leadership – particularly General Manager Scott Marr – in expanding the transit system.
She acknowledged, however, that more work needs to be done.
“I know we need a more robust transportation system,” Keith said. “There are people that don’t have automobiles who need transportation and that’s a reality.”
She hopes development of the new Route 66 Bus Rapid Transit line will bring more transportation options to Tulsa residents.
“I think that’s going to be a big improvement for allowing some people to live along that corridor and have transportation to get where they need to go,” she said.
Oklahoma Rep. Monroe Nichols said MetroLink is doing the best it can with the resources it has, but the system is underfunded.
“They are covering about 250 square miles every single day between Tulsa and the surrounding areas,” Nichols said. “250 square miles is a lot. We are a sprawling city. We got to make sure public transit can meet that need and I’m not sure that we’re making that investment that we need to make yet.”
Nichols also said more robust transit would be “a great way to level the economic playing field” when it comes to inequality in the city.
Both candidates want more rail access in Tulsa.
Nichols said he’d worked in the state legislature on getting Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer service into Tulsa and onward to Kansas City.
Keith said she wants a train system to connect Tulsa and Broken Arrow.
It’s unclear if any more state funding will come to the aid of Tulsa’s growing transit system.
Oklahoma Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat previously told KWGS that more state funds were “a long way away.”
