Accompanied by images of a partially demolished building, P.J. Lassek reports on Tulsa's conflict between encouraging development and providing parking amenities.
As the Tulsa skyline takes another hit, the city council is considering a moratorium on creating surface parking lots. Newly elected councilor and downtown business owner, Blake Ewing, describes his motivation for introducing a moratorium on the demolition of existing buildings for surface parking:
"When you look at downtown, it has been stated over and over again that the surface parking lots are breaking up the flow," he said.
While the City of Tulsa embarks on a downtown parking master plan, Ewing hopes to employ a moratorium to prevent building owners from pre-empting any new parking policies as they come down the pike.
With an urbanist Councilor, a newly adopted comprehensive plan, and a new planning director, Tulsa may be poised to reverse an overzealous trend in parking development. City Planning Director, Dawn Warrick, concurs that preserving existing buildings should be a priority and that a strategy for developing appropriate parking solutions should be employed as soon as possible. Ewing points out the price of inaction over the decades:
"Compare Tulsa's skyline from 1960 and now. We had a better skyline then, and that's not OK."
Thanks to Jessica Brent
FULL STORY: Tulsa Councilor Fears Downtown Getting Too Many Parking Lot
Watch: How to Remove Thousands of Parking Spaces
What the city of Amsterdam will gain by removing cars from on-street parking space.
The Boxyard Igniting Retail Push In Downtown Tulsa
Innovative retail center constructed from repurposed shipping containers activates an empty lot, looks to spark a retail revival in downtown Tulsa.
Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie