Business Owners Force Removal of New Tulsa Bike Lanes

Local politics is still an obstacle for street reconfigurations that make space for people on bikes.

1 minute read

October 12, 2021, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


An intersection with bike lanes in Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Pine Street bike lane at its intersection with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, pictured in April 2021. | Google Streetview

Four miles of bile lanes on Pine Street in Tulsa are being removed due to opposition from local business owners, reports DeNeeka Hill.

"Businesses in the area said the stretch from on pine from M.L.K. was just too congested making it hard for their customers to get to their parking lots," writes Hill.

Along with the removal of the bikes lanes, the roadway will be returned to its previous configuration—with four vehicle lanes.

So much for the idea of a post-bikelash political environment—as one columnist recently surmised was already a reality in many Canadian cities. Planetizen last picked up news of a city backtracking on bike planning in Phoenix in June 2021. Completed bike infrastructure projects have been removed in Baltimore and Los Angeles in recent years as well.

Friday, October 1, 2021 in KTUL

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

3 hours ago - Zachary Whalen

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

People boarding a bus on Maryland's Orange Route.

Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project

The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.

1 minute ago - Mass Transit

A brick building with a circular sign with the Airbnb logo hanging off of it.

Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin

The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

One side of the image shows a Chicago bus stop without a bench, the second image shows the bus stop with a yellow and blue bench.

Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago

A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.

2 hours ago - Block Club Chicago

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.