Tulsa Comprehensive Plan - PLANiTULSA

Transportation
PArT II: thE roUtE For tULsa
how we Get there: Context
sensitive solutions (Css) approach
Currently Tulsa uses a conventional transportation
decision making process which is governed by automobile
travel demand and level of service criteria. In CSS these
are still important criteria, but are balanced with other
context-related criteria including community objectives,
thoroughfare type and the type and intensity of the adjacent
land uses.
CSS will be a vital element to building public-private
partnerships to develop the new centers, multi-modal
corridors, main streets and residential streets articulated in
Our Vision for Tulsa. Appendix Transportation I offers a
sample CSS policy and process.
Multi-Modal Street System
The first transportation building block is the multi-modal
street system. A multi-modal street balances the needs of
all modes of travel, giving people the option to walk, bike,
ride transit or drive. The street types include Main Streets,
Multi-Modal Streets, Commuter Streets and Residential
Collector Streets. These street types attempt to strike a
balance between functional classification, adjacent land
use, and the competing travel needs.
Table 10: Conventional vs. CSS Approach
to Transportation Design
Context
Conventional Sensitive Solutions
Context
Context
suburban
Urban
rural
Design criteria are
primarily based on
Functional class
Design speed
Forecast travel demand
Level of service
General Urban
Urban Center
Urban Core
Design criteria include
Community plans/
objectives
Functional class
thoroughfare type
adjacent land uses
Source: ITE Recommended Practice for Designing Walkable Urban
Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach
note: the Context sensitive solutions process
described in the appendix provides an explanation
of how this new street classification interacts with
the tulsa City-County Major street and highway
plan. it provides guidance on selecting crosssections
and a process to guide the prioritization of
roadway attributes in constrained right-of-ways.
This approach diverges from conventional street designs that
emphasize automobile mobility and speed to the exclusion
of other users and adopts the Institute of Transportation
Engineer’s Recommended Practice for Walkable Urban
Thoroughfares. Concurrently, the new street classification
system, retains the city’s existing classification system of
arterials, collectors and local streets.
The following classifications will guide the function and
redevelopment of existing facilities and the design of new
ones in support of the new land use forms. The conversion
to multi-modal streets will occur incrementally as roads are
re-designed, small area plans recommend changes to the
road character and on-street bicycle facilities are needed
to link key destinations and connect the off-street trails
to neighborhoods.
July 2010
TR
transportation – Tulsa comprehensive plan 13