Tulsa Comprehensive Plan - PLANiTULSA

Appendix
TrAnsporTATIon II: UrBAN COrrIDOrS
growth is mostly a product of increasing suburban
development outside of the City of Tulsa and autooriented
development within the City.
Our Vision for Tulsa defines an alternative future for
the corridor that results in a more sustainable traffc
pattern. Anchoring three of the City’s new mixed
use development centers, an intermodal center,
an employment center and a neighborhood center
challenges the transportation system to provide for a
traffc pattern that is very different from the current
one. The future traffc pattern will be less oriented
toward suburban origins and dispersed corridor
destinations to local neighborhood origins and
mixed-use center destinations. To be successful the
transportation system must be integrally connected
to future land development patterns and not be
reactive to future traffc demands.
sTep 3
Alternatives Development
Crafting transportation investments in the corridor
to support Our Vision for Tulsa’s emphasis on
sustainable development requires planners and
engineers to view the corridor as a part of a new
multi-modal network for Tulsa. For transit to have
a positive impact on the trip patterns and support
sustainable land development patterns, its stations
must be located in a walkable location. The idea
of locating transit stations within a quarter mile of
walkable locations is a fundamental tenant of transit
oriented development (TOD). Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) can facilitate TOD if it is placed in a right-ofway
that permits its stations to be in close proximity
to potential TOD sites.
BRT technology involves the high frequency/high
capacity buses acting in a separated facility like a bus
lane. If signals are warranted in a corridor with BRT,
they typically involve signal pre-emption and signal
priority to maintain high quality service for the
transit riders. BRT corridors can move over 10,000
persons per hour which has the equivalent of over
4 highway lanes. A few alternatives for placement
of a potential BRT line in this corridor are:
1) WITHIn THe U.s. 169 expressWAy rIGHT-oF-
WAy (roW)—THe expressWAy ALIGnmenT
The benefits to placing the line within the
expressway ROW include:
• Increased effciency of transit service
• Increased person capacity due to the BRT
being located on a separate facility with no
other modes
• Limited ROW acquisition
The negatives of this corridor alignment include:
• Significant costs of construction of overpasses
and stations to avoid conflicts with current
traffc operations on the expressway
• Limited access to walkable neighborhoods
resulting in a need for park and ride lots
• Limited benefit to surrounding land
development potential
2) ALonG A pArALLeL FACILITy—
THe ArTerIAL ALIGnmenT
The benefits to placing the line on a parallel
facility include:
• Reduced capital costs due to decreased need
for grade separations
• Supports sustainable land development
by locating stations in close proximity to
development sites
• Potential for increased value capture
• Multi-modal access will increase ridership
because patrons will be able to access stations
via TOD facilitated walking, biking and
bus circulation instead of park and ride,
thus reducing air pollution and improving
community health
JULy 2010
AP
APPeNDIx – TULsA CompreHensIve pLAn 35