A bolder Vision

Fresh ideas are needed to build on Tulsa’s improvement initiative

The future favors cities with leaders who are constantly peering around the corner and energetic, imaginative citizens who challenge them. We live in a hypercompetitive time when—despite what our local leaders sometimes say—Tulsa competes not only with Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Austin and San Francisco but also with London, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

That’s why creatively building on the success of Vision 2025 is essential for Tulsa’s future. Conceived more than a decade ago, this bundle of local improvements was funded by a one-penny sales tax increment. Most of these projects—the BOK Center; an array of street, intersection and parks improvements; OSU-Tulsa’s Helmerich Research Center and Langston University’s Tulsa campus—have been realized and proven immensely successful.

The 2012 attempt to extend Vision 2025 combined a nearly $370 million business attraction effort with a $400 million-plus city/county physical improvement package. For a host of reasons, neither item secured voter approval. Let’s not repeat this mistake.

Mayor Dewey Bartlett has proposed that a significant share of what has been largely a “futures package” pay for additional police and related public-safety needs. Police and fire services are essential, but exempting even a portion of these funds from the scrutiny of City Hall’s budget procedures curtails the democratic process. Setting aside $15 million or more in this way flouts much-needed movement toward more transparency in public spending.

If policing is dramatically underfunded, this should be addressed in the annual budget review process. Furthermore, we’re just beginning to examine our blind spots and inequalities in justice and policing—why should we approve a simple extension of the status quo?

Another spending proposal will come from the Arkansas River Task force, which seeks to “put water in the Arkansas River.” The dams and related efforts will cost $250 million or more, and they’ll improve prospects for development on and near the river. But is this our area of greatest need? We need more grocery and retail in west and north Tulsa—but in midtown?  Why not think about the river corridor as a green space and consider “re-wilding” options that work with the wonderful trail system already in place? 

We also need to look more closely at the potentially ominous impact of additional dams on floodplain management in Tulsa. Developing permeable land increases urban runoff and adds to our already significant flood risk. Some extensive computer models of the dams’ impacts are under consideration and should be carried out—with enough transparency so independent professionals and data-savvy citizens can weigh in on the simulations.

So, we’re already coming up with ways to spend major portions of the funds that would come from extending Vision 2025. Why support an unimaginative expansion of conventional policing practices and a possibly misguided dam effort? Do these ideas move us any closer to addressing the inequalities in our society and this community? Do they give us a competitive edge in the region?

Maybe we should look at some other options.

In fairness, local leaders held public forums before developing futures packages like Vision 2 and the first Vision 2025 package, and they are sure to do so again. Long before we see a voter referendum on the funds, let’s seed some new ideas for improving quality of life in Tulsa. Along with PlaniTulsa, ingenuity and best practices in planning, civil engineering, energy management and service delivery should guide the discussion. 

This approach might improve our neighborhoods and connectivity, and therefore our health and mobility. We could start with a giant sidewalk project to connect every public school to every park facility, with the river and the Gathering Place as the spine. Last month, New York Times tech and public policy writer Diana Cardwell wrote about a new effort in Copenhagen:

“On a busy road in the center of town here, a string of green lights embedded in the bike path —the “Green Wave”— flashes on, helping cyclists avoid red traffic lights... On a main artery into the city, truck drivers can see on smartphones when the next light will change. And in a nearby suburb, new LED streetlights brighten only as vehicles approach, dimming once they pass. ... Aimed at saving money, cutting the use of fossil fuels and easing mobility, the installations are part of a growing wireless network of streetlamps and sensors that officials hope will help this city of roughly 1.2 million. ... Eventually, the network will serve other functions, like alerting the sanitation department to empty the trash cans and informing bikers of the quietest or fastest route to their destinations. It’s all made possible through an array of sensors embedded in the light fixtures that collect and feed data into software.”

Tech-smart infrastructure makes our streets, intersections, signage, parks, bridges and flood management systems smarter and more efficient. Adaptations like these will improve our city and should be included in the next Vision package. 

We should also prioritize magnet assets—special projects that show Tulsa welcomes advanced science, technology and progressive ventures. Research suggests that ham-fisted bribe tactics to attract companies are ineffective and often wasteful. Sci-tech incubators are a great alternative because they nurture innovators. Our community supercomputer site is already excellent and could be expanded to serve digital animators, game developers, breakout industrial designers, new material scientists and inventors.  Gearing up to participate in the new space age is another prospect. 

A huge aviation package failed in 2012. Almost all of it focused on our airport industrial complex and American Airlines’ needs. Maybe next time, we’ll tap into our deep aviation roots to produce a broader, more inclusive commitment—one that might position us as a key player in the civilian drone/autonomous revolution, for instance. 

Our people are at the forefront of fossil fuel exploration. We know lots about executing difficult projects in exotic environments, with novel materials and wild temperatures and pressures.  Can we use this to leverage employment gains in the new world of engineered materials and nanotechnology? We already have the Helmerich Advanced Materials Center, which will surely pay off—local companies will make use of these powerful technologies and materials and high-yield local startups will emerge. How about a round two? 

For more stories from Ray, read up on two-wheelin' and what's on his mind for 2015.