Inaccessible Tulsa

09/08/2026

E 15th St and the BA Expressway

🙋🏼‍♀️ When I stand on two working legs and survey the surroundings, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the barriers others must experience.

I have warned my husband that if he sees me standing in one spot for an extended period of time, not to worry. He will see me looking left and right, right and left, and turning 180 degrees. I might look lost, and in a way I am. I am taking it all in, trying to find an exit strategy, a path forward, a path home, a path to the grocery store, a path to a friend’s house. What apartment could I live in? Where is the nearest bus stop, and is it accessible? I notice the dead end sidewalks and think about how far I would have to go to reverse course, where the nearest crosswalk is to get to the other side of the street. How near am I to various services, and how much effort would it take to get there?

I can see the grocery store (Reasor’s) but, with no curb cuts, no crosswalk, no pedestrian light, it doesn’t feel safe to cross the on ramp to the BA Expressway. The nearest marked crosswalk is at 15th and Lewis…near Reasor’s. (See aerial photo.) I can’t cross 15th to the south side because there is no crosswalk or pedestrian light. I can walk nearly a mile east but, wait for it…there are no marked crosswalks at 15th and Harvard. (See aerial photo.) If I cross with the light there, but without a crosswalk, I can walk west on the south side of 15th. Surely I’ll confront one obstacle or another, especially if using a mobility device. But when I finally reach the east side of the BA at the off-ramp, I will be facing another intersection with no curb cut and no crosswalk.

This is not just about wheelchairs or other mobility device users. This is also about safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and families pushing strollers.

I get to walk back to our accessible vehicle and climb in next to our daughter, her wheelchair stored in the back. The three of us get to drive away.

Is anyone at City Hall thinking about this? We sure are.

And is this going to be addressed with this “street rehabilitation”?

Let’s ask. Tag, share, forward this post. Call. Advocate.

09/07/2026

E 15th St and the BA Expressway

We made a point of going by this location after one follower posted a pic of a temporary traffic sign in the middle of the sidewalk, its base weighted down with sandbags. The pic was included in our post among other photos related to a City of Tulsa’s own ordinance about obstructions in pedestrian paths of travel. Another follower chimed in, adding additional context to the area. Thank you to both. 🙏🏻

Yes, the area is under construction and, no, a pedestrian (by definition includes mobility device users) cannot safely use that stretch of sidewalk.

First, we’ll cover just that short stretch of sidewalk, from the parking lot we stopped in to the on ramp to the BA Expressway going west.

ADA noncompliance includes:

* sidewalk curb cuts on each side of a driveway (abrupt)
* temporary traffic sign (obstruction)
* pile of dirt on the sidewalk (obstruction and slip hazard)
* missing utility box cover (hazard for walker, wheelchair, stroller, and cane)
* broken and deteriorating concrete (hazard for walker, wheelchair, stroller, and cane)
* offset concrete greater than 1/4” (hazard for walker, wheelchair, stroller, and cane)
* sidewalk abruptly ends
* no sidewalk curb cuts on either side of the expressway on ramp, but continuing sidewalk on the opposite side

An accessible sidewalk must have a minimum continuous clear width of 36 inches (3 feet) that is stable, firm and slip resistant.

That’s just one segment of sidewalk. There is so much more at this intersection that is currently inaccessible that we will share in additional posts. Is any and all of this going to be addressed during this heavily publicized “street rehabilitation”?

Do we ask now or wait until it’s finished?

We ask. Tag any and all.

Laura Bellis for Tulsa City Council, District 4

09/06/2026

🚘 ⚠️ 🪧 🚧 🚴🏻‍♀️🧑🏼‍🦯🧑🏻‍🦽👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼👨🏽‍🦼🚲🦯🛴🦼🦽

We think our followers will benefit from knowing about the following City of Tulsa ordinance that prohibits obstructions on pedestrian paths of travel.

“AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 27, SECTION 1206, PROHIBITING OBSTRUCTION OF ANY STREET, ALLEY, CROSSWALK, SIDEWALK, DRIVEWAY, OR TRAIL USED FOR THE PASSAGE OF PEDESTRIANS;
ESTABLISHING A PENALTY AND AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY.

A. It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to obstruct any street, alley, crosswalk, sidewalk, driveway, or trail used for the passage of pedestrians, as defined by Title 37 Section 100, vehicles, or bicycles to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access, unless allowed by the terms of a license or permit issued by the City.

[Note: The City of Tulsa’s definition of a pedestrian: “A person traveling on foot (walking or running), or in an equivalent manner such as by means of a wheelchair or mobility scooter.”]

B. It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to obstruct any curb ramp, accessibility ramp, doorway, or similar point of access or egress for the locations listed in Subsection A.

C. As used in this section, 'obstruct' means to interfere with the use for the intended purpose or render passage unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous, including for persons with disabilities, whether the obstruction arises from a person's acts alone or from a person's acts combined with the acts of others, and whether the obstruction is caused by a person's body, materials or equipment in the possession of or used by the person, or any combination of these.”

09/05/2026

Ohhh, the irony, especially after our last post. We’d like to slap some violation notices on the front door of City Hall!

So has the ramp not been taken care of in Hunter Park for all these years because the nearest homeowner is really the responsible party? 😉

Here’s another opportunity for our follower to comment, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Many Tulsa homeowners may not realize they—not the city—are respons...

09/05/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Hunter Park, 5804 E 91st St, Tulsa, OK

PART TWO: THE GRIEVANCE

We will continue back in time to the earliest point at which there is documented evidence that the City of Tulsa knew about the “dangerous route” in Hunter Park. In our first post, we shared three images to show what the “sidewalk” looks like today.

On September 16, 2024, a formal grievance was mailed return receipt to the City of Tulsa Mayor’s Office of Resiliency and Equity. The clock starts once the grievance is received with deadlines for City of Tulsa responses at 20, 60 and 90 days.

The grievance regarding a specific path of travel states, “This has not been addressed in the 18 months since being identified in violation of the ADA in the March 2023 City of Tulsa Americans with Disabilities Act Self-Evaluation & Transition Plan. At that time, the violation was designated as "PRIORITY HIGH," the path was identified as “dangerous," and the recommendation was to "remove the route with the 18.6% slope." Instead, the "dangerous route" remains and disabled parking spaces have been placed nearest this "dangerous" path. There has been deterioration of the path. Additionally, a sand hazard exists that also impedes accessibility.”

Unknown to us at the time of submitting the grievance, the “18 months” and “2023” were not accurate. Once we received documents a month later due to our Freedom of Information Act requests, we learned that the “dangerous” “sidewalk” was identified as an ADA violation much, much earlier. We will cover that in the next post.

Hunter Park is the park we most frequently use with our oldest daughter. Previously ambulatory, she is now in a wheelchair. Recognizing the hazardous conditions of the “sidewalk,” we were compelled to file the grievance.

Since the path of travel exceeds the allowable slope for a sidewalk, it is considered a “ramp.” Ramps require handrails and resting landings. Neither are present. The slope even exceeds the maximum 8.33% allowed for a ramp. A slope of this magnitude is impermissible. A ramp that steep is a severe safety hazard for seniors, children, individuals with limited mobility, strollers, and users of wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Slips, falls, loss of traction, and tipping risks for wheelchairs are highly likely.

As part of our formal ADA grievance, we included the City of Tulsa’s own documentation for Hunter Park, titled City of Tulsa - Parks Report. The document states the following about this slope:

“The path of travel from the pavilion parking to the water “maze" [labyrinth] above requires travel on a sidewalk with an 18.6% slope. This is a dangerous route. There is another route that can be used, but you can't see it from the accessible parking spaces.”

“Recommendations…Remove the route with the 18.6% slope and provide signage indicating where the accessible route is located.”

This is just one self-identified ADA violation, albeit a dangerous one, within the City of Tulsa. There are scores more in Hunter Park and other parks as well. Unfortunately, we believe the handling of this one ADA violation is likely emblematic of the City of Tulsa’s handling of ADA issues overall.

Two years later, a written determination for this grievance was never provided by the City of Tulsa, and the ADA violations in Hunter Park remain unaddressed to this day.

The next installment will provide evidence that the City of Tulsa has known about this “dangerous route,” and scores of other ADA violations, since at least 2013, and likely earlier.

09/04/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Leake Park, 7714 E 71st St, Tulsa, OK

Another success!

We posted on August 11 and 12 about Leake Park. The parking lot had been recently blacktopped and restriped. An aerial photo posted by Tulsa Parks had tipped us off to one too few accessible parking spaces.

We were in the area this afternoon and stopped by. We now have a 4th accessible parking space! BUT the other ADA violations remain: signage, van accessibility and obstructions.

Tulsa Parks is following us! Hello! 👋🏻 Let’s knock out the rest of these parking lot accessibility violations and move on to new issues. 🅿️

09/04/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Hunter Park, 5804 E 91st St, Tulsa, OK

PART ONE: THE OVERVIEW

What would you deem prudent actions by a city that identifies a park sidewalk as “dangerous”? What if the sidewalk had a slope of 18.6 degrees, more than twice the allowable slope of 8.33 degrees to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Would you expect the city to close it? Remove it? Provide signage?

If there were a second sidewalk to the exact same park feature, from the exact same parking lot that met the slope requirements of the ADA, would that influence your expectation of immediate action regarding the city’s self-reported “dangerous route”?

If it were not removed immediately, what would be an acceptable length of time for remediation? A year? Maybe two? Five? Over ten years? Thirteen or more?

And if a formal ADA grievance were submitted for this “dangerous route,” would you expect a city to respond to the grievance in accordance with their own grievance policy that is required by the ADA? Ignore it? Or never respond at all?

Stay tuned for the evidence. This may provide insight into the City of Tulsa’s lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

09/03/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Tulsa County Election Board, 12000 East Skelly Drive, Tulsa, OK

We spoke with the Tulsa County ADA Coordinator this afternoon as a followup to our ADA grievance filed last week. We are happy to report that the necessary Tulsa County personnel have already visited the Board of Elections and concur with our observations about the entry door. The door hinges will need to be reversed and an automatic door opener installed. Truncated domes at the intersection of the curb cut and parking lot are missing and will be replaced. Additionally, we directed her to this page for other violations: the overhang, striping and blue curb cut. We communicated that we would like to see the remediation of these issues of ADA noncompliance before the midterms, especially the entry door. There is already a work order but no definite start date.

Thanks to followers Carol Smith and Matt Arbuckle for bringing this to our attention.

We will keep you updated! 😊

09/03/2026

As we stated in a previous post, that the City of Tulsa leases parking places in the parking lot of the Performing Arts Center does not exclude their responsibility for ADA compliance.

How does the ADA apply to accessible parking for businesses or non-profit organizations at leased facilities? That’s a great question! You can double-check your knowledge by visiting our FAQ page here: https://adata.org/faq/if-i-am-leasing-space-building-owner-and-building-does-not-have-enough-parking-spaces-be

09/03/2026

This issue of inaccessibility in Tulsa may finally be getting some traction!

We previously posted on July 18th about the 11th and Utica intersection by The Center. Of all places for there to be numerous ADA violations, this should not be one of them.

Thanks to Emory Bryan / News On 6 for reporting this story and for your recent follow. Please consider framing these stories from the perspective of the ADA, a federal civil rights law.

Note: While 311 is the number provided by the City of Tulsa, we have had little success for issues related to accessibility, and are aware of similar experiences by others.