Inaccessible Tulsa

10/25/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Keystone Ancient Forest, 160 Ancient Forest Dr, Sand Springs, OK

“Inclusivity is of paramount importance to us, which is why we've ensured the presence of ADA-compliant trails and all-terrain track chairs, guaranteeing that everyone, regardless of mobility limitations, can fully partake in the forest's breathtaking beauty.”

Here’s the link to the Keystone Ancient Forest. Scroll to the bottom of the page to a link to reserve a Track Chair:

At the Keystone Ancient Forest, we extend a warm invitation for you to embark on an extraordinary journey through the timeless beauty of an Oklahoma cross timbers forest. Here, ancient cedars, some with roots dating back 500 years, and majestic post oak trees that have proudly graced the landscape....

10/25/2026

Keystone Ancient Forest, 160 Ancient Forest Dr, Sand Springs, OK

A follower asked this question on our Friday post about Zion National Park’s new all-terrain wheelchair program:

“I'm pretty sure that Keystone Ancient forest is the only place in Oklahoma that has a similar program, and they only have two chairs. Would love an opinion on the Keystone experience from an actual wheelchair user though.”

It’s been five years this month since we visited the Keystone Ancient Forest with our daughter. We’ve posted pics for you to see our experience. Our daughter has a caregiver-pushed all-terrain wheelchair with brakes called a Mountain Trike. (We love it, btw.) We enjoyed the well-maintained paved paths and ventured off a bit onto a bumpier chat path. The colors and lighting this time of year were beautiful.

Has anyone else been to Keystone Ancient Forest who uses a wheelchair? Could you share your experience? Did you use the Keystone Ancient Forest’s available all-terrain wheelchairs?

With the colors changing and cooler temps, we’re thinking we might go back this week. Any recommendations nearby for takeout? Gluten free options?

Keystone Ancient Forest

10/24/2026

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

You may recall that two followers had brought to our attention some serious accessibility issues at the Tulsa County Election Board. We visited, verified their concerns, as well as other ADA violations, and filed a formal grievance with Tulsa County.

Since then, we have had phone calls and back-and-forth email correspondence. We drove back out a couple of weeks ago to check on the progress of the remediation. Early voting is just days away, and the Tulsa County Election Board is one of four sites for Early Voting. Voting is a pillar of our democracy, and we all know this is an important election.

We checked in with the Tulsa County ADA and 504 Coordinator this week. Here is what we were told:

“I appreciate your call and follow up about the ADA concern at the election board. We are currently working on it and expect the doors to be installed at the election board by next Monday before early voting next week. The ADA opener has not arrived yet, but it is accessible from the ramp to the door. The pedestal and button opener will be installed as soon as it arrives, and we can get it installed.
I will alert the election board secretary of your concerns at the Peggy Helmerich library and Hardest[y] library, but these facilities are not county facilities that we have control over. I will also check with the election board secretary to see if curbside voting is available at each location. I will have to get back to you on that question.

Thank you for your follow up.”

This is progress. It is also in STARK contrast to our experience with trying to remedy ADA violations with the Tulsa City-County Library, and the City of Tulsa for that matter. When an entity under Title II does not have a requisite ADA Coordinator (TCCL), or one does not comply with the federal legislation (City of Tulsa still unresponsive to a two-year-old ADA grievance), this is how issues become a “federal case”…literally.

10/23/2026

Here’s something uplifting to carry us into the weekend. Nature is a must! 🌲⛰️🦅

Zion just became the first US national park to own a free-to-borrow all-terrain wheelchair, and here’s what it opens 👇

10/23/2026

To better inform our followers about the issues related to TCCL and the ADA, we asked AI:

“What is the first thing the DOJ asks for related to Title II physical accessibility violations?”:

“When investigating physical accessibility complaints under ADA Title II, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) typically asks for the entity's self-evaluation and transition plan as core foundational records…

…* Grievance Procedures & Public Notices: Proof that the public entity maintains an active ADA coordinator, a published grievance process, and channels for public input from individuals with disabilities.”

Based on responses to only four of our Open Records Request queries, TCCL admits to noncompliance with the most rudimentary ADA requirements.

10/23/2026

We received a response Wednesday morning from the law firm that represents the Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) regarding our Open Records Request.

We were previously asked by a follower if we would be sharing the contents of the response. This is the third of multiple posts about its content:

REQUEST: A copy of the most recent TCCL ADA Transition Plan, including dates of planned remediation.
RESPONSE: TCCL has no records responsive to this request.

Title II of the ADA requires the development of a transition plan; its purpose is to identify physical accessibility barriers, and to create a plan and timeline for their removal to achieve ADA compliance.

Having identified multiple TCCL parking lots out of compliance with the ADA – some of them recently restriped and in noncompliance – we thought it would be interesting to see TCCL’s transition plan.

Directly from the federal regs:

“The 1991 ADA regulation required all public entities, regardless of size, to evaluate all of their services, policies, and practices and to modify any that did not meet ADA requirements. In addition, public entities with 50 or more employees were required to develop a transition plan detailing any structural changes that would be undertaken to achieve program access and specifying a time frame for their completion. Public entities were also required to provide an opportunity for interested individuals to participate in the self-evaluation and transition planning processes by submitting comments. While the 2010 regulation does not specifically require public entities to conduct a new self-evaluation or develop a new transition plan, they are encouraged to do so.”

No ambiguity.

While “City” is part of the Tulsa City-County Library name, do not be misled: TCCL buildings and parking lots are not included in the City of Tulsa Transition Plan. Available online (an interesting 4000-plus-page read), we have reviewed it and did not find libraries listed.

So where is the TCCL transition plan that would identify all the self-identified barriers and ADA violations, and the plan and timeline to remediate them? We got our answer: “TCCL has no records responsive to this request.”

10/22/2026

We received a response yesterday morning from the law firm that represents the Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) regarding our Open Records Request.

We were previously asked by a follower if we would be sharing the contents of the response. This is the second of what will be multiple posts to address this.

Here are two more responses from our Open Records Request:

REQUEST: The name of the current TCCL ADA Coordinator, the date of appointment, and their contact information.
RESPONSE: TCCL has no records responsive to this request.

REQUEST: The job description of the TCCL ADA Coordinator and the date it was adopted.
RESPONSE: TCCL has no records responsive to this request.

This is rather stunning since Title II of the ADA requires that public entities with over 50 employees, such as TCCL, have at least one ADA Coordinator. (Note: We were informed by TCCL’s Public Relations individual that they have over 400 employees.)

Directly from the regs:

“Public entities that have 50 or more employees are required to have a grievance procedure and to designate at least one responsible employee to coordinate ADA compliance. Although the law does not require the use of the term “ADA Coordinator,” it is commonly used by state and local governments across the country. The ADA Coordinator’s role is to coordinate the government entity’s efforts to comply with the ADA and investigate any complaints that the entity has violated the ADA. The Coordinator serves as the point of contact for individuals with disabilities to request auxiliary aids and services, policy modifications, and other accommodations or to file a complaint with the entity; for the general public to address ADA concerns; and often for other departments and employees of the public entity. The name, office address, and telephone number of the ADA Coordinator must be provided to all interested persons.”

No ambiguity.

Note: If TCCL receives any federal dollars (which we believe they do), federal law also requires that they have a 504 Coordinator.

While “Tulsa County” is part of the Tulsa City-County Library name, and Tulsa County has an ADA and 504 Coordinator, we have spoken and emailed directly with this individual about her role related to TCCL. She has communicated that she has no authority over TCCL related to the ADA or 504.

The question remains: Who is responsible for coordinating ADA compliance for Tulsa City-County Libraries? The answer appears to be “no one.”

10/22/2026

We received a response yesterday morning from the law firm that represents the Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) regarding our Open Records Request.

We were previously asked by a follower if we would be sharing the contents of the response. We will be sharing in multiple posts what we know so far.

Let’s start with the simplest request:

REQUEST: A copy of my formal ADA grievance.
RESPONSE: TCCL has no records responsive to this request.

The young woman who answered the phone at TCCL took the ADA grievance over the phone (because the TCCL online link was broken). While we were talking, she looked at the multiple images of the Peggy Helmerich Library parking lot posted on this page. (Note: We are showing only one on this post.) She indicated she printed them to attach to the dictated narrative of the ADA violations but could not identify the ADA Coordinator, whose desk the complaint would land on, or how the complaint would be handled. Multiple followup phone calls were made. And now there is no copy of the grievance?

This is hard to explain. 🤔

10/21/2026

A respiratory virus has made the rounds in our household, our daughter the last one to succumb. We’ve had our hands full but hope to start posting again ASAP. As always, there is lots to share.

10/10/2026