Tulsa’s master plan for parks was last updated more than a decade ago, but input from residents is now being sought for a new outlook. Here, John Dawson sits at Centennial Park last fall.
Tulsans who would like to participate in the city’s Parks and Recreation master plan survey are running out of time.
The survey is available online through March 31 at tulsaparksurvey.org. The master plan was last updated more than a decade ago.
“We are trying really hard to make sure that we don’t do things to people,” said Parks and Recreation Director Anna America. “We do them with them, and … we’re listening to what people tell us they want and what they need in their parks.
“This survey and the other tools we’ve been using are the best way to do that.”
Tulsa’s park system included 135 parks covering approximately 8,200 acres. In addition, the city contracts with a private company to operate four golf courses.
The city mailed out 40,000 surveys in February that will comprise the statistically valid survey results. The mail-in and online survey results and other data collected as part of the master planning process are expected to be shared with the public in early May.
America said the online survey provides the city with an opportunity to hear from user groups it might not capture in a traditional mail survey — a skateboarder, for example.
“I have no idea what skateboarders want, where they need a facility or whatever,” she said.
Another benefit of the online survey, America said, is that respondents can be very specific in their remarks.
“They can name parks, and they can say, ‘We really want these kinds of things.” They can speak more broadly about the bigger issues and their priorities for the Parks Department,” she said. “So the more people we can get to participate in this, the better information we’ll have and the better we’ll be able to meet their needs.”
The George Kaiser Family Foundation has agreed to pick up the approximately $165,000 cost of the master plan. The city has hired Colorado-based GreenPlay LLC to create the plan.
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Gallery: The Rader bald eagle nest at Sand Springs' Case Community Park
The Rader bald eagle nest at Sand Springs' Case Community Park
The Rader Nest
A southern bald eagle peers over the side of the Rader Nest in a tree above the ball fields at Case Community Park in Sand Springs in March.
The Rader Nest
A songbird takes a curious peek into the bald eagle nest at Case Community Park in Sand Springs in March.
The Rader Nest
A bald eagle sits on a nest above the ball fields at Case Community Park in Sand Springs earlier this month.
The Rader Nest
Visitors on a path at Case Community Park will walk right past a bald eagle nest.
The Rader Nest
A mated pair of southern bald eagles sit on a nest high above the ball fields at Case Community Park in Sand Springs in January. The nest has been in continuous use since at least 2009.
The Rader Nest
A bald eagle peers out from its nest above Case Community Park in March.
The Rader Nest
Bald eagle nests are not uncommon around Sand Springs, but this one at Case Community Park might be the closest to routine human interaction.
The Rader Nest
Even from the ground below, the eagles’ nest at Case Community Park looms large.
The Rader Nest
A male bald eagle perches in a tree near the nest at Case Community Park earlier this month.
The Rader Nest
A squirrel takes a curious look into the bald eagle nest above Case Community Park. Although mammal visitors aren't common, some pose more of a threat than others.
Do you love Sand Springs as much as we do?
Kevin Canfield
Staff Writer
I cover local government in Tulsa from the mayor to city council. Phone: 918-581-8313
