Author: tulsauwc

Petitioners don’t want mall by Turkey Mountain

Infrastructure was another big concern. The traffic an outlet mall would bring to this street would be problematic. The Southwest Tulsa Area Chamber wants to encourage development that brings in sales tax, but they’ll be advocating for the infrastructure changes that would be necessary to make it all safe.

“It’s very heavily traveled. People sometimes park on the side of the road, and they’re trying to imagine something like a huge store and the traffic that it would take to get to that store,” says Matt Crain, from the Southwest Tulsa Area Chamber.

Many people we spoke with said they weren’t against the mall. They just don’t want it anywhere near the park.

“I mean we could use another outlet mall but not at Turkey Mountain. That’s our place to go walk,” says Moore.

Supporters Create Petition To Keep Turkey Mountain Trails Open

“It’s happened before you know, where we’ve been threatened and we’ve been successful, so hopefully this time we will be,” said Turkey Mountain supporter, Dave Ridilla.

Outlet mall could affect Turkey Mountain trails that cross private land

“Trail users at Turkey Mountain go wherever,” said Matt Meyer. “It is kind of a self-made trail that spills over onto private land.”

City of Tulsa does some backpeddling

A further development in the Turkey Mountain development story. The City of Tulsa is doing some major back-peddling stating that all of the trails on the west side of Powerline are private land and NOT a part of RiverParks or the City of Tulsa Parks System. These are some of the oldest trails on Turkey Mountain and are used in several mountain bike and trail races. Even today, there is an off-road duathlon there starting and finishing at the Westside YMCA. I am certain that a permit had to be bought from RiverParks to have this event. In the latest press release, this map was posted.

Saying No to an Outlet Mall on Turkey Mountain

Turkey Mountain is home to a lot of critters, Everything from snakes, turtles, and deer to thousands of people: geocachers, hikers, runners, bicyclist, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and just people wanting to go get their heads clear.