It’s the last day for the public to submit ideas for Tulsa’s Vision renewal, but city councilors are making their own pitches now.
Anna America wants to see funding for widening the roads on and around south Mingo.
"We've had all this healthcare corridor growth, we've had all this residential growth, but we've still got a two-lane country road, you know, from 71st to 91st and 91st Street from Mingo to Memorial as well," America said.
Those projects are usually funded by programs like Fix Our Streets, but America said development has outpaced those programs’ progress. An engineering ranking has two of the three areas America is targeting among Tulsa’s top 50 areas for street improvements.
America also proposed $11 million in all to deal with old strip malls and retail centers — $1 million to inventory and assess them, and $10 million for incentives, matching grants and low-interest loans for people who want to improve them.
"We've got those all across the city," America said. "All across Admiral, for example, along Sheridan, along Harvard, so I think it's pretty obvious when you drive around. You can see those aging areas."
America said revitalizing them as retail sites would help boost sales tax collections, but it’s possible some locations would be converted for other uses.
Councilor David Patrick wants $10 million over the life of a Vision renewal for a Route 66 renewal fund.
Half the money would go toward beautification, and half would be given as zero-interest loans to business owners making improvements that tie into the Route 66 look. The fund would be for the route along 11th Street and along Admiral Place.
"I'm hoping we can get some more participation from the Admiral corridor on this particular proposal and get more Route 66 experiences up that so we can get people to stop, have lunch, take a few pictures," Patrick said.
Patrick envisions loan payments going into a revolving fund so more business owners could borrow for similar improvements.
