If there was any park in the country that could rebound quickly from damage like this, it's the well-funded Gathering Place. Once the river recedes, they will have it looking like new in no time.

On the bright side, everything is so GREEN!

oh man... i hadn't really seen pictures of it yet. dang... that's going to take a lot of time and money to clean up

It’s really not that bad, mostly just areas along the water that were designed to be a flood barrier. The primary damage in RiverParks is to the trail itself which has collapsed in some parts and playground areas that are underwater. The clean up will be more extensive at River Spirit and flooded low-lying neighborhoods in Sand Springs and Bixby. Hopefully they don’t release any more water and the levees hold up.

It’s really not that bad, mostly just areas along the water that were designed to be a flood barrier. The primary damage in RiverParks is to the trail itself which has collapsed in some parts and playground areas that are underwater. The clean up will be more extensive at River Spirit and flooded low-lying neighborhoods in Sand Springs and Bixby. Hopefully they don’t release any more water and the levees hold up.

Yeah, it sucks that all the new trails have been damaged. Looks like there has been a lot of bank erosion too that will need to be repaired.

Muskogee and on down stream is where the extensive damage is.

Luckily they were able to slightly pull back flows a couple of hours ago.

My wife, daughter and I went back again this weekend. We noticed there were several areas, specifically the infant area and one of the entrances of the buildings were closed off and under renovation. None of these places were close to the river and so they weren't affected by flooding. This place has been open for less than a year and they are already having to come in and do work. Does anyone know why? Were the crowds a lot larger than they anticipated and that caused more wear and tear? Has the weather affected it? Shoddy construction?

My wife, daughter and I went back again this weekend. We noticed there were several areas, specifically the infant area and one of the entrances of the buildings were closed off and under renovation. None of these places were close to the river and so they weren't affected by flooding. This place has been open for less than a year and they are already having to come in and do work. Does anyone know why? Were the crowds a lot larger than they anticipated and that caused more wear and tear? Has the weather affected it? Shoddy construction?

Probably normal wear and tear, though the crowds may have had something to do with it. Last time I was there everything looked fantastic, they really do a great job with the landscaping and overall upkeep.

There are some spots where I question the materials used. Some of the fancy stones that they quarried for this park are kind of flaky, and were already having issues with chips falling off of them from day one. Some of the materials just aren't well suited to a park with so many visitors coming through. I'm sure they've had millions of visits already. The place stays pretty packed out.

There are some spots where I question the materials used. Some of the fancy stones that they quarried for this park are kind of flaky, and were already having issues with chips falling off of them from day one. Some of the materials just aren't well suited to a park with so many visitors coming through. I'm sure they've had millions of visits already. The place stays pretty packed out.

I can agree with that, could be why they are already fixing certain areas. I think they could've done a better job with making "Peggy's Pond" more natural-looking but understand the rock liner will eventually have vegetation over time. I've never seen kayaks or paddle boats out there, not sure what the plan is for introducing those activities.

And I know the gravel lots on the south side are temporary but seems like they could've made those better if they're going to be "temporary" lots for 2-3 years. Last I heard Phase 2 won't be starting until the middle of next year which at that point I'm not sure if they'll just build the permanent parking lots in that area first and use those, that would make the most sense.

A lot of people don't realize the park is only about halfway finished. They still have Phase 2 to build which is another 20 acres of park space and the 50k sq ft Tulsa Children's Museum south of 31st. The city still has to demo the existing pedestrian bridge and rebuild the new one that connects the Midland Valley and east bank trails to the west bank trails along the river. The city will also build a whitewater flume underneath the new pedestrian bridge and make improvements to the existing river bank next to the Gathering Place. Finally there is a mixed-use development that is planned for Phase 3 along Crow Creek and a new trail that follows the creek and connects everything to Brookside.

At least they'll have time to assess the park's overall strengths & weaknesses. Make that enormous investment pay off for Tulsa; also attract tourists & out-of-state new money to Oklahoma's Green Country.

A win-win for all of Oklahoma.

Finally visited today. This place is amazing, and all the play structures made me feel like I was back in Germany. What a great place for kids.

Phase II of the Gathering Place is getting underway.

First up is the new facility for Tulsa's children's museum/science center Discovery Lab, which broke ground at the south end of the Gathering Place this week.
https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45ac72d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1513x851+218+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fewscripps.brightspotcdn.com%2F8 f%2F66%2Ffb6ed3ea4f7c9a0ad7795bd03d13%2Fgroundbrea king-20ceremony-20invite-3-2.jpg
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsas-discovery-lab-announces-groundbreaking-ceremony

The new low water dam is slated to start construction in July. The new dam will increase the level of the river 3' from the current dam and will include a white water rafting section below the Gathering Place.
https://i.imgur.com/1uBmKie.png

The new pedestrian bridge will start construction at the same time as the dam.

Best thing about this park is the $100 million endowment to fund upkeep & staff. Any wear & tear issues will be fixed, unlike
Your average city park.

https://scontent.fapa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/94828085_1543254169176620_6073621237341356032_o.jp g?_nc_cat=110&_nc_sid=2d5d41&_nc_ohc=zyr3sapwRNkAX_iwqat&_nc_ht=scontent.fapa1-1.fna&oh=7d2fae8fe52b7547c3441a65b48403ea&oe=5EC67711

Update on the adjacent Zink Dam and pedestrian bridge project:


The key elements of the Zink Dam reconstruction project include replacing and increasing the number of gates, from three to 15. The gates will range in height from 3 feet to 10 feet. The tallest gates in the existing dam are 7 feet high. A 1,000-foot-long flume for kayaking and other water activities will be built along the east bank of the Arkansas River south of the pedestrian bridge. And Tulsans will finally get a true Zink Lake, with water backing up to well north of the 21st Street Bridge.


Zachary said he is hopeful that construction can begin in September and be completed in 2023. Work on the new pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River is expected to begin at about the same time and be completed in late 2022.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/zink-dam-construction-bids-higher-than-expected-project-still-expect-to-begin-in-the-fall/article_4722697e-e1d6-5dff-98e2-3c3aeb4170c8.html

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/gatheringplace/gathering-place-to-grow-with-pedestrian-bridge-project/article_49b60bfc-eeb3-11ea-acd5-9787e4e61513.html

Demo on the old pedestrian bridge will begin in a month or so and construction will take 28 months. Beautiful bridge to be built!

Renderings of the new bridge that will start construction by the end of this year
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/13/1130a290-dbc5-51fa-99eb-b29a4056b3fd/5f52ff4ee5156.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C720

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/ba/3baa26d0-4e10-5ea7-80bb-3fe1b5fbc13d/5f52ff505a6a0.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C501

This will replace the existing bridge that will be demolished. Once complete the new bridge will connect to the east bank river hike/bike trail and Midland Valley trail to Cherry St and downtown
https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/100574732_1572314462937257_311856355591847936_o.jp g?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=2c4854&_nc_ohc=UvTjr0pIlKsAX-I2gvc&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=c4fed3de3cc3faf80c49d70787dc8779&oe=5F811775

https://tulsaworld.com/entertainment/gathering-place-resumes-park-programming/article_2648c0c2-f75c-11ea-b076-dbcecb3ad152.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

Transit Authority Approves Funds for Gathering Place Shuttle
https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/transit-authority-approves-funds-gathering-place-shuttle

The pedestrian bridge’s arches are arriving:

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/watch-now-new-arkansas-river-pedestrian-bridge-taking-shape-with-addition-of-massive-arches/article_a928814c-2d2c-11ec-b6df-271e69b98ff7.html

I was in tulsa yesterday and decided to drive by. Landscaping is looking rough... The deep freeze really did a number on this place. Lots of dead shrubs and trees. I wonder if there is a plan to replant a lot of it? If there is, it's going to be a big endeavor.

I was in tulsa yesterday and decided to drive by. Landscaping is looking rough... The deep freeze really did a number on this place. Lots of dead shrubs and trees. I wonder if there is a plan to replant a lot of it? If there is, it's going to be a big endeavor.

There was an article about the freeze damage and they mentioned the Gathering Place was replacing damaged trees and shrubs but as you said it will take time. What’s interesting is that they intentionally planted native flora and even it was damaged by that freeze. Though funny enough I noticed the palms by the rock canyons are all in good shape (they are native to SE OK)

One of the design flaws of GP is that the landscaping is designed to look "wild" while also requiring a tremendous amount of care to not look terrible. A lot of the "native" plant areas fill up with weeds pretty quickly. They have to replace a huge number of plants each year and do a lot of seasonal planting. It's extremely expensive, but George Kaiser did leave a large endowment to pay for it for a generation or so.

Here's an update on the bridge from a few weeks ago. It is slowly coming along. The west side is more or less "complete" in the sense that the dam is in place and the structural elements of the bridge are done. They are now into the much more intensive eastern side including the portion that will connect to GP.
https://imgur.com/CeFbH7f.jpg

Is this a bridge to Oil Storage tankers or is there something meaningful on the other side?

Is this a bridge to Oil Storage tankers or is there something meaningful on the other side?

will connect to the river parks trail ..

Here's an update on the bridge from a few weeks ago. It is slowly coming along. The west side is more or less "complete" in the sense that the dam is in place and the structural elements of the bridge are done. They are now into the much more intensive eastern side including the portion that will connect to GP.


This phase includes tearing down the rest of the old dam and bridge and building the remainder of the new dam and bridge along with an island for the whitewater flume on the east side. Once the new dam and flume are complete next year the Gathering Place will finish its portion of the riverfront allowing the chain link construction fencing to finally come down.

As they get closer to completion there they will turn their attention to the third and final phase where the gravel parking lots are located on the south side of the park. That will be redeveloped into mixed-use housing, potentially up to 400 units, and the trail extension to Brookside.

https://scontent.fapa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/94828085_1543254169176620_6073621237341356032_o.jp g?_nc_cat=110&_nc_sid=2d5d41&_nc_ohc=zyr3sapwRNkAX_iwqat&_nc_ht=scontent.fapa1-1.fna&oh=7d2fae8fe52b7547c3441a65b48403ea&oe=5EC67711

IMO, Scissortail Park is an urban park in the city center, which I prefer, and The Gathering Place is a big playground with some good attractions plus OKC has the boathouse district with a huge playground. I like The Gathering Place but it doesn't feel like an urban park in anyway compared to Scissortail Park especially with live from the lawn for outside concerts with a capacity of at least 28k people. And having the Omni and convention center across the street adds even more to the park.

Both are great I just prefer Scissortail Park overall it has more of a central park/golden gate park feel. As far as my playground comment; Tulsa's Gathering Place was named National Geographic's list of 12 Mind-Bending Playgrounds Around the World,

IMO, Scissortail Park is an urban park in the city center, which I prefer, and The Gathering Place is a big playground with some good attractions plus OKC has the boathouse district with a huge playground. I like The Gathering Place but it doesn't feel like an urban park in anyway compared to Scissortail Park especially with live from the lawn for outside concerts with a capacity of at least 28k people. And having the Omni and convention center across the street adds even more to the park.

Both are great I just prefer Scissortail Park overall it has more of a central park/golden gate park feel. As far as my playground comment; Tulsa's Gathering Place was named National Geographic's list of 12 Mind-Bending Playgrounds Around the World,

Yeah I really think Tulsa could use a downtown park somewhere between the size of MBG and scissortail in the massive sea of parking lots south of downtown. It would get rid of a bunch of surface parking that wouldn’t be developed for a awhile anyway with most surface development being closer to the core and pushing north/east and bridge the gap between downtown and Midtown (cherry st, riverside trails and the surrounding neighborhoods). The Gathering place is awesome but there’s a pretty decent lack of green space downtown outside of Guthrie green and a few other really small parks.

Yeah I really think Tulsa could use a downtown park somewhere between the size of MBG and scissortail in the massive sea of parking lots south of downtown. It would get rid of a bunch of surface parking that wouldn’t be developed for a awhile anyway with most surface development being closer to the core and pushing north/east and bridge the gap between downtown and Midtown (cherry st, riverside trails and the surrounding neighborhoods). The Gathering place is awesome but there’s a pretty decent lack of green space downtown outside of Guthrie green and a few other really small parks.

There's been a proposal for a "Cathedral Square" park to take up the full block of surface parking to the east of Holy Family Cathedral and north of First Christian Church.

Those surface lots on the south side of downtown are hard to develop because they are almost all owned by the various churches in that part of downtown or Tulsa Community College and they aren't interested in giving up parking.

There's been a proposal for a "Cathedral Square" park to take up the full block of surface parking to the east of Holy Family Cathedral and north of First Christian Church.

Those surface lots on the south side of downtown are hard to develop because they are almost all owned by the various churches in that part of downtown or Tulsa Community College and they aren't interested in giving up parking.

I would say the churches would be easier to work with on that than private entities who are sitting on them and charging for parking. A few garages would almost entirely solve that problem and it isn’t like there’s not enough empty space for them. Im sure the city could work out something with them.

I would say the churches would be easier to work with on that than private entities who are sitting on them and charging for parking. A few garages would almost entirely solve that problem and it isn’t like there’s not enough empty space for them. Im sure the city could work out something with them.

Now seems to be a good time to start planning something like that for south downtown. All of the focus has been in the Arts District and Blue Dome so as those areas mature over the next 5-10 years the areas of south downtown and the arena district will be the next frontier.

The new bridge lit up at night
https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/460209611_18458204017019688_3072842866669424034_n. jpg?stp=dst-jpegr&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=iZ5PLSzZfOcQ7kNvgFRJyFM&se=-1&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&_nc_gid=AyeJ5aBHK8Rxr0JFOsTQzk4&oh=00_AYD0oVjsX4BPRtQbOW-1plGrUVnNDb5zeK5UhYocu0RzmQ&oe=66EFB9AF

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/459174247_485215061165080_7664742163410982318_n.jp g?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=6F5XhUKoKk4Q7kNvgF2UcsR&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AYBDviwitmvycU5VUQNo2rWEeLhAATLw2MGpOp3OLSUm KA&oe=66EFE5E9

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/459220361_485215291165057_3797920089485330695_n.jp g?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=zJYKRGVYLeEQ7kNvgFqJadw&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&_nc_gid=A9aWDENyoHWkZKOfc_ShFLH&oh=00_AYA34HCrPeiPrIebrqzqsmDpOAHy7w8Bi-WJMiD-EBFkPQ&oe=66EFBD6E

Some photos from the TW:
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/00/8008252b-025a-5663-b7a1-edb459581e02/66716c5ede1a5.image.jpg

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/2d/62da0771-bcd6-5d51-8935-5ee698ef4b6a/66710d6de4eb9.image.jpg

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/99/7992d2c0-1478-50c9-b9ba-7367c489dbe3/66710d6fc1199.image.jpg

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/photos-williams-crossing-pedestrian-bridge-comes-alive-with-lighting/collection_96c98928-2d89-11ef-90df-7340b4f0ba3c.html#4

A Sunday Times (UK) article on surfing in Oklahoma at The Gathering Place:
https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/why-the-surfs-finally-up-in-oklahoma-500-miles-from-the-nearest-beach-rlzxh3gl6

It looks great, but there’s a lot of debate about whether the water is actually clean enough for people to be in the water, right?

That is so Good !!!

Beautiful lighted bridge. I recall fishing off that bridge in the Tulsa River parks area before the renovation. Glad to see all the new improvements. Thanks for sharing Swake.

I was in Tulsa last week for an event. Looks even better in person. Love the entire area around the Gathering Place.

It looks great, but there’s a lot of debate about whether the water is actually clean enough for people to be in the water, right?

There's a live dashboard with water quality:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/d1473cd55d8d40e48c4b6e00712b156b/page/Zink-Lake-Water-Quality-Home/

There's a live dashboard with water quality:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/d1473cd55d8d40e48c4b6e00712b156b/page/Zink-Lake-Water-Quality-Home/

Yes, and it's my understanding that the water quality is measured up river, not where Zink Lake is located, thus avoiding the polluting business across the river. Again, I don't know what's right, but from what I've read, most people do not believe the city is really being fully honest about the quality of water. I might be wrong though.

I'd be interested to see where they're testing the water from. If they're truly testing up stream then that's disappointing. Still, looks nice.

Yes, and it's my understanding that the water quality is measured up river, not where Zink Lake is located, thus avoiding the polluting business across the river. Again, I don't know what's right, but from what I've read, most people do not believe the city is really being fully honest about the quality of water. I might be wrong though.

If you open the site there is a map that shows the four locations where the water is monitored.

If you open the site there is a map that shows the four locations where the water is monitored.

Oh, I completely overlooked that. Thanks!

The bridge/river crossing area is phenomenal... been able to walk around several times.