Gathering Place for Tulsa will be world-class park

[BoulderSooner]

no concealed or open carry. . . https://www.gatheringplace.org/planyourday

A. the tulsa police were not enforcing this already
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/loca...22b1e97af.html

and B. concealed carry is now specificly allowed and open carry banned starting NOV 1st

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/stat...e49af345d.html

[shawnw]

weird to allow dogs on one day but not the others

[BG918]

weird to allow dogs on one day but not the others

I wondered if they would change that as things normalize at the park. It absolutely was the right call for the first several months, the crowds were huge and didn't need to add dogs to that mix.

I know my kids would hate it, they are scared of dogs...

[soonerfan_in_okc]

The section that dogs are not allowed has tons of activities - there is not much to do with your dog there anyways. It’s not an open green space for folks to sit with their pets. It’s tons of slides, jungle Gyms, sports courts, etc.

[Zorba]

I wondered if they would change that as things normalize at the park. It absolutely was the right call for the first several months, the crowds were huge and didn't need to add dogs to that mix.

I know my kids would hate it, they are scared of dogs...

Yeah, I didn't realize how many kids are scared of dogs until my daughter started hanging out with daycare friends. Tons of them are scared of dogs.

Although most dogs are fine, with the numbers of people out there there would be incidences and I am completely fine with them banning dogs because of that.

[BG918]

Water getting close to the trails by the Gathering Place but staying out of it, at least for now. Nearly to the bottom of the old pedestrian bridge that will be torn down over the next year.

[dcsooner]

I have NEVER seen the Arkansas river at this location this high. Simply incredible. Praying that here and other areas of the State will be spared additional significant rainfall so that the receeding can commence.

[BoulderSooner]

I have NEVER seen the Arkansas river at this location this high. Simply incredible. Praying that here and other areas of the State will be spared additional significant rainfall so that the receeding can commence.

flooding level releases from keystone lake started yesterday and go until sunday ..

[Dustin]

Parts of the Gathering Place are now underwater.

[Laramie]

Let's hope & pray for the best possible outcome as many areas in Oklahoma and the mid-west region are affected by record storms & rainfall we haven't seen in the region since the 80s.

[BoulderSooner]

keystone is now at record height and the inflow still excedes the exflow

release is now at 285000 CFS

which is flood level .. and if the catchment area gets any more rain they may have to go to 300000 cfs release which will match the 1986 tulsa flood level

[Zorba]

keystone is now at record height and the inflow still excedes the exflow

release is now at 285000 CFS

which is flood level .. and if the catchment area gets any more rain they may have to go to 300000 cfs release which will match the 1986 tulsa flood level

Flood level through Tulsa is 105000 CFS. They are very far beyond flood levels. I can't believe how little coverage these floods have gotten in OKC. Ft Smith has closed basically every bridge into town. The flow through Muskogee hit over 650,000, about 3x Niagria Falls levels, or enough to completely fill Keystone lake every 8 hours.

[BG918]

Flood level through Tulsa is 105000 CFS. They are very far beyond flood levels. I can't believe how little coverage these floods have gotten in OKC. Ft Smith has closed basically every bridge into town. The flow through Muskogee hit over 650,000, about 3x Niagria Falls levels, or enough to completely fill Keystone lake every 8 hours.

Tulsa has largely been spared the brunt of the severe flooding up to this point, the notable exception being the River Spirit casino. The RiverParks were designed as a flood barrier and have worked in that capacity separating neighborhoods from the river, though the water has covered Riverside Dr in a few locations. Gathering Place has closed due to the danger being so close to swift-moving high water but the main portion of the park itself is not affected and was actually designed with sluice gates to redirect floodwaters away from the pond.

The biggest threats in the city are areas behind levees on the north and west sides of the river, and newer neighborhoods built in the flood plain around 121st & Delaware. Also anywhere a creek enters the river can back up, as well as storm sewers in areas close to the rising water.

There are plenty of other areas like Sand Springs and Muskogee that haven't been as lucky and will take awhile to rebuild once the water recedes.

[BG918]

Some of the now underwater sports courts and nature trail area along the river


Other sports courts are dry


The rugby field near 38th & Riverside


The rest of the park is mostly unaffected


Further north by Blue Rose Cafe and the new Cosmopolitan apartments


Overview

[jedicurt]

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

[Dustin]

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.

[Dustin]

On the bright side, everything is so GREEN!

[BG918]

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.

[Zorba]

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.

[warreng88]

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?

[BG918]

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.

[shavethewhales]

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.

[BG918]

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.

[Laramie]

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.

[d-usa]

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.