City of Tulsa taking a survey to help update its Route 66 master plan

The city of Tulsa is conducting an online survey for a master plan update, called Plan 66, for its Route 66 corridor.

The Tulsa Planning Office stated on its website:

Over the past 15 years since the original Route 66 Enhancements and Promotion Master Plan of Development was released, several initiatives have been implemented. A Master Plan update was commissioned to build on previous recommendations and accomplishments, and to plan for continued redevelopment and reinvestment along the Route.
Plan 66 envisions the Route as a place that draws people locally and internationally to celebrate its historic significance. Plan 66 will be launched by the end of 2020 as a collection of past successes, data, and recommendations aimed at transforming Tulsa’s stretch of Route 66 into an attractive destination; a source of employment that favors economic growth and opportunity creation; and a landmark for Tulsa.

The survey should take 10 to 12 minutes to complete. It contains a lot of questions about historic preservation, signs and other issues that many Route 66ers would find highly relevant.

One of the most intriguing questions is it asks how much of the budget share should be used to restore the historic but closed 11th Street Bridge over the Arkansas River.

Bridge repairs would eat up a lot of money ($26.6 million at last report), but having it open for festivals, pedestrian use and other activities would have immense appeal.

And something needs to be done soon, or else the bridge might start collapsing into the water in a decade or less.

The opening of the 11th Street Bridge predated U.S. 66 by more than a decade. It was closed to vehicles in 1980 when a new bridge was built next to it. The original span was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

All survey results would remain anonymous unless you want to share contact information for specific questions.

The survey will remain open until Monday, so fill it out soon. A version in Spanish also is available.

(Image of the 11th Street Bridge in Tulsa by Shane Burkhardt via Flickr)