Inaccessible Tulsa

09/02/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Pratt Park, 1621 S Florence Ave, Tulsa, OK

This is where Inaccessible Tulsa began, July 3, 2024, Pratt Park.

Just around the corner from Pratt, we were renovating a house for wheelchair accessibility. When we eventually downsize, the proximity to the park was part of our grand scheme: picnics, fresh air, and sunshine with little effort.

Checking in on the construction at the house that summer, we decided to take a stroll to Pratt Park with our daughter in her wheelchair. We were floored by what we found: a significant wall and steps on the west side, houses on the north and south, and a steep, unpaved incline on the east. We literally could not enter without an all-terrain wheelchair.

To no avail, we contacted City of Tulsa 311, the parks department, two City of Tulsa councilors, and other City of Tulsa offices. (We will share the correspondence at some point for the purpose of advocacy. The approach was thorough and well-documented, but the effort exhausting.)

Told that it was slated for accessibility in 2032 – the Americans with Disabilities Act 34 years old in 2024 – did not make for a happy mother: “I could be dead by then.” Our daughter was living on borrowed time due to her stroke, and Mom and Dad not getting any younger.

This video represents the outcome of over two years of advocacy. There is now a path into the park to a new park bench and a new concrete slab that holds a new accessible picnic table.

But then there’s this new park swing. It is surrounded by an impenetrable concrete ring. (You will see this at many City of Tulsa parks but typically with a way in.) In this case, there is no accessible way to go from the path to the swings.

That’s our grandson swinging. His aunt can’t join him.

It’s been a lifetime of this: fighting for her rights to be included rather than relegated to watching from the outside, or excluded altogether.

Is there a plan to fix this? Can it be properly remediated? Likely. But when? 2032?

Here’s the broader question: Was providing accessibility and inclusion part of the City of Tulsa’s plan, or was it a poorly executed afterthought? The concrete truck had already come and gone.

Overcoming the dismissive attitudes at the City of Tulsa is the hard part, not the bit of concrete that is necessary to provide access to the swingset.

What say you, City of Tulsa? When will federally mandated compliance with Title II of the ADA be embraced? We’re waiting.

09/01/2026

♿️ Update ♿️
River Parks Authority, Riverside & 96th, Tulsa, OK

The last time we visited this River Parks Authority Park, and posted about it, was in November 2024. In 2024 we only looked at the accessibility and ADA violations in the women’s bathroom. We checked the women’s bathroom again this afternoon. All issues of ADA noncompliance remain noncompliant:

* door signage out of compliance (mounted on the door rather than on the wall)
* vintage hand dryer protruding more than 4”
* soap dispenser potentially too high
* sink pipes uncovered (burn risk)
* accessible stall door still missing, and
* insufficient 60-inch clearance for a wheelchair user to execute a full 360-degree turn

Did we call the River Parks Authority in 2024? Absolutely. Did they address the ADA violations? Clearly not.

This time we also looked at other park ADA violations.

The furniture:

* 4 matching green pedestal tables with 3-4 matching chairs per table are inaccessible (bolted down)
* 1 accessible picnic table with no path of travel
* inadequate perimeter clearance (36”) around the accessible picnic table

The playground:

* sand, dirt and weeds unacceptable, ADA noncompliant materials under playground equipment
* 3” trip hazard that would otherwise be the access to a wheelchair accessible ramp

The parking:

* access aisle lines gone
* accessible parking spaces lines gone

We likely did not catch every single ADA violation, but they are similar to ones we find frequently at City of Tulsa parks. The governance of the River Parks Authority apparently has a unique board but still has a relationship with the City of Tulsa. It shows.

08/31/2026

Are we dreaming? Accessibility maps? Not if you live in Fort Wayne, IN. But in Tulsa, OK, we’re living an accessibility nightmare!

As a member of the Parks newly formed “accessibility” committee for 18 months, 🙋🏼‍♀️ tried, among a number of things, to get the City of Tulsa Parks to at least share the accessibility and length of their park trails. Nope. If there’s a bathroom, is it accessible and without obstructions? You’ll find out when you get there. Parking in a lot with striping, access aisles, signage, the whole parking enchilada? Don’t count on it. Playground with the proper number of accessible lower elements for a child in a wheelchair required by the ADA? Doubtful. Accessible picnic table with a path of travel to reach it? Nah.

And that’s just parks! Think about the lack of accessibility of this entire city! How about sidewalks that abruptly end or lead pedestrians into a utility pole! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Congratulations to Fort Wayne for embracing the spirit of the ADA!

Missed opportunity, Tulsa, not to mention a city riddled with ADA violations.

Note: For comparison, Fort Wayne has 89 parks and an official population of 275,000. Tulsa has 135 parks and an official population of 416,000.

The maps are designed to go beyond any one disability. People who may not even have them could find it helpful.

08/31/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Tulsa County Election Board, 12000 East Skelly Drive, Tulsa, OK

Here are some additional supporting photographs taken yesterday to accompany the just posted reel.

08/31/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Tulsa County Election Board, 12000 East Skelly Drive, Tulsa, OK

Based on the report of two followers, along with photographic evidence, we submitted a Tulsa County ADA Grievance about the Tulsa County Election Board location last week. We visited late yesterday, wanting to see the parking lot, sidewalks, curb cuts, and entry door for ourselves.

First off, this location is not the least bit centrally located. And while there is a bus stop relatively close by on 11th, the sidewalk abruptly terminates at E Skelly Dr. Of course! It’s Tulsa! But to the Tulsa County Board of Elections? Sheesh.

In the video you will see the condition of the sidewalk, curb cut, and crosswalk to four van-accessible parking spaces. The lines in the parking lot are nearly nonexistent and need to be restriped per ADA requirements.

The overhang at the entrance is only 7’6”. According to the ADA, loading zones for drop-offs require 9’6” (due to the clearance necessary for full-sized/wheelchair accessible vans). Nope, not going that way in our full-sized van.

The overhang is bad, but the entry door is a disaster. The width of the sidewalk in front of the door is only 41”, the door swings outward and the hinges are on the right. The approach from the accessible parking spaces, crosswalk, curb cut and sidewalk makes entry impossible (and dangerous) for any individual using a mobility device.

We used AI to analyze our image of a yard stick in front of the entry door and explored the options to bring just the entry door into compliance. The two options were to widen the sidewalk and create an appropriately-sized landing outside the entry door for maneuvering in a wheelchair, or to install an automatic door opener.

Adding an automatic door operator significantly reduces the physical maneuvering clearance required. But there’s a problem. The hinges are on the right side of the door. Sure, the door would open automatically…right into the person using a mobility device. The entry would be obstructed!

What if the approach to the door was made from the other direction? Sure, an automatic door would swing in the proper direction with its right-sided hinges, but the path to get there would put a mobility device user into traffic!

Likely solution? Reverse the door to left-sided hinges and install an automatic door with the opener PROPERLY PLACED for someone in a wheelchair, or potentially change the door to automatically open inward.

Don’t take our word for it. Here’s AI:

“For a front approach on the pull side of a manual swinging door, the ADA mandates a completely level landing that extends a minimum of 60 inches perpendicular to the doorway. As measured by the yardstick in the photo, your walkway is roughly 36 inches deep. A person in a wheelchair attempting to pull this door open would literally be forced to back up into the parking lot or roll off the curb into the driveway.”

And this:

“Because this is a government building, it is strictly regulated under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. State and local government facilities must maintain absolute programmatic and physical accessibility.”

Seriously, what the heck was Tulsa County thinking to not only buy this building but to move in without consideration of the ADA and remediation of the front door entry?

This ADA grievance is a slam dunk just for the entry door.

08/31/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
Parking Lot, E 2nd St and S Cincinnati Ave, Tulsa, OK

This is the designated City Hall parking, directly across the street from the Tulsa Performing Arts Center (PAC).

What we have learned: “The lot is not shared with the City, they rent spaces from us.”

But that does not absolve either the City of Tulsa or the PAC from mandatory ADA compliance.

From the ADA National Network: “The ADA places the legal obligation to remove barriers or provide auxiliary aids and services on both the landlord and the tenant. The landlord and the tenant may decide by lease who will actually make the changes and provide the aids and services, but both remain legally responsible.”

We spoke with the PAC manager in charge of the lot and then followed up with an email providing the link below to the ADAAG Chapter 5: Parking Spaces.

Now we wait. 📆

The U.S. Access Board is a federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards for the built environment, transportation, communication, medical diagnostic equipment, and information....

08/30/2026

This is from the City of Tulsa Code of Ordinances. Choose your favorite idiom for this image, or share one we have forgotten:

“Actions speak louder than words.”

“Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

“Talk is cheap, action is valuable.”

“Walk the walk.”

“Practice what you preach.”

“Deeds, not words.”

08/29/2026

♿️ UPDATE ♿️
E 25th and S Harvard Ave, north of the BA Expy, Tulsa, OK

We posted on July 14, 2026, about the utility pole on Harvard in the middle of the sidewalk and the significant construction in this particular area.

Now it’s time to celebrate! Happy dance, anyone? We’ve got a sidewalk that goes around the utility pole rather than through it!

Laura Bellis for Tulsa City Council, District 4 was tagged by a follower in our original post, and we then communicated with her. If she intervened on our behalf, kudos are in order. 👍🏻👍🏻

Let’s not forget this language from the City of Tulsa website: “Whenever the City of Tulsa constructs or repairs a sidewalk, it is brought into ADA compliance.” From the ADAAG, Access Board Chapter 2: Alterations, “A project that calls for the removal of pavement and sidewalks to subgrade, followed by the installation of new walks and pavement, is an alteration whose broad scope offers significant opportunity to incorporate the full range of accessible features.”

This has not been happening around town, but going forward we will hold the City of Tulsa accountable for compliance with the ADAAG guidelines for accessible sidewalks. (And there are some previous projects that will require remediation to achieve ADA compliance.)

08/28/2026

This is one of the ways “community” is defined.