Parks & Rec Department Asking For Tulsans’ Feedback In Online Survey

Time is running out to let the City of Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department know how you want your tax dollars spent. If you live in Tulsa, you can fill out the survey online or on paper.  

The city said thousands of Tulsans received a paper copy of the survey in the mail, but only about 400 responded so far. 

The survey is also online, and the city is asking anyone who can to fill it out, because the city would like to have more feedback.  

Seven-year-old Ellie Connolly and her dad spent part of Wednesday at Zink Park near 31st and Utica. 

"We enjoy this park. We like how open it is,” Connolly said.  

He said growing up in Tulsa, he also played here years ago.  

"It hasn't changed much since I was a kid,” Connolly said. “I think some new paint." 

But it is not the only park they go to; and Connolly expressed that there is room for improvement at different parks around town.  

"A lot of the splash pads don't work in the summer or just kind of out-of-date equipment,” he said.  

It’s feedback like that, the parks department wants people to share with them by filling out its Parks & Recreation Master Plan survey. 

"I want people to dream when they fill out this survey,” City of Tulsa Parks Director Anna America said.  

America said through the Improve Our Tulsa renewal package, the parks department has about $30 million to spend over the next six years. The department can start tapping into the money this summer.  

"As we get this feedback, we'll use that in part to help prioritize how we will be spending that money,” America said. 

One example of how this survey could spark change: the sports courts at Heller Park. Years ago, America said there were only tennis courts at the park. But America said because of input from the community, people are now playing pickleball and basketball there. 

"If we didn't listen to people, we might have kept all of this as tennis,” America said.

America said more than a third of the money is already set aside for some repairs and projects, but now is the time for Tulsans to make their park preferences heard.  

The city plans to close the survey by the end of the month. You can find the survey here.