Tulsa City Council approves ordinance limiting standing on roadway medians; emergency clause fails

The Tulsa City Council on Aug. 15 passed an ordinance amending the Tulsa Revised Traffic Code to prohibit sitting, standing or lying on roadway medians within a minimum horizontal clearance of traffic, and to set an 18-inch buffer from the roadway.

The council took the vote after an extended public comment period and more than two hours of debate among councilors about pedestrian safety, enforcement and the potential effect on people experiencing homelessness. The ordinance passed in a recorded roll call divided largely along concern for immediate safety versus worries about enforcement and equity. The council later voted down an emergency clause that would have made the ordinance effective immediately.

Supporters said the measure is intended to reduce pedestrian injuries and deaths by keeping people out of narrow medians and close to high-speed traffic. “A single distraction, a single slip of the foot, and tragedy happens in an instant,” said Christy Rawlings during public comment, describing a recent near-miss she witnessed when a child…