Tulsa committee debates ordinance to keep people off narrow medians, limit standing on sidewalks

Tulsa’s Public Works Committee spent the bulk of its Aug. 20 meeting debating a proposed amendment to the city’s traffic code that would set a minimum 18-inch horizontal clearance between pedestrians and adjacent travel lanes and tighten rules about people standing on medians and certain sidewalks.

The ordinance, introduced as an amendment to Tulsa Revised Ordinances Title 37, would treat medians and sidewalks differently based on width. Under the draft language discussed at the committee meeting, medians under 10 feet wide would effectively be treated as unsafe for stationary activity; medians 10 feet and wider would allow activity without a reflective safety vest so long as people remain outside the 18-inch “horizontal clearance” from the roadway. The draft also repeats a $150 civil penalty the council previously set and would prohibit animals from being placed on medians or sidewalks in the regulated zone. The measure was on for first reading; committee members held a lengthy public discussion and no final vote was recorded.

Supporters told the committee the change is intended to reduce serious traffic-related injuries and…