Tulsa parks department clears way for Gilcrease-area trails; board allows gravel parking

Tulsa Parks and Recreation won approval from the City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment on a plan to build nonmotorized trails on several tracts of land south and west of the southwest corner of West Apache Street and North Gilcrease Museum Road, and to use a gravel surface for one of the new parking areas.

The board, meeting as Board of Adjustment Case BOA23833, voted unanimously to grant (1) a special exception permitting parks and recreation use in AG and RS-3 zoning districts and (2) a variance from the all‑weather surfacing requirement for the proposed parking lot in the AG district.

Why it matters: The project would open roughly 450 acres of city-owned land to soft‑surface hiking and bicycle trails, which city and nonprofit proponents say will expand city trail access on Tulsa’s north and west sides while removing debris and adding ongoing maintenance funding. Neighbors warned the board about trespass, dumping and wildlife impacts; trail advocates and city staff said increased, programmed use typically reduces those problems.

Dylan Sires, a Parks and Recreation presenter, described the requests to the board: "So what we're asking for today is a special exception for our parks and recreation use, on, these tracts of land that's south and west of the Southwest corner of Apache And Gilcrease Museum Road." He told the board the gravel parking variance is intended "to kind of really lean into the more rural…