Traffic and infrastructure planning at 71st and Union
Summary
The University of Tulsa's land at 11th and Harvard — long promised by TU to be kept as green space, according to a neighbor — is being turned into a restaurant with a drive-through and parking lot. The rezoning was already approved last week; the ordinance vote codified it, and a resident asked the council to pause over traffic on Indianapolis Avenue.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 1
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Oct 28, 2026.
Impact analysis
Private investment in a restaurant on the site; no direct city expenditure.
TU and the restaurant operator get their project; the neighborhood gets new investment but also more traffic.
Neighbors on Indianapolis Avenue, which will carry the drive-through traffic on a street that is often down to one lane.
Mentions & discussions (3)
Council (Regular) - Oct 28, 2026
Multiple councilors criticized the city's 'rooftops before road-widening' approach, pledging to push for 71st & Union improvements — lane re-striping, island removal and widening — in future capital packages.
Council (Regular) - Sep 2, 2026
The University of Tulsa's land at 11th and Harvard — long promised by TU to be kept as green space, according to a neighbor — is being turned into a restaurant with a drive-through and parking lot. The rezoning was already approved last week; the ordinance vote codified it, and a resident asked the council to pause over traffic on Indianapolis Avenue.
Council (Regular) - Aug 26, 2026
Residents of South Indianapolis Avenue say their two-block street already suffers cut-through traffic, game-day congestion and blocked emergency vehicles — and they fear a new restaurant drive-thru will make it worse. Councilors weighed the concerns but noted the drive-thru could operate by right under existing zoning; the vote concerned only the parking lot zoning.
Related development
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