A consultant for the city of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, has proposed tearing down five historic buildings in the downtown area to address parking concerns.
The plan comes in the wake of a survey of residents by Planning Consultant Scott Bruce, which focused on a lack of parking on Dewey Avenue (aka Route 66) and easy access to retail stores, particularly for the elderly or disabled.
The Sapulpa Times reports that an ongoing streetscape project on Dewey Avenue will address concerns of sidewalk accessibility.
Still, residents are fretting over the loss of more than 50 parking spaces due to the project.
The buildings that might be torn down are:
- The Human Skills building at North Water Street and East Dewey;
- The former Criterion Theatre on South Water;
- The American Legion building on South Lee Avenue;
- A building at North Water and Hobson Avenue;
- A building at North Elm Avenue and Hobson.
Janet Birnie, president of the Sapulpa Chamber of Commerce and formerly the city’s Main Street director, told the newspaper the loss of those historic buildings would be unnecessary.
She agreed that downtown needs more parking, but “tearing down buildings in the core of our historic downtown isn’t what needs to happen.”
Birnie said Sapulpa’s historic downtown is a selling point for both tourists and prospective businesses, and a loss of buildings would diminish that.
Former Main Street Director Tami Fleak dismissed the teardown idea entirely — citing the hundreds who attend the Route 66 Christmas Chute. That event, incidentally, is on hiatus until 2026 because of the streetscape project.
“Sapulpa doesn’t have a parking problem,” she said. “Sapulpa has hundreds of parking spots downtown.”
(An image of downtown Sapulpa, Oklahoma, by doncow via Flickr)