Tulsa mayor addresses boulders placed along downtown sidewalk

Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols held a community meeting Friday to discuss the boulders the city placed on a sidewalk near the downtown bus stop. 

Those who spoke at the meeting were worried the boulders were there to drive homeless people away, but Mayor Nichols says the boulders are designed to give homeless people better alternatives and are also a part of a community art project. 

Why are the boulders there?

Mayor Monroe Nichols says the bus stop is not a homeless shelter, it's unsafe, and the city has created better alternatives for homeless people who congregate there.

"It's important to express the predatory behavior on behalf of some as it relates to how they are preying on folks who are unhoused; it's not a great situation," said Nichols.

"To the mayor's point, the individuals who are there at the bus station that are victims of predatory behavior, then your goal should be to make them safe, not to exclude them," said Dezmond Harris, City of Tulsa Intern.

It's also going to be a community art project.

What issues have happened at the bus stop?

There were more than 120 police calls in July to the bus station, including 19 calls for disturbances, 17 calls for trespassing or an ongoing crime, three calls for drugs, three calls for assault, two calls for fights, two calls for vandalism, one indecent exposure, one stabbing, one larceny and one reported drug overdose.

Where are the boulders?

4th Street between Denver Ave. and S. Cheyenne in Downtown Tulsa.

What are the alternatives?

From now until the end of September, the city is paying for shuttles three days a week to take whoever wants to go to Be Heard, a nonprofit that offers showers, meals, and access to case workers.

Then will drop them off back at the bus station.

"I do believe that if we're trying to balance what it takes to keep the city safe and we're serving people well, this is just the best option that I felt like we could come up with, and it took us seven months for us to arrive with something we thought was fair and equitable," said Nichols.

How many people have gone to Be Heard since this week?

Mayor Nichols said 375 people went to Be Heard.

Why will homeless people be taken back to the bus station?

Mayor Nichols said it's to give homeless people an opportunity to go to the Day Center and have a place to sleep.

How much is the city spending on the program?

The city is paying $21,000 to run the shuttles, and the city could add additional funding beyond September.

What kind of art will be on the boulders?

The project on the boulders will not be started until the city hires an executive director for the office of public art, but they will end up with a painted design.

He says the boulders can be both artwork and a way to get homeless people away from the bus station. 

What are people's concerns?

Some people say the homeless are being pushed away, and those who don't want to go to Be Heard have nowhere to sit.

One person who attended the meeting said, "We have these boulders to try and get these people to stop sitting in one of the shadiest places. I kind of feel like they're less safe."

Nichols' response to people wanting to go to Be Heard

"You're absolutely right, not everyone wants to go to Be Heard, but I'm not sure whose greatest possible dream is to sit out under a tree at the bus station," said Nichols.