By Ian Nikkel, FOX23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — If there’s a road in the Tulsa metro that seems to always slow you down, transportation planners want to hear about it.
The Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) has spent the past six months studying congestion across the Tulsa region and has identified 25 major corridors with regional congestion impacts.
The study looked at where congestion occurs, what causes it and how transportation improvements could make travel times more reliable.
Some of the corridors identified include U.S. 75, U.S. 169 and Memorial. INCOG says U.S. 169 carries some of the highest traffic volumes in the region, while Memorial faces congestion tied in part to commercial development, driveways and traffic signals.
But INCOG says data only tells part of the story.
The agency received more than 1,000 comments from the public during an earlier round of outreach. People reported congestion caused by construction, crashes, school drop-offs and trains, among other issues. INCOG used that feedback to compare residents’ experiences with the transportation data it collected.
Now the agency is asking residents, commuters, businesses, transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians to review its recommendations and provide feedback through its project website.
Thomas Dow, INCOG’s director of transportation, says public input will be part of the decision-making process.
“We take that input very seriously… We will read all of those comments, and we will respond to them, and we will make sure that they are factored into the decision making process.”
What could be done about congestion?
INCOG says there is no single solution for every location.
The plan includes nine broad strategies, ranging from making it safer to walk and bike and making transit more convenient to determining where roads may need to be widened. The agency is also looking at technology, including better coordination of traffic signals to help move vehicles more efficiently.
Dow says the goal is to solve congestion without simply pushing the problem somewhere else.
“We don’t want to solve congestion at one intersection just to shift it down to the next intersection a mile away.”
INCOG says congestion can also shift as the region grows, new development occurs, construction projects change traffic patterns, or crashes and weather affect the roads.
How to weigh in
INCOG is asking the public to review the proposed corridors and strategies and share feedback through incogcmp2026.com.
The agency is seeking comments through the end of August and is looking to adopt the final congestion management plan in October or November.
