Tulsa State Fair workers build a merry-go-round in Expo Square on Friday. The fair begins on September 30 and ends on October 10.
An aerial view shows the three-lane drop-off area of the newly renovated Golden Driller Plaza in Expo Square.
Ticket booths are being prepared for installation in Expo Square ahead of the Tulsa State Fair, which opens on September 30.
Expo Square parking lots await thousands of visitors at the Tulsa State Fair, which begins September 30. No shuttle service will be offered this year.
Workers build a merry-go-round halfway for the Tulsa State Fair in Expo Square.
With no shuttles this year to provide an alternative to the parking lot at the Tulsa State Fair, some visitors may turn to the neighborhood streets, causing locals and fair officials to be concerned. neighbors during the high volume event.
For long-time residents of the nearby Mayo Meadow neighborhood, fair parking is a familiar issue, and some have already started planning to accommodate vehicles on their property in driveways and lawns for the duration of the Fair. September 30 to October 10.
“I certainly hope that doesn’t happen, but if they are going to charge it wouldn’t be the thing they should be doing,” Tulsa State Fair CEO Mark Andrus said on Friday.
Neighbors’ concerns from previous years – although they were not voiced to Tulsa police, a spokesperson said on Friday – include common themes of vehicle thefts and ransacked construction sites.
Andrus said fair officials were in operational talks with the Tulsa Police Department, with the agency planning to increase “an already very high presence” in neighborhoods around the fairgrounds.
“I think they’ve done, for quite some time now, a great job of policing and making our neighbors comfortable,” Andrus said, “and that’s the goal of Expo Square, whether during the fair or 365 days a year. Being a good neighbor is the priority. “
Police Lt. Richard Meulenberg said the captain of the agency’s Riverside Division was prepared with a plan of operations that included additional patrols and more resources in the area to address citizens’ concerns.
