More than 3,000 people got specific about street improvements needed in the next bond issue in the Roadway Improvements Survey completed over 21 days in June.

“This data is very important, it’s crucial to know what the public is thinking,” City Manager Michael Spurgeon said. “Folks say streets are the number one priority and that it’s an area where we can improve. In a fast-growing community, that’s not unexpected.”

Traditionally, transportation propositions comprise 50 percent of the general obligation bond packages, Spurgeon said.

“If you look at where we are right now, we could be looking at a $375 to $400 million general obligation bond package in 2026,” Spurgeon said. “Of that, we could be seeing somewhere between $150 to $180 million worth of projects, which could include at least 15 road widenings, plus other improvements to intersections to move traffic through the community.”

City of Broken Arrow Communications Director Aaron McColloch presented the survey’s findings to the City Council on Aug. 20. Click here to see the Roadway Improvements Survey results in their entirety. 

“We got 3,064 responses, which is an amazing response from the community,” McColloch said.

The Roadway Improvement Survey presented 40 locations around the community with capital improvement ideas to gauge the level of support for each one.

Respondents rated each of the 40 locations by five designations.

• Strongly support
• Support
• Neither support/nor oppose
• Oppose
• Strongly oppose

According to the survey, the following are the top 10 locations that were ripe for improvement.

1. Adding a center turn lane to Elm Place between New Orleans Street and Florence Street.

2. Widen County Line Road to three lanes between Houston Street and Washington Street.

3. Widen Kenosha Street to five lanes between Aspen Avenue and Rhema Bible Church.

4. Improve the intersection of Kenosha and Aspen Avenue.

5. Widen County Line Road to three lanes between Washington Street and New Orleans Street.

6. Widen Washington Street to five lanes between Aspen Avenue and Elm Place.

7. Widen Houston Street to five lanes between Aspen Avenue and Elm Place.

8. Improve the intersection of Kenosha Street and Elm Place.

9. Resurface Lynn Lane between New Orleans Street and Florence Street, including safety improvements such as guard rails.

10. Widen Washington Street to five lanes between Arrowhead Park Softball Complex and Lynn Lane.

“The vast majority of the public’s response was for projects already being worked on,” McColloch said. “Some of the projects are Tulsa County and Wagoner County projects.”

According to the city manager, 10 miles of road improvements still need to be completed that were approved by the voters in the 2018 General Obligation Bond.

“Most of those projects are somewhere in the construction cycle. It could be in the design, right of way, or the construction phase,” he said. “One of those projects—Houston Street, from Garnett to Olive Street, will begin right after Labor Day.”

McColloch also stressed that the information from the survey is just data at this point. The goal was to find solutions to improve the traffic flow in the city.

“We learned from the Comprehensive Survey back in February that traffic flow received a 40 percent positive rating,” he said. “We wanted to do a deeper dive, and that’s what this is. It will help us as we move forward to look at different ways to improve traffic flow and get people moving more.”

City Manager Micheal Spurgeon and the staff will analyze the data and make recommendations to the City Council next year for the 2026 General Obligation Bond Package.

Another survey will be released in the fall examining connectivity—walkability and rideability within the city.