By John Dobberstein, Editor
By and large, the majority of Broken Arrow residents believe the city is a very good place to live, according to a recent survey meant to help the city prepare for its next general obligation bond request in 2026.
The Citizen Survey that was open to residents for 31 days in early 2024.
Brandon Barnett of Polco, the company the city contracted to conduct the survey, provided the results to the City Council at a special meeting on April 16. CLICK HERE to watch the presentation.
The survey’s results are now available for public review by accessing the Survey Results Dashboard.
The non-probability, open-participation survey garnered 3,938 responses, with a less than five percent margin of error. Polco’s benchmarking database compared Broken Arrow to more than 500 communities nationwide and represents the opinions of more than 50 million U.S. residents
Broken Arrow was ranked lower than average in transportation options, drinking water and concerns about the local economy.
But 90% of the nearly 4,000 people surveyed in recent months feel positive about Broken Arrow as a place to live – and 89% would recommend living in the city to someone who asks, which ranks much higher than most cities surveyed.
Some 88% said they plan to remain in the city for the next 5 years and 82% felt positive about Broken Arrow’s image or reputation.
“There are some areas where we’re very, very strong, and there are still some areas where we can do better,” said City Manager Michael Spurgeon.
Feeling Safe
The overall picture shows Broken Arrow is considered by its residents to be a safe place to live. About 83% had positive feelings about this, and there were very few concerns about feeling safe downtown during the day or at night. Only 2 of 10 had substantial concern about violent crime and 73% of residents felt safe from property crime, although that was the lowest of the scores.
Emergency preparedness, crime and fire prevention and animal control ranked similarly to other cities but might be areas for improvement.
Utilities Score High Overall
Rankings were similar to other cities, although only 54% felt positively about Broken Arrow’s drinking water and 57% felt positively about utility billing.
The city is moving to address some of the drinking water issues in the long-term by shifting some of its supply to come from Grand Lake rather than rely 100% on the Verdigris River. Storm water management garnered a 69% positive rating.
But overall, 92% of residents felt positive about the utility infrastructure.
Education, Arts and Culture
About 62% of respondents ranked this category positively, which was similar to results nationally.
Adult education, availability of affordable, quality childcare and opportunities to attend cultural, arts and music opportunities seemed to be stickier issues, while opportunities to attend special events and festivals ranked higher at 70%. Some 82% of those surveyed ranked public library services positively.
Grading City Hall
Most residents answering the survey ranked Broken Arrow higher than average for informing residents about issues of concern in the community and the overall direction Broken Arrow is heading in.
Ratings for quality of services from central dispatch, city employees and communications fell about average with most cities, and nearly 6 in 10 said the city was acting in the best interest of the community and being open and transparent to the public.
Sarah Johnston says
I would like to see better transportation for those living outside if city limits. My address is in Broken Arrow but I live on S 281st East Ave. I do go to the senior center but I will need transportation in the near future but there is nothing out here except no transportation in this area except private transportation.