Downtown Broken Arrow Creates Rose District
Downtown Broken Arrow has a new look.
The Broken Arrow City Council approved the Rose District as downtown’s new name at the Oct. 16 meeting.
“The new name will do a lot for the area,” says Broken Arrow City Councilor Jill Norman. “People will come to identify this area of Main Street, between Ft. Worth and College, as the Rose District.
“It’s also a way for us to respect our history.”
Years ago, Broken Arrow was known as the city of roses because of the large amount of rose bushes found throughout the city. Various local organizations have offered to plant rose bushes to bring back that historic identity.
Recently, Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful, Inc. () received a $5,000 grant to plant roses in Broken Arrow.
is currently developing the details of their 2013 plan which will correlate with their existing rose city education, promotion and planting plan introduced to by local resident Beverly Forrester.
Former Superintendent of Schools in Broken Arrow and Board Member Clarence Oliver says, “It has long been a hope of mine that Broken Arrow would return to its historical designation as a City of Roses. In the early 1900s as the city was beginning to grow, it was planted with roses everywhere. With building expansion, roads and infrastructure, one by one they have disappeared. The downtown Main Street renovation plans should afford lots of opportunity for to participate.”
The City Council also approved a new streetscape for downtown, which will include widening the sidewalks and narrowing the street to three lanes with a middle turn lane. Angled parking will remain.
A raised crosswalk will be added in the middle of the block to create more of a walking environment, Norman says. The decreasing of traffic lanes from two each way to one and the middle crosswalk will help to slow traffic.
Widening of the sidewalks will also allow more room for roses and outside seating for restaurants and more ability to have art shows outside.
“The average age in Broken Arrow is 34 years old,” Norman says. “That 34-40 age group is going to Tulsa for Brookside, the Blue Dome and the Brady districts. We want to bring that same sense of identity to our downtown area.”
Updated 10-29-2012
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