'Chaotic' BA Street Could Be Widened After Tuesday Election

Broken Arrow's busiest roads could be expanding; the decision will be in the hands of voters when polls open on Tuesday.

Albany, or 61st Street, is occasionally quiet late evenings, but if you're there in the morning or afternoon, you'll see why many parents and students describe the traffic as chaos.

"Terrible. I'd rather be in traffic on the expressway. At least I'd have some excuse,” said Broken Arrow resident, Jack Parker.

Three schools sit along the street, and before and after the school bell rings, the commute down Albany can take up to half an hour.

2014 General Obligation Bond

Resident, Jay Min said, "So many cars packed on the road in the morning and afternoon when students go to school and come back home."

“Chaos around school, you know, time to go pick up and drop off,” said resident, Rosa Seals.

That's why the city is proposing to expand Albany to five lanes - from 9th Street, or Lynn Lane, to 23rd Street, or County Line Road.

The measure will be on Tuesday's ballot as part of the Broken Arrow bond election.

"It would be great if we had wider, and we had more lanes road,” Min said.

August 26th Special Election

Parker said, "I think it'd be good and actually, put some lights up too, because you've got people out there that don't pay attention to what they're doing. We've got kids out here."

If approved Tuesday, the bond would also widen parts of 23rd Street, 37th Street, Florence, Kenosha, Olive, 9th Street and Houston.

It would also resurface at least ten other roads, totaling about $36 million.

Joe Cook with Build a Better Broken Arrow said it's the price of progress.

"It's the nightmare on Albany Street for us in some cases. It's primarily due to just growing pains. It's one of those things we'll get through, but, clearly, it's frustrating,” said Cook.

Seals said, "Broken Arrow is growing, and we're happy it's growing, and we need to expand and adapt."

There are a lot of other aspects of the general obligation bond. It includes improvements to public buildings, public safety, flood control and quality of life - like parks and sports complexes.

Broken Arrow residents will also decide whether to build a nearly $6 million convention center and raise the hotel tax.