 The Gardens at Central Park
In this March 2025 edition of Broken Arrow in Motion, updates include park projects, water and sewer infrastructure improvements, and street widening projects.
A portion of Central Park on Main Street is transforming into The Gardens at Central Park. The pergola, electric lines, and walkways have already been finished. And now, with the arrival of warmer weather, a crew from Motown Outdoors is planting the garden trees. Each planting brings the dream of a destination garden to life. The Gardens at Central Park will also have four large gardens, an entry plaza, signage, and benches. In addition to the trees, the other plantings should be finished by early May. We will celebrate the opening of The Gardens at Central Park later this spring, so stay tuned!
Crossland Heavy Construction is working on the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority on-ramp at Events Park. They are also adding utility infrastructure to the events site and moving some utilities that are in the way of the construction. The work is about a quarter of the way complete on these tasks, and additional layers of asphalt are now being added to the parking lots.
The Highland Park Rugby and Soccer Fields project is under construction on the northeast corner of Oneta Road and Washington Street. This field will include natural turf rugby and soccer fields, with 236,000 square feet of natural turf surface and a parking lot. The contractor, Ira Green, is excavating and grading the field site and they are about halfway complete on these tasks.
Over on the Houston Street project from Garnett Road to Olive Street, the roadway’s south side drainage improvements are 85 percent complete and the grade work also on the south side of the road is approximately 60 percent complete. The intersection work is just beginning and is approximately 20 percent complete. With this project, we are widening Houston Street to five lanes, adding a new sidewalk, ADA curb ramps at the intersection, new traffic signals, signage and improved pavement markings.
For more project updates and information go to Broken Arrow in Motion March 2025 on the city's website.
 Councilor Lisa Ford and a group of students from Peters Elementary School planted a Redbud Tree at Country Aire Park.
The Broken Arrow Parks Department planted trees at Country Aire Park, 100 N. Fir Ave., on March 26, to celebrate Arbor Day.
This year, third through fifth-grade students from Peters Elementary School and Broken Arrow City Council members were there to assist.
It’s Broken Arrow’s 25th year as a Tree City USA designated community and the 18th year that the Parks Department has coordinated this annual Arbor Day event with local schools.
Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks talked to the students about the significance of trees and how individuals benefit from the urban forest.
“I am a tree person, on Arbor Day and year-round,” he said. “We all serve on several committees. In Washington, D.C., I serve on the Environment Committee. We discuss how important trees are and how important it is to pick up our trash and preserve our environment. We work with youth and other council members nationwide to forge ahead and ensure we keep a safe planet. It’s a privilege to be here today.”
Five trees were planted during this year’s annual tree planting ceremony —an oak tree, an elm tree, two cypress trees, and a redbud tree.
For more, go to Broken Arrow celebrates Arbor Week.
 The above image is pulled from a customer account in the WaterSmart utility portal and shows the tracking detail for usage, down to the hour, that will be available to each City of Broken Arrow water customer.
The City of Broken Arrow is revolutionizing customer service and how water utility customers will look at their bills and usage with a brand-new customer service portal called WaterSmart, which will be accessible beginning May 5.
“This is the first time in the State of Oklahoma that a customer will be able to see their water usage down to their hourly consumption,” Director of Utilities Timothy Robins said to the City Council at its meeting on March 18. “You can see your water usage anywhere from one year to two months, two weeks, one week, and even one-hour intervals.”
This new program lets customers track their water use in complete transparency which will help minimize surprises when the bill is due.
"I think our citizens should be very excited about this," said Mayor Debra Wimpee.
Customers will not only be empowered to view their water usage in near real-time, but they will also be able to check for leaks and set up alert notifications through the online engagement portal.
“This is really a great tool to have. Most water leaks are small leaks that occur over a long period and cost a great deal of money,” said Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks, who made a career as a plumbing contractor. “Say a flapper inside of a toilet is stuck, and you don’t know it. It can run your bill up $50-$100 a month before you realize it. But this will tell you, ‘Hey, something is happening.'”
For more on the new WaterSmart customer service portal, go to BA empowering water customers with new tech.
 David Heard
On a breezy March 5 morning, with wind gusts at times exceeding 50 miles per hour, City of Broken Arrow Streets Department employee David Heard was carrying out his daily work routine driving a street sweeper.
He's lived in Broken Arrow for 36 years and has worked in the Streets and Stormwater Department for nine of those years. His street sweeping duties include all areas south of Washington Street, both east and west.
"There's a lot to do. I have about four-square miles of neighborhoods to do each month, and I go through each neighborhood at least two times a year," he said.
Working for the City of Broken Arrow is rewarding, he continued.
"I see grass and leaves piled up along the curbline, and when I'm done, I can drive away knowing it looks better than when I got there," Heard said. "Yes, cleaning up and leaving it better is satisfying. It's great to make an impact."
But on this day, while driving through the Seven Oaks addition between Lynn Lane and County Line Road, Heard stopped to do some paperwork, and it wasn't just grass and leaves that he saw on the ground.
As he glanced in his rear-view mirror, he saw an American flag blowing in the wind in a resident’s yard. Heard immediately turned his truck around and went to pick up the flag.
For more of David's story, go to City employee called 'real patriot.'
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