BA survey aims to gain opinions on downtown
BY ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Saturday, January 05, 2013
1/05/13 at 5:33 AM
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BROKEN ARROW - Prep work for the marketing campaign to attract visitors downtown continued Friday as officials released an online survey gauging perceptions and collecting wish lists for the area.
The Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce survey, available on the organization's website, seeks to gather opinions that will help guide the campaign and shape officials' decisions in attracting businesses to the area, said Lisa Frein, the chamber's downtown development director.
The survey is the last phase of the campaign's development. The chamber previously collected residents' opinions in focus-group sessions.
"We want to gather some hard evidence for what people want to see in an arts and entertainment district" downtown, Frein said.
The survey, available through January, probes potential visitors' knowledge of the area and asks what types of businesses would attract them and what activities they enjoy in other entertainment districts.
That gives officials a "snapshot of where downtown Broken Arrow is right now," Frein said.
Collecting the data is crucial as the city seeks to make the area a regional destination under its recently adopted nickname of the Rose District, she added.
Work is expected to begin in the spring to reduce Main Street to three lanes, widen sidewalks and add landscaping to create the feel of a rose-themed walking district.
The chamber will help that process by working to attract developers and using its marketing campaign to change perceptions that downtown Broken Arrow is too far from Tulsa and has too little to do, Frein said.
She said the area is 15 minutes from midtown Tulsa and pointed to its performing arts center and bevy of local shops and several restaurants, including the Main Street Tavern, which has stimulated the area's nightlife.
"When we go to Tulsa, we go to McNellie's (a downtown Tulsa pub-style restaurant) and the BOK Center, and we want to create that in Broken Arrow," Frein said. "We have all the parts to do that."
But "we're literally asking people to come to a place they've never been before," she added.
Once the survey data is collected, the chamber will select a logo for the Rose District, create a website and social media accounts under that name and explore advertising options, she said.
The goal will be to educate Tulsa-area residents about the district and encourage the perception that the area is a legitimate arts and entertainment destination.
All survey participants will be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card.
Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com
