Bentonville Residents Still Crave More Transportation Options, Survey Says

Most residents still want more transportation options and active transportation infrastructure, despite weakened support for the city's overall direction, according to a recent survey.

Sara Studdard, partner for the Denver-based nonprofit City Thread, on Monday briefed the City Council on the outcome of a mobility audience research survey at its Committee of the Whole meeting.

City Thread is dedicated to accelerating mobility and place-based projects to help people connect more deeply and access greater opportunity in their communities, according to its website.

Studdard said City Thread conducted the study in 2023 and 2024 as well. The organization gathered information from 200 registered voters living in Bentonville and 301 voters elsewhere in Benton County July 29 to Aug. 3 for this year's survey.

DIRECTION AND ISSUES

The survey found only 62% of Bentonville residents who participated believe the city is heading in the right direction overall, according to Studdard. This is a downturn from both the 71% and 77% of Bentonville residents City Thread surveyed in 2023 and 2024, respectively, who believed the city was going in the right direction, she said.

The trend is also reflected on a countywide scale. Studdard said 69% of Benton County residents who were surveyed felt the county is generally going in the right direction compared to the 78% and 80% who felt that way in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Studdard attributed this "slight sort of pessimism" to change being difficult, even when it's positive change the majority of residents want. She said some residents naturally have questions as they see their streets and routines shift, as well as construction taking place.

"And one way that the city and the Bentonville Moves Coalition is addressing this is just continuing to show up diversely to Bentonville community events and engage with a variety of residents," she said.

The Bentonville Moves Coalition is a group of community organizations, local businesses, schools, institutions, civic leaders and residents working to make the community safer and more connected, according to its website.

Studdard said 29% of Bentonville voters in the survey believe road infrastructure and traffic is the most important problem facing the city. Another 29% of residents listed infrastructure and growth as their top concerns while affordable housing took precedence for 14%.

Traffic safety is also a major concern for Bentonville voters, according to Studdard. She said the survey showed 78% of Bentonville voters were either very concerned or somewhat concerned about traffic-related fatalities in the city while 80% were concerned about traffic-related injuries; meanwhile, 73% of Bentonville voters were also concerned about cars driving too quickly on residential streets in their neighborhoods.

INFRASTRUCTURE

However, 83% of Bentonville residents support the Connecting Bentonville Plan, the city's bike and pedestrian master plan adopted in January 2021, Studdard said. The city started building 30 miles of trails in 2022 to connect neighborhoods with parks, schools, workplaces and restaurants, which it's set to finish by the end of this year.

Studdard said Bentonville residents want the freedom of choice that comes with having more transportation options. A majority -- 63% -- of Bentonville residents agreed they would like to ride a bicycle more often, while 56% agreed they would sometimes ride their bicycle or walk if there were safe bike lanes or sidewalks between their homes and downtown Bentonville -- rather than drive. Twenty-four percent of drivers would like to bike, walk and take transit more than they do now.

In terms of traffic safety, 74% of Bentonville residents indicated they would likely support traffic calming changes to their streets if the city government proposed them, according to Studdard. She said 68% of residents agree installing traffic calming measures -- such as infrastructure and signage -- would make their neighborhood safer.

Chris Sooter, Ward 2 City Council member, asked Studdard what next year will look like. Studdard said City Thread is working with the city and Bentonville Moves Coalition to identify next steps.