2006 Community Survey | Survey Report | Appendix A - The Survey | Appendix B - Post Survey Focus Group
2006 Community SurveyThe 2006 Community Survey has now been completed. The above links take you to pdf documents of the final report.Executive Summary Overview In keeping with a strong desire to provide the best possible services and opportunities to its residents, the City of Upper Arlington contracted with The Strategy Team, Ltd. to conduct the 2006 Upper Arlington Community Survey. Since 2000, the City of Upper Arlington has conducted two city surveys to track resident perception of, and satisfaction with, city services and amenities. As the next step in a systematic effort to solicit and listen to resident opinions, the 2006 Community Survey had the following goals: to help the City assess how well its services are meeting the community's needs; help the City prioritize the resources it allocates to its services; identify service and community areas in need of improvement; and assist City Council in the policy making process so that decisions are reflective of broad community opinion. While this survey builds on the findings of earlier surveys, it also explores new areas of interest. New modules were included to tap resident perceptions of the City's role in promoting redevelopment of crucial areas of Upper Arlington, satisfaction with and perceived gaps in the park and recreation opportunities in Upper Arlington, and suggestions for changes in the City's pools, trash service and gas aggregation program. Another exciting change for the 2006 survey was a shift to collecting most of the data via the Internet. Not only is this a more cost-efficient process for conducting research, it also provides every household in Upper Arlington with the opportunity to participate in the research effort, which was publicized in the City of Upper Arlington's newsletter City Insight, local newspapers, and on the City's website. To ensure the scientific integrity of the survey, 2,000 households in Upper Arlington were also randomly selected to participate and received postcards to encourage their participation. More information on the survey research methods used in this effort is contained below. Method The 2006 Community Survey used a two-pronged approach to gather resident opinion. Sampled households: The primary approach focused on 2,000 randomly selected Upper Arlington households. These households received an “invitation” postcard directing them to the City's website and providing them with an access code to an Internet-based survey. Two reminder postcards were sent (one after a week, the second after two weeks) to households that had not yet responded. Efforts to promote survey participation were supported by advertisements placed by the City in weekly newspapers, the City Manager Column, and in the Fall 2006 issue of City Insight. By randomly selecting households to participate and then assertively calling for their participation, the data from the sampled households allow the City to generalize the findings from a small number of households to the broader community. Upper Arlington households without Internet access were provided with other options for participating in the survey. Overall, 555 randomly selected households participated, yielding a response rate of 29.1%. Self-selected households: All Upper Arlington households that received the Fall 2006 City Insight - including those not randomly selected to participate - were provided with an access code to the 2006 Community Survey. By opening the survey up to all households in Upper Arlington, the 2006 survey was truly a “community-wide” effort. Overall, 369 households self-selected into the survey. The Key Research Findings from the 2006 Community Survey (reporting the generalizable data from the sampled households) are presented below. Readers who want to know more about these Key Research Findings are encouraged to read the main report, where they are discussed in greater detail. Key Research Findings Key Research Finding 1: Residents are highly satisfied with the services and opportunities provided by the City of Upper Arlington. The City's core purpose is to provide services that keep its residents safe and thriving. Overall, residents are pleased with the quality of the City's services. The public safety services (e.g., police, fire, EMS) top the list in services that are perceived to be of high quality (i.e., a rating of “6” or higher on a 7-point scale, with 7 = very high quality). Additionally, ratings of City and neighborhood parks, recycling and weekly trash collection, cleanliness of City streets, snow removal, and an overall assessment of “quality of life in Upper Arlington” received high marks. For the majority of City services included in this survey, quality ratings have remained stable and positive over the past three years, indicating the City is continuing along the right path and that for the most part, residents are highly satisfied with City government. Regarding the condition of City streets and roads, residents provided more positive ratings when comparing to 2003. Consistent with this, 42% of respondents believe the City has made improved efforts in the past three years to repair / upgrade aging surface infrastructure such as roads and sidewalks. Additionally, 35% of respondents believe the City has improved its communication to residents over the past three years. Respondents also seem to demonstrate increased positivity about City governance. For all three issues included on the survey (fiscal responsibility, communication from City to residents and degree to which City Council represents citizens and their interests) respondents expressed greater positivity and less neutrality in 2006 than in 2003. This seems to be especially true when it comes to evaluations of how well the City handles its finances, with 52% of respondents agreeing somewhat or very strongly with the statement, “The City does a good job of managing its finances.” Overall, a survey such as this provides the City with a current snapshot of residents' attitudes and opinions regarding their City as well as the issues they see facing it. Residents' attitudes, however, are not created and stored in a vacuum - they are guided and constantly updated by their experiences over time. In the researchers' opinion, many of the increased positive perceptions of City services and City governance noted in the 2006 Community Survey may indicate that the City's increased focus of effort, energy, and application of resources over the past three years is starting to be noticed by residents. Key Research Finding 2: Residents continue to report a strong concern about business development within the City in general and at Kingsdale specifically. While the City is widely perceived to effectively manage its resources, there is still concern among residents regarding the City's economic base: 27% of respondents identified the City's economic base and a perceived need for additional businesses as one of the major issues or problems facing the City. Specifically, residents continue to voice concern about the Kingsdale Shopping Center, with 20% of respondents identifying the Kingsdale Shopping Center as one of the most important problems facing Upper Arlington. These themes are consistent with results from the 2003 Upper Arlington Community survey and a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Upper Arlington library system. Key Research Finding 3: Residents want the Kingsdale property to be redeveloped to feature a variety of uses - not just retail and restaurants. Residents support the City's use of economic incentives to assist with this redevelopment. Overall, the 2006 Community Survey revealed strong residential support for how Upper Arlington's Master Plan has zoned the Kingsdale Shopping Center to be developed in a mixed-use manner. When first queried about Kingsdale and presented with a number of possible development approaches and their benefits, 47% reported they wanted a mixed-use development combining retail, restaurant, entertainment, office, and other uses while another 30% just wanted Kingsdale to change for the better. When provided with additional information about the possible benefits that could result from different development schemes at Kingsdale (e.g., primarily retail / restaurant, primarily office / medical, a mix of both), support for a mixed-use development increased to 63%. Knowing there is substantial residential support for the current zoning requirements provides clear guidance to the City to “stay the course.” This information naturally leads to another question, though. What action, if any, do residents think the City should take to facilitate the redevelopment of Kingsdale? Residents were presented with four possible courses of action, along with a general statement as to each option's likely cost to the City (i.e., no specific cost figures were provided), likely benefits to the City, and how much control the City would have over development at the site. After processing this information, Upper Arlington residents do not seem to want the City to purchase Kingsdale in part or in whole (only 31% prefer these approaches) while a majority (50%) would like the City to use financial incentives to encourage the property owner / developer to redevelop the site. Keeping the status quo - which means simply enforcing the current zoning requirements - was preferred by only 18% of the respondents. Key Research Finding 4: Supporting the findings of the “Focus on the Future” strategic planning process, residents are most likely to report the City needs an indoor swimming facility, more biking/walking/running paths, and a facility featuring exercise/weightlifting equipment. With respect to the Parks & Recreation Department, two main issues were addressed on the 2006 Upper Arlington Community Survey: awareness of the “Focus on the Future” planning process led by the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board; and current use and perceived need for park and recreation amenities / facilities in Upper Arlington. Regarding the resident driven “Focus on the Future” planning process, about half of residents indicate they are somewhat or very much aware of this planning process and 11% of those residents (or 5% of the entire sample) report they have participated in the “Focus on the Future” planning process. Among those who have participated in the process, there was a stronger feeling that their views have been well represented. When asked to identify those facilities and amenities that the City needs more of, the top three requests were indoor swimming facilities (seen as a need by 39% of respondents), biking / walking / running paths (seen as a need by 34% of respondents) and exercise and weightlifting equipment (seen as a need by 29%). Regarding indoor swimming facilities and exercise equipment facilities, almost a third of Upper Arlington residents also report using facilities outside of the City, further building the case for perceived need. When the need for biking, walking and running paths was discussed in a post-survey focus group, this perceived need appears to include both paths within City parks as well as paths that connect parks to their local neighborhoods. When discussed further, participants were more positive to the idea of sidewalks connecting neighborhood parks and schools to their immediate residential areas than to a community-wide comprehensive sidewalk initiative. These results can help the Parks & Recreation Department prioritize where to invest dollars in the future, as well as help guide the “Focus on the Future” planning process. Should any of the frequently requested amenities requiring significant investment be actively pursued by the City at some point in the future, research into what exactly residents desire from these amenities should be explored in greater detail. Key Research Finding 5: Residents provide valuable guidance on City policy initiatives, from the City's gas aggregation program to the City's solid waste plan. Overall, the majority of residents (76%) are aware of the City's gas aggregation program, which combines many Upper Arlington households with households in Bexley, Gahanna, and Dublin to negotiate better natural gas rates. However, more promotion and education may be needed, as almost a quarter of Upper Arlington households are not aware of it and approximately 56% say they do not fully understand it. On a positive note, among the 252 residents who said their household was enrolled in the program and provided an evaluation of it, 56% felt somewhat or very satisfied with the program while another 30% felt neutral (i.e., “somewhere in between satisfied and dissatisfied”). The City is considering changes to its Trash Sticker Program so it may operate more cost-effectively. Of the possible changes to the program (i.e., increasing trash sticker prices, keeping trash sticker prices at current levels but requiring households to bring their trash to the curb, and instituting a flat annual fee for trash removal), the majority of residents (57%) would prefer to keep trash sticker prices at current levels and bring their trash to the curb. However, when this was discussed during a focus group, it was observed that those who opposed this option felt very strongly about it, fearing trash cans and litter would soon clutter streets and neighborhoods, negatively affecting the aesthetics of the community. If you have any questions about the 2006 Community Survey, please contact Emma Bramley in the City Manager's Office at 614-583-5045. 10//06 City Manager's Office City of Upper Arlington 3600 Tremont Road Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221 Phone: 614-583-5040 Fax: 614-457-6620 www.ua-ohio.net |
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