Survey: Naperville residents happy, but transit concerns linger

Naperville residents say they're largely happy with the quality of life and services in the city, according to a recent survey.

However, they also found room for improvement, especially in areas related to transportation.

The city this week released the results of an eight-page survey that was distributed to 2,500 random households. Of those, 1,401 completed the poll.

Results showed 92 percent of respondents are satisfied with the overall quality of life in the city, compared to the national average of 77 percent. The figure is down slightly from 2006 when 94 percent felt satisfied. Results have a precision of plus or minus 2.7 percent.

Asked if they were satisfied with the overall value they receive for their city taxes, 70 percent of respondents said they are, up from 68 percent in 2006. The national average is 47 percent.

"A lot of results show the council and staff do for the most part have the pulse of the city, we know what residents are looking for and the council does a great job of being plugged into residents and what they'd like to see," said Nadja Lalvani, community relations manager.

Issues related to transportation, including road maintenance and traffic flow, received some of the lowest marks in the survey. Roughly 30 percent are satisfied with management of traffic flow, 22 percent are satisfied with the ease of north/south travel in the city and 53 percent are happy with maintenance of major city streets.

Residents also listed traffic flow and street maintenance as services that should receive the most increase in emphasis over the next two years, along with emergency preparedness services.

Both the city's public works department and department of transportation, engineering and development handle street maintenance. Dave Van Vooren, director of public works, said the two are coordinating to improve their services and trying to get more employees involved in catching problems early on.

Last winter's weather was especially tough on the roads, which may have contributed to residents' dissatisfaction. Van Vooren said his crews were out almost daily fixing potholes, which in turn slows traffic while that work is under way.

Emergency preparedness is also already on the city's radar. Lalvani said the city has a new emergency preparedness manager, Lt. Dave Szablewski, and a guide for residents to reference. The system was in use last month as the city dealt with flooding.

"I think the residents will feel confident that the city of Naperville does stand prepared for any emergency situation," Lalvani said.

In other findings, 98 percent of respondents say they feel safe in their neighborhoods during the day while 90 percent feel safe at night.

In addition, 94 percent indicated they feel Naperville should invest in environmental initiatives. The city currently has a study of such projects under way.

The future of some city services, however, could soon be affected by the $5.1 million hole in Naperville's budget that could grow to $11 million next fiscal year. The city is discussing how to deal with the shortfall.

"Right now we're in the process of determining core functions and service areas of city government," Lalvani said. "We fully intend to continue to deliver a high level of service to residents."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="/pdf/2008citizensurvey.pdf">The full report</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>