The Downtown Neighborhood Revitalization Steering Committee conducted a survey of residents, business owners and workers to ascertain general satisfaction with a range of issues facing downtown and to determine if these issues are high or low priority items.
The following report is a summary of the survey responses.
Who filled out this survey? Profile of Survey Respondents
Most of the downtown residents who filled out the survey have lived downtown for less than ten years, with nearly 50 percent of residents indicating they have lived downtown for less than 6 years.
Of the residents living in downtown, 60 percent rent their units and 40 percent own their units.
A significant majority, 73 percent, are located in downtown west, and seven percent of survey respondents did not answer this question. Both workers and residents answered this question.
Age of Respondents
With the exception of the choice "20 and less", the age of survey respondents is fairly evenly distributed between the remaining three choices. 34 % of respondents are between the ages 21-39, 36 % are between 40 - 59, and 27 % are over age 60.
Income
Over 40 % of people filling out the survey have household incomes of over $50,000. Twenty-two percent had incomes of between $30 and $50,000. Nearly 20 percent of survey respondents had household incomes of below $20,000 a year. Sixty-two people did not answer the question.
Education
The vast majority of survey respondents, 83 percent, had some post highschool education, ranging from 5 percent who had a vocational school education to 26 percent who held a graduate degree. Over one-third of survey respondents have a college degree and about 20 percent have some college experience.
What survey respondents had to say about "Safety"
Police Protection
Most people seem satisfied with the level of police presence and protection downtown. Over 60 percent of the people filling out the survey think that police presence and protection is either good, very good or excellent. However, nearly 30 percent believe that police service is inadequate.
When cross-referenced to responses from downtown residents, the results are nearly equal.
Graffiti and Vandalism
As with police protection, the majority of people filling out the survey believe that vandalism and graffiti prevention are good. Nearly 3 percent think that graffiti and vandalism prevention are excellent and 62 percent of survey respondents indicated that it is good.
When looked at as a group, downtown residents responded with almost the same frequency as the survey group as a whole.
Vandalism and Graffiti Protection
Residents General Survey
Excellent 3% 3%
Very Good 16% 15%
Good 63% 62%
Poor 13% 13%
Don't Know 5% 4%
Skateboarding and Bicycle Control
About 1/5 of people answering the survey indicated that bicycle
and skateboarding is under control and rated it at excellent or
very good. Nearly 50 percent indicated that control of bicyclists
and skateboarders is good. Eighteen percent of respondents answered
that the situation is poor and 15 percent either did not know
or did not answer the question.
Lighting
Nearly 30 percent of survey respondents were not satisfied with
lighting and rated it as poor. Of the remaining 2/3 of survey
respondents, about 15 percent indicated that lighting is either
very good or excellent. Nine percent did not know about lighting
and 43 percent answered that the lighting downtown is good.
When comparing the general survey response to those of residents
only, the results are similar.
General Survey Residents
Lighting is Excellent 4% 5%
Lighting is Very Good 10% 10%
Lighting is Good 44% 44%
Lighting is Poor 29% 32%
Don't Know 13% 10%
Did not Answer 3%
Personal Safety
For the most part, people answering the survey feel satisfied
with their personal safety in downtown. Only 18 percent of the
survey respondents rated personal safety as poor. Sixty percent
of the remaining respondents rated their perception of personal
safety as either good or very good and 3 percent rated their personal
safety as excellent. Another 20 percent either did not answer
or checked "don't know" .
Responses provided by downtown residents mirrors the answers given by the general survey population.
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Missing
Know
Graffiti & 7% 15% 51% 11% 17%
Vandalism
Skateboards & Bikes 12% 20% 39% 4% 15%
Lighting 15% 21% 36% 12% 15%
Personal Safety 5% 18% 43% 16% 18%
What survey respondents had to say about "Skyways"
Security
While most of the survey respondents appear to feel secure about the downtown skyways (56 percent believing them to be either good or very good) almost 1/3 of respondents rated skyway security as poor. Nine percent either did not answer the question or checked "don't know" as a response.
Directions
Over 1/3 of survey respondents think that directions in the skyway system need improvement, and almost 40 percent of survey respondents rated them as good. About 10 percent of respondents think they are either good or excellent. Another 9 percent either did not answer the question or checked "don't know".
Lockers and Restrooms
For both these questions, nearly 50 percent of respondents did not answer the question or checked the "don't know" option. For those survey respondents who had an opinion about the lockers, nearly 40 percent rated them as poor. As for the rest rooms, 30 percent of respondents rated them as good and 7 percent checked the very good or excellent option.
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Missing
Know
Skyway Security 19% 27% 29% 9% 16%
Skyway Hours 13% 30% 31% 10% 17%
Skyway Directions 16% 29% 23% 16% 17%
Skyway Lockers 12% 20% 15% 34% 19%
Skyway Restrooms 6% 22% 19% 32% 20%
What survey respondents had to say about "Planning and Development"
Supermarkets
The majority of survey respondents either did not answer the question about availability of supermarkets downtown, or checked the "don't know" option. Fifteen percent of respondents think that supermarket availability is either good, very good or excellent.
Availability of Supermarkets is Excellent 1% Availability of supermarkets is Very Good 2% Availability of supermarkets is Good 12% Availability of supermarkets is Poor 25% Don't Know 54%
Low Priced Goods
Respondents rated the availability of low priced goods in much the same manner. Nearly 60 percent of respondents checked the "don't know" option.
Availability low priced retail - Excellent .5% Availability low priced retail - Very Good 1% Availability of low priced retail is Good 8% Availability of low priced retail is Poor 28% Don't Know 57%
Moderate Priced Housing
Respondents had more definite opinions about the availability of moderate priced housing. Only 16 percent rated availability of moderate priced housing as poor, while over 60 percent believe moderate priced housing to be either good or very good.
Moderate priced housing is Excellent 8% Moderate priced housing is Very Good 21% Moderate priced housing is Good 41% Moderate priced housing is Poor 16%
Adult Entertainment Control
A little over 1/3 of respondents think that adult entertainment control is good and about 1/4 of respondents think that the control over adult entertainment downtown is poor. Another 30 percent either did not answer the question or checked the don't know option.
Only seventeen percent of people answering the survey believe that adult entertainment controls are very good or excellent.
Adult Entertainment Control is Excellent 5% Adult Entertainment Control is VeryGood 12% Adult Entertainment Control is Good 36% Adult Entertainment Control is Poor 26% Don't know 18%
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Missing
Know
Supermarket 7% 21% 12% 40% 20%
Low Price Retail 13% 15% 11% 41% 19%
Moderate Housing 14% 26% 30% 13% 17%
Entertainment Options 10% 24% 28% 21% 16%
Hennepin Avenue 10% 21% 28% 24% 17%
Adult Entertainment 10% 25% 29% 20% 15%
What survey respondents had to say about "Transportation"
The Transportation Section of the Survey asked people about Traffic flow, signals, public transportation, parking availability, and parking signage.
Traffic Flow, Signage and Public Transportation
With the exception of public transportation, the majority of survey respondents think that over-all traffic management is either good, very good or excellent. On the traffic flow question, nearly 72 percent of respondents answered either good or better. Respondents rated traffic signage similarly, with 60 percent rating signage as good, very good or excellent.
Respondents felt more negatively about public transportation, with 38 percent rating it as poor, 35 percent rating it as good and only 14 percent choosing the very good or excellent option.
Traffic Flow Public Transportation
Traffic flow is Excellent - 4% Public transportation is Excellent - 3%
Traffic flow is Very Good - 20 % Public transportation is Very Good -11%
Traffic flow is Good - 47% Public transportation is Good - 36%
Traffic flow is Poor - 19% Public transportation is Poor - 38%
Priorities for Action
When asked about the urgency of action, respondents ratings were relatively evenly distributed, with traffic flow and parking signage ranked as urgent most frequently.
Urgent Soon None Don't Missing
Know
Traffic Flow 25% 30% 22% 10% 13%
Traffic Signs 13% 33% 26% 14% 14%
Public 16% 26% 37% 8% 12%
Transportation
Parking 9% 23% 43% 9% 16%
Parking Signage 24% 31% 23% 6% 15%
What survey respondents had to say about "Parks & Streetscape Development"
Parks and Landscaping
Over forty percent of respondents believe that downtown parks and landscaping are good. Seventeen percent rated parks as poor and 23 percent rated landscaping as poor. When comparing how people rated parks and landscaping, parks received a higher rating, with 22 percent of respondents rating them as either very good or excellent compared to 13 percent for landscaping.
Community Areas
About 1/4 of respondents rated downtown's community areas as poor. Forty percent rated community spaces as good and 19 percent ranked them as either very good or excellent. Fourteen percent either did not answer the question or selected the option "don't know".
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Missing
Know
Parks 13% 23% 30% 16% 18%
Landscaping 10% 24% 32% 14% 18%
Community Area 6% 26% 38% 11% 18%
What survey respondents had to say about "Sense of Community"
Community Center
According to survey respondents, downtown's Sense of Community Center is clearly inadequate. Sixty-one percent of people selected the "Don't Know" option and 21 percent rated it as poor. Only 11 percent of respondents thought it was good, very good or excellent.
Community Center is Excellent 1% Community Center is Very Good 3% Community Center is Good 7% Community is Center is Poor 21% Don't know 61%
Neighborhood Association and Block Clubs
Respondent's perception or knowledge of the neighborhood association was also weak with 43 percent rating it as poor, 34 percent selecting the "don't know" option and 6 percent choosing not to answer.
Their response to block clubs was similar with 82 percent rating block clubs as poor and only 1 percent rating them as either very good or excellent.
Neighborhood association - Excellent 1% Neighborhood association - Very Good 2% Neighborhood association is - Good 13% Neighborhood association is - Poor 43% Don't know 34%
Youth Activities
The majority of respondents, 52% perceive youth activities as poor, only 6 percent rated activities for youth as very good or excellent.
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Missing
Know
Community Center 3% 12% 20% 44% 21%
Neighborhood Assn. 14% 23% 19% 26% 18%
Block Clubs 45% 32% 7% 6% 10%
Youth Activities 21% 31% 25% 10% 13%
What survey respondents had to say about "the Riverfront"
Respondents were asked to rate riverfront parks, housing, commercial and entertainment. Of these four, riverfront housing received the highest rating, with 47 percent of respondents rating it as either good or excellent. Riverfront commercial received the lowest rating with 45 percent of respondents rating it as poor. Riverfront entertainment also had a low rating with 42 percent of respondents choosing the option "poor".
General Satisfaction with Riverfront Development
Excellent Very Good Poor Don't Know Missing
Good
Parks 2% 5% 30% 35% 23% 5%
Housing 18% 29% 37% 6% 3% 6%
Commercial 2% 4% 24% 45% 17% 8%
Entertainment 3% 6% 28% 42% 15% 6%
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Know Missing
Riverfront Parks 14% 25% 27% 20% 14%
Riverfront Housing 5% 17% 53% 8% 16%
Riverfront Commercial 25% 37% 13% 14% 11%
Riverfront Entertainment 24% 24% 26% 13% 13%
What survey respondents had to say about "Culture"
Arts and Education
Respondents had very high ratings for arts and education. Twenty-one percent of respondents rated arts as excellent and 12 percent rated educational opportunities as excellent. Sixty-five percent of respondents rated downtown arts as good or very good and 61% percent rated education as either good or very good. Very few respondents rated arts poor, 6 percent, and 8 percent rated education as poor.
Arts Educational Opportunities
Arts are Excellent - 21% Educational Opportunity is Excellent - 12%
Arts are Very Good - 33% Educational Opportunity is Very Good - 26%
Arts are Good - 32% Educational Opportunity is Good - 35%
Arts are Poor - 6% Educational Opportunity is Poor - 8%
Don't Know - 5% Don't Know - 14%
Priorities for Action
Urgent Soon None Don't Know Missing
Arts 6% 17% 50% 10% 17%
Educational 6% 15% 44% 18% 18%
Opportunities
What survey respondents had to say about "Maintenance"
When asked about maintenance, the responses were fairly evenly divided among the choices. With the greatest frequency of people choosing good when asked about street maintenance, sidewalk maintenance or recycling. About 1/4 of respondents rated street and sidewalk maintenance as poor.
Topic % 1st Choice % 2nd Choice % 3rd Choice
Safety/Crime 54% 12% 9%
Skyway 5% 12% 14%
Transportation 7% 13% 11%
Downtown Planning 18% 20% 17%
Parks and Streetscape 8% 12% 15%
Sense of Community 8% 9% 10%
Riverfront Development 6% 11% 8%
Arts and Culture 4% 5% 6%
Maintenance 7% 11% 12%
A majority of the people who answered this question rated safety and crime as their top priority. The lowest ranked first choice is Arts and Culture.