Survey says
June 24, 2008
By Emily Keller
City polls 400 Sammamish residents
Residents of Sammamish continue to love the city for its small-town feel, quiet, schools, safety and lakes, and they still wish the city had less traffic congestion.
But the percentage of residents who approve of the city’s general direction declined slightly since 2005, according to a phone survey of nearly 400 people conducted in April.
The City conducts surveys periodically to gauge public opinion and connect with citizens. The last survey was conducted in 2005, and the city plans to do them every two years going forward, said Communications Director Tim Larson.
“The best thing about this survey is it’s random,” Larson said. “The contented demographic is represented.”
In the 2008 survey, 78.6 percent of respondents agreed with a statement that the city is headed in the right direction overall, and 21.5 percent disagreed. In 2005, 86.6 percent of respondents agreed with that statement and 13.4 percent disagreed.
The percentage of survey respondents who were satisfied with the leadership of the City Council and city administration jumped from 73.6 percent in 2003 to 81.6 percent in 2005, and then declined to 74.2 percent in 2008.
The percentage of respondents who said the overall direction of the city is on the right track rose from 75.6 percent in 2003 to 86.6 percent in 2005, and then dropped to 78.6 percent in 2008. The percentage of respondents who disagreed with that statement dropped from 24.4 percent in 2003 to 13.4 percent in 2005 and rose to 21.5 percent in 2008.
“That’s what I would expect as the city matures,” Larson said about the decline in approval. “After the honeymoon period I’d think there’d be a natural little decline.”
City Manager Ben Yazici attributed the comparatively high approval ratings in earlier years to the city’s work on 228th Avenue, which he called “low-hanging fruit.”
“We’ve started getting into some very difficult topics,” Yazici said about the slightly lower approval rating.
Residents said they still like living in Sammamish for many of the same reasons as in the earlier survey. In 2008, residents said they enjoy living in Sammamish for its small town feel, scenery, parks, quiet neighborhoods, schools, safety and lakes in descending order. In 2003, residents chose scenic beauty, quiet, small town feel, family friendly, safety, schools, lakes and open space.
Residents also had many of the same complaints that they had in prior years.
Asked what they would like to change about Sammamish, respondents in 2008 said traffic congestion, roads and streets, slowing growth, increasing recreational opportunities, increasing businesses, increasing parks, increasing sidewalks and adding a community center, in descending order.
In 2005, the top two changes residents wanted were traffic and congestion and improvements to roads and streets.
Asked what they would like to change to make Sammamish more livable in 2003, residents chose traffic, trails, roads and streets, growth, construction, parks and trails issues, sidewalks, restoration, and 228th Avenue.
Respondents said the city services most in need of improvements in 2008 were roads, police, sidewalks and parks. In 2003, the top four responses to that question were roads, police and fire, parks and patrol issues.
Many residents praised city services.
Survey respondents in 2008 were most satisfied with parks, police, fire, City Hall and City Council, roads and sidewalks, in descending order. In 2003, respondents were most satisfied with services in the order of police and fire, roads, utilities, parks, planning, City Council and City Hall.
But almost one third of residents also expressed dissatisfaction with some city plans.
In 2008, 69.6 percent said Sammamish’s long-range planning for the future is good or excellent and 30.4 percent said it is poor or very poor.
In the recent survey, 50.6 percent of respondents had participated or seen the results of the Town Center planning process. Of those, 67 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the plan is headed in the right direction and 33 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed.
When it came to the Shoreline Master Program, people were less familiar with the program, which only affects residents who live along the city’s three largest lakes, and a higher percentage were dissatisified.
Only 9.2 percent of people were familiar with the plan, and 62.5 percent of those people disagreed or strongly disagreed that the plan is headed in the right direction. 37.5 percent agreed or strongly agreed.
The 2008 survey was conducted from April 21 to 24 and consisted of 31 questions. There were 393 respondents and an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
The 2008 survey pool was 66.4 percent female, and 73.6 percent of respondents had an income higher than $100,000 per year. Ninety-eight percent of participants own their home, which the study attributed to renters being less likely to have landlines. There were no demographic questions about race or ethnicity.
Sound Communication conducted the surveys from 2003 to 2005. Herbert Research conducted the 2008 survey.
Reporter Emily Keller can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or ekeller@isspress.com.
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