Streets, infrastructure polling higher than police headquarters in new city survey results

A multimillion-dollar police headquarters project may be the big issue on the minds of City Hall leaders, but city residents still are far more fixated on a slightly smaller issue: fixing that pothole. A recent city survey found fixing the streets is still the top-of-mind issue for Lawrence residents, outpacing the police headquarters issue.

The survey — conducted by a city-hired consulting firm — asked residents what city services should receive the “most emphasis” over the next two years. Residents were allowed to list three topics. The runaway winner was “maintenance of city streets/utilities,” with 71 percent of respondents placing that in their top three. In second place, with 58 percent, was management of traffic flow and congestion. Then came police and fire issues. Only 34 percent of respondents listed the “quality of police, fire and EMS,” as one of their top three priorities.

Granted, that question doesn’t exactly get at the heart of the police headquarters issue. This one gets a little closer: Residents were asked what three capital improvements projects the city should prioritize “over the next few years.” The survey found 88 percent of respondents listed “repairing or restoring deteriorating infrastructure” as one of their top three priorities. The category of “develop public safety facilities” was No. 2 with 52 percent ranking it in their top three.

That’s not terrible news for the police headquarters project, but it also isn’t great. Fifty-two percent is a majority, and getting a majority of Lawrence residents to agree on anything is quite a chore. But, given all the discussion and all the attention the city has drawn to the inadequacies of the current police facilities, I’m sure some are disappointed that a very slim majority of folks rank this as a top three priority.

Of course, this question doesn’t specifically ask about a police headquarters building either. That’s what is a bit odd about this survey: It never specifically asks about the police headquarters project. Commissioners crafted this survey after voters rejected a proposed sales tax for the police headquarters plan in November. City Hall leaders were trying to figure out why voters voted the way they did. It seems this survey could have asked some pretty specific questions in that regard, but commissioners decided not to use the survey in that manner.

The city is set to pay $29,950 to Olathe-based ETC Institute for the survey, which received about 1,300 responses from a random sample of residents who were asked to participate. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percent. The city also conducted similar surveys in 2011 and 2007. Here’s a look at some other findings:

• It appears $22.5 million is worth at least 15 percentage points when it comes to parks and recreation issues. The survey found that 69 percent of Lawrence residents are now satisfied with the amount of gym space available through the city’s parks and recreation programs. That’s up from 54 percent who were satisfied in 2011. The big difference since 2011 is that the city spent $22.5 million for the Sport Pavilion Lawrence recreation center and related infrastructure at Rock Chalk Park. The recreation center has eight full-court gyms.

• Even though repairing city infrastructure is still the No. 1 thing residents want the city to tackle, folks are happier, although not overjoyed, with the condition of city streets. The survey found 52 percent of people were satisfied with the condition of major city streets. That’s up from 40 percent in 2011. From 2009 to 2019, the city is budgeted to spend about $40 million on major street projects with the proceeds of an infrastructure sales tax that was approved by voters in 2008.

• Something has happened to cause people to feel a lot safer in downtown Lawrence. The survey found 61 percent of respondents felt safe in downtown Lawrence during the evening and nighttime hours. That’s up from 48 percent in 2011. Residents also like the look of downtown these days: 87 percent gave good marks to the appearance and cleanliness of downtown, up from 76 percent in 2011. Satisfaction with parking availability also increased to 53 percent, up from 42 percent in 2011.

• When it comes to big ticket items, here’s the full list of how people ranked their priorities when asked to list their top three improvements:

• Repair infrastructure: 88 percent

• Develop public safety facilities: 52 percent

— Develop trails, bike lanes and other infrastructure for “non-motorized transportation”: 41 percent

• “Support for economic impact initiatives.” I cover City Hall for a living, and I’m not sure I know what that means. I suppose it could be for a conference center, or maybe some type of fund to sweeten the pot for companies looking to come to town, or micro loans to existing companies. I’m not sure, but 38 percent ranked it in their top three priorities.

• Develop parks and recreation facilities: 31 percent

• Support for arts and culture: 29 percent.

You can read the full survey results here. Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the results at their 3 p.m. study session Tuesday at City Hall.