“Residents are pretty happy with things,” said Ron Gailey, founder and CEO of OnPointe Insights. “Compared to other cities, you’re doing very well.”
Residents were asked to rate the city based on several criteria, including direction of the city, parks and open spaces, public safety, and special events. In total, 2,015 residents were surveyed, and they were grouped according to age, gender, how long they have been a Keller resident and whether they had children. They were recruited through email, social media, newsletters and through the city’s website.
According to Gailey’s report, answers to the criteria were as follows with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2%.
- Direction of the city: 79% right direction; 21% wrong direction
- Parks and open spaces: 74% very good/good; 22% OK; 4% poor/very poor
- Crime prevention initiatives: 65% very good/good; 31% OK; 5% poor/very poor
- Fire/ EMS services: 92%very good/good; 7% OK; 1% poor/very poor
- Special events: 72% very good/good; 21% OK; 7% poor/very poor
“Your score is above nearly every other city that I’ve ever checked,” Gailey said. “Fifty-eight percent gave you a nine or a 10, which is extremely high. Very few gave you a rating that was negative in any way, so you’re extremely strong.”
However, the report did show some room for improvement. Based on answers provided by residents, two areas that need to be improved are the number of quality restaurants in the city and traffic.
According to Gailey, when asked about "quality restaurants," 17% answered with good/very good; 33% indicated this was OK; 50% responded with poor/very poor. According to the data, 55% of respondents stated new investments should include incentives to attract quality sit-down restaurants.
When asked if public roads and streets can support growth, 29% responded with good/very good; 46% responded with OK; and 25% responded with poor/very poor. When asked if the city ensures traffic signals are timed to improve traffic flow, 13% responded with good/very good; 32% responded with OK; and 56% responded with poor/very poor.
“Traffic is not really so much about enforcement,” Gailey said. “It’s more about minimizing the congestion that [residents] periodically feel.”
At the conclusion of Gailey’s presentation, Mayor Armin Mizani talked about how the annual survey is a useful tool to help city officials ensure that they are doing their part to keep Keller moving in the right direction.
“This [survey] definitely helps with us seeing what the sentiment is, but also making sure that we’re investing in the right things, and it sounds like for the most part we pretty much are. So this helps us validate that,” Mizani said.
