Residents of The Woodlands Township rated transportation as one of the most important issues it faces, according to a survey conducted late last year that also saw high approval ratings for the region’s school system and regional government.

According to a presentation by National Research Center, the survey randomly mailed to 4,500 residents in fall 2018 had a 24 percent response rate, which survey associate Jade Arocha said was a good return for a randomly mailed survey.

The township conducts a survey every two years, according to information presented at The Woodlands Township Feb. 27 board of directors meeting.

Among the statistics presented at the meeting were high levels of concern about mobility, with about a quarter of respondents indicating they would like to see traffic flow and mobility improved. Similarly, 30 percent of respondents commented on issues relating to traffic and mobility when asked to describe what they thought was the most important issue facing the community.

On a related note, 62 percent of responders said they use a personal vehicle to commute to work, 19 percent use a carpool and 5 percent use a park and ride.

Incorporation and annexation by Houston were the second-most common issues of concern to residents who responded, with about 20 percent commenting on that topic. Other topics that received responses included development, taxes, public safety, flooding and infrastructure.

Another question in the survey dealt with safety. More than half of survey respondents said they felt the same level of safety as two years ago, about three in 10 felt less safe, and 15 percent felt safer, according to the presentation.

In addition, nearly all of the respondents—96 percent—gave good or very good ratings to the school system. About 9 in 10 responders gave positive ratings to The Woodlands Township government, county government and their local Municipal Utility District, according to the surveyors.

Although the 24 percent response rate was good for a mailed survey, director Bruce Rieser said he would like to improve on that in the future.

“I would love to see us get to a much higher percentage of our residents gauged,” he said.

A full copy of the survey can be found on The Woodlands Township website.