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City of Austin releases results of community satisfaction survey

The survey touched on topics like housing, transportation, growth and safety.

AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin on Wednesday released the results from its 2019 Community Survey, highlighting satisfaction – and dissatisfaction – with major City services.

City leaders partner with an outside consultant, the ETC Institute, to administer the survey across Austin. A total of 2,049 surveys were completed between June 29 and Sept. 16, with a minimum of 200 per council district

Here's an overview of the results.

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Housing

  • 68.1% say there's not enough availability of affordable housing for low to moderate-income families
  • 48.5% say there's not enough access to quality housing they can afford

Transportation

  • 64.3% are upset with traffic flow on major city streets
  • 83.2% are upset with traffic flow on major highways
  • 34.7% don’t feel safe traveling with other drivers on roads
  • 37.7% are upset with the City’s timing of traffic signals on city streets
  • 39.3% don’t feel comfortable using transportation options available to them
  • 53% say their travel time is not predictable
  • 32.6% are upset about on-street bike accessibility
  • 47.1% are not happy with transportation options (aside from personal vehicles) to get around Austin

Growth

  • 61.3% are not happy with how well the City of Austin is planning for growth
  • 34.4% are not happy with the overall maintenance of major city streets
  • 56.5% are not happy with the overall quality of development review, permitting and inspection services
  • 54.8% are not happy with the overall quality of planning and zoning services

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Safety

  • 54.6% don’t feel safe while walking alone downtown at night

Other

  • 34.6% don’t think the City makes enough effort to be transparent
  • 39.3% are upset about water and wastewater rates
  • 40.1% not happy with the overall value they receive for their city tax dollars and fees
  • 38.1% think the city of Austin is a bad place to retire
  • 31% not happy with the cleanliness of city streets/public areas

Between 2018 to 2019, city leaders said satisfaction changed on the following topics:

  • Transportation options: 2% decrease in satisfaction
  • Safety: 3% decrease in satisfaction
  • Government facilities/infrastructure: 3% decrease in satisfaction

The City also noted that 70% gave positive ratings for Austin as a place to live and 60% were satisfied with the overall quality of City services.

You can read through the full report here.

TO: Mayor and Council Members FROM: Kimberly Olivares, Chief Performance Officer DATE: February 12, 2020 SUBJECT: 2019 Community Survey Results I am pleased to release the results of the 2019 Community Survey.

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