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The next section of the survey asked respondents to rate how well City Government performs in several areas. Table 5 lists these areas and the distribution of responses on a scale ranging from "very poorly" to "very well."
Table 5: City Government Performance Areas and Distribution of Performance Rating Responses
|
|
Percent of 785 Respondents
|
|
Very Poorly
|
Poorly
|
Average
|
Well
|
Very Well
|
No Opinion
|
|
Providing convenient access to City services
|
0.2%
|
2.7%
|
33.4%
|
42.4%
|
12.4%
|
8.9%
|
|
Managing growth
|
11.5%
|
20.7%
|
42.6%
|
16.4%
|
3.2%
|
5.7%
|
|
Managing/relieving traffic congestion
|
23.3%
|
34.5%
|
30.9%
|
7.8%
|
1.4%
|
2.1%
|
|
Land use planning
|
7.3%
|
13.2%
|
40.2%
|
25.9%
|
3.3%
|
10.1%
|
|
Providing sufficient supply of water
|
2.2%
|
5.0%
|
30.6%
|
46.7%
|
11.7%
|
3.8%
|
|
Providing affordable housing
|
10.3%
|
26.4%
|
32.2%
|
15.2%
|
3.0%
|
12.9%
|
|
Maintaining the community's visual appeal
|
1.5%
|
2.9%
|
16.6%
|
49.7%
|
27.1%
|
2.2%
|
|
Informing citizens about City issues and problems
|
2.9%
|
7.1%
|
35.4%
|
38.2%
|
11.2%
|
5.1%
|
|
Considering citizens' opinions before making decisions
|
7.0%
|
14.0%
|
39.1%
|
20.5%
|
3.4%
|
16.1%
|
|
Overall management of City services
|
1.6%
|
4.9%
|
45.3%
|
38.3%
|
3.8%
|
6.1%
|
Table 6 lists the items from highest to lowest average rating on a 100-point scale, along with the 95 percent confidence interval for each. In general, respondents judge the City as performing “well” or “average” in most areas. The one exception is in managing and relieving traffic congestion, where respondents gave the City a low rating.
Respondents commented on any items that they rated “poorly” or very poorly”. The prevailing themes in comments regarding traffic congestion are traffic signalization and roadway capacity. More specifically, respondents perceive the traffic signal system as lacking coordination and synchronization. They perceive the approach to infrastructure planning as reactive, rather than proactive.
Most comments regarding affordable housing focus on cost. The cost of purchasing a home is perceived to be beyond what many people can afford.
Regarding growth management, two themes are dominant. Most comments either point out that uncontrolled sprawl has been allowed to occur, or not enough planning effort is directed toward anticipating and accommodating growth.
Table 6: City Government Performance Areas and Average Performance Ratings
|
|
Number of Respondents
Expressing an Opinion
|
Average Rating Score
87.6 to 100 = Very Well
62.6 to 87.5 = Well
37.6 to 62.5 = Average
12.6 to 37.5 = Poorly
0 to 12.5 = Very Poorly
|
95 Percent
Confidence Interval
|
|
Maintaining the community's visual appeal
|
769
|
75
|
+/-3.1
|
|
Providing convenient access to City services
|
717
|
68
|
+/-3.4
|
|
Providing sufficient supply of water
|
756
|
65
|
+/-3.4
|
|
Informing citizens about City issues and problems
|
746
|
63
|
+/-3.5
|
|
Overall management of City services
|
739
|
60
|
+/-3.5
|
|
Land use planning
|
707
|
51
|
+/-3.7
|
|
Considering citizens' opinions before making decisions
|
660
|
50
|
+/-3.8
|
|
Managing growth
|
741
|
45
|
+/-3.6
|
|
Providing affordable housing
|
685
|
43
|
+/-3.7
|
|
Managing/relieving traffic congestion
|
770
|
33
|
+/-3.3
|
Statistically, most ratings in 2003 did not change compared to 2001. The only statistically significant changes are in two areas. Despite the fact that respondents gave a low performance score for the City’s efforts to manage and relieve traffic congestion, this score is significantly improved over 2001. Respondents also gave a significantly higher average rating for the City’s efforts to provide affordable housing.
Figure 2: Fort Collins City Government
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