City Services Satisfaction Survey 2002 City Services Satisfaction Survey | Page 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Arlington residents give high ratings to both the city and their neighborhoods as a place
to live in terms of quality of life. Eighty-six percent (86%) give the city a rating of “good”
or “excellent,” and 81% rate their neighborhood as “good” or “excellent.”
Overall perceptions of most city services are very positive. The fire department
receives extremely high ratings, and higher than any other city services. Street
maintenance and traffic-related issues continue to be areas where residents see the
most room for improvement.
Recreation and library facilities are widely used and are generally perceived very
favorably.
Arlington residents show a strong interest in public transportation options, both intercity
(to Dallas and Fort Worth), and within Arlington. There was particularly strong interest
in rail service to Dallas and Fort Worth.
More Arlington residents this year are reporting having visited the City of Arlington’s
website, and residents continue to feel it is important for the City to provide citizen
access to information by Internet.
Overall, measures from this wave are very consistent with prior year measures.
However, there were some notable improvements over last year. There was a
significant decrease in perceptions of residential burglaries* and junk vehicles as
neighborhood problems for Arlington residents. There was a notable improvement in
perceptions of the condition or major city-maintained streets, as well as a decrease in
perceptions of construction as a problem while driving in Arlington. Ratings of the City
also improved on providing citizen access or input to government.
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* Note: Wording of this category has changed, which may have affected ratings. Wording in December 2000 was
“Burglaries,” and wording in 2001 was “Residential Burglaries.”
Decision Analyst, Inc.
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