City Services Satisfaction Survey 2003 City Services Satisfaction Survey | Page 23

Rating Of Services On Specific Attributes By General Population
Police Department . The police department tends to be rated positively on all attribute
measures. Areas in which the police department is rated highest include courtesy of
officers, emergency response time, and providing a feeling of safety. The area in which
police are perceived as having the most room for improvement is “enforcing traffic
regulations.” The only notable change from 2001 in residents’ ratings of the police
department was a significant decline in rating of the “visibility of police.” However, this
decline might be due to the 2001 measure being somewhat inflated in the wake of
September 11.
In regard to citizens’ awareness of community policing efforts, residents are most likely
to be aware of police on bike patrols (47%), being involved with children (45%), talking
with residents (45%), or attending community events (40%). Residents are least likely
to be aware of police attending community meetings, talking with business owners,
addressing quality of life offenses, or on foot patrols. Awareness of police attending
community meetings has declined significantly from two years ago.
Fire Department. The Arlington fire department is rated high in terms of community
education services, and is rated very high in regard to emergency services. While the
department’s rating on emergency services has declined from 2000 to 2002, the overall
rating is so high that the decline probably does not indicate a problem, but may bear
watching.
Streets. Arlington residents generally appear to perceive streets as an area where
there is much room for improvement. Areas in which less than 60% of Arlington
residents give the city a rating of “good” or “excellent” include: availability of sidewalks,
management of traffic during peak traffic hours, condition of sidewalks, and condition of
major city-maintained streets. Ratings of Arlington streets declined directionally on
most attributes from 2001 to 2002, and declined significantly on condition of major city-
maintained streets (from 66% to 58% “excellent” or “good”). Rating on maintenance of
medians and right-of-ways has declined significantly over the past two years.
Decision Analyst, Inc.
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