Most Wauwatosa residents are satisfied with their city as a place to live, according to a new survey of more than 500 residents done by a market research firm.
But traffic enforcement, congested streets, the city’s planning and management of redevelopment, housing affordability and crime prevention should all be invested in more, the report recommends.
The 2024 City of Wauwatosa Community Survey published on the city website this month reveals what Wauwatosa residents think about the place they call home.
Here’s what to know.
What’s the Wauwatosa Community Survey?
The 2024 City of Wauwatosa Community Survey gives a glimpse of what Wauwatosa residents think of the city service qualities, priorities and overall performance.
Administered by market research firm ETC Institute, the survey is the third of its kind Wauwatosa has done in the last eight years. ETC Institute also handled Wauwatosa’s community surveys in 2016 and 2019.
The firm analyzed survey results from residents to determine the overall importance of city services and their satisfaction with those services. From that analysis, the firm highlighted services they recommend as the top priorities for investment in order to raise the City’s overall satisfaction rating.
Who took part in the Wauwatosa Community Survey?
The six-page survey was mailed to a random sample of Wauwatosa households with an explanation of the survey’s purpose and directions on how to return their surveys in the mail. Residents were also provided with a link to an online survey if they preferred to complete it virtually.
Everyone who completed the survey was required to enter their home address before submitting the online survey, and the institute matched addresses with those that they originally selected.
Organizers got 507 households to give input for the survey, which exceeded their goal of 400 households. The city’s population is more than 49,000.
Some results highlighted those “who had an opinion,” which excludes those who responded “don’t know” on the question.
What’s the report show?
Vice President and Director of Community Research at ETC Institute Jason Morado presented the results of the survey at Tuesday’s Wauwatosa Committee of the Whole meeting.
Wauwatosa rates above the U.S. average in 44 of 51 areas, and higher than the regional average in 47 of 51 areas, according to the report.
The survey is broken down into separate sections:
- Purpose and methodology
- Major findings
- How Wauwatosa compares to other communities in the region in more than 50 services addressed
- Recommendation priorities Wauwatosa can invest in
- Charts and graphs to help visualize the report’s findings
- Importance-satisfaction analysis
What does Wauwatosa Community Survey reveal about what residents think of their city?
Overall, satisfaction with Wauwatosa as a place to live is high.
Eighty-eight percent of Wauwatosa residents who responded to the survey with an opinion said they’re satisfied with the city as a place to live.
However, only about half of residents with an opinion said they’re satisfied with the City as a community that is moving in the right direction. That’s down from about 70% in 2019.
Since 2019, people are more satisfied with snow removal, how easy city employees were to contact, and tree and lawn maintenance along streets and other public areas.
People are less satisfied in the last five years, however, by the city’s handling of affordable housing, management of redevelopment, local traffic law enforcement and resolving billing problems.
Reckless driving, development among top concerns for residents in Wauwatosa survey shows
This year, local traffic law enforcement got the lowest rating for Wauwatosa residents’ satisfaction, according to the community survey.
Wauwatosa has been working to curb reckless driving for years and has resources like the traffic calming application to help the city identify streets that could use extra help to address traffic safety.
Development is another issue that takes center stage in the city and the survey results. Almost half of those surveyed are dissatisfied at how well the City of Wauwatosa is planning and managing redevelopment.
At least 11 significant development projects are currently in process, according to an online city map.
The need for more affordable housing in Wauwatosa, like in other communities across the country, has been widely documented and discussed in reports, by residents during city meetings and by city officials, including Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride.
McBride says the redevelopment dissatisfaction on the Wauwatosa survey could come from both those who think the city isn’t doing enough to address affordable housing and those who don’t want development at all.
He said the city will continue to invest in housing, development and other services residents expressed low satisfaction in through the 2025 city budget.
“We’ve got a long way to go. But again, more than half the people said we’re moving in the right direction,” McBride said. “If you can get to that number in America right now, given the polarization and the concern about where we’re headed as a country, I’d say we’re doing pretty well.”
Top recommendations from the Wauwatosa Community Survey
Based on analysis of residents’ responses, here are the top priorities for city services the report says Wauwatosa should invest in:
- How well the city is managing and planning redevelopment
- Flow of traffic and congestion management
- Enforcing traffic laws
- Condition of major city streets
- Overall efforts to prevent crime
None of the parks and recreation categories were selected as high priorities for investment, as results showed residents are highly satisfied with those services, according to the report.
Other findings from the Wauwatosa survey
Wauwatosa residents were asked in the survey what would encourage them not to use their car for trips of 1 mile or less.
Almost half said traffic calming to slow speeds as well as shortening crossing distances would help. Some said new or widened sidewalks, while others asked for more bike parking at destinations.
Compared to other cities in the Plains Region and the U.S., residents in Wauwatosa are for the most part more satisfied with their city’s library, trash, maintenance and public works services.
Read the full news release from the Milwaukee City Sentinal, including a copy of the City’s full survey results, posted September 18th, 2024 by Bridget Fogarty