Darien's Resident Survey Results Are In: Highlights

For the first time in three years, Darien conducted a citizen survey to determine how residents feel about their quality of life in the city. Friday, results were shared.

A total 484 people participated in the survey, which was broken into the categories of administration, public works and public schools. This is a small improvement from the 462 people who filled it out in 2013, the last year it was circulated.

According to the survey results report, the majority of Darien citizens were pleased with how Darien is being run, and were able to provide feedback on what could be better.

The highlights of the survey are broken down below:

• 430 people (89.58 percent) said they were satisfied with the quality of life in Darien. 50 people said they were not.
• 378 people (80.25 percent) said they were satisfied with how the city manages its finances. 93 people said they weren’t.
• 411 people (87.82 percent) said they liked the information displayed on the city’s website. 57 said they weren’t satisfied.
• 402 people (84.63 percent) said they were satisfied with Darien’s efforts to keep its residents informed about issues. 73 people disagreed.
• 391 people — an overwhelming majority — said they got most of their Darien news through email. 162 said they got more from Neighbors Magazine, and 59 said they got most of their news from TV.
• In one of the more divided categories, 347 people (75.27 percent) said they considered Darien’s services a good value for the taxes and fees they pay. 114 people disagreed with the statement.
• 348 people (79.09 percent) said they feel Darien is transparent with its business matters like hiring, budgeting and taxes. 92 people said they weren’t.
• Residents were asked to detail what they considered the top 3 priorities to be for the next 5 years in Darien. 381 participants answered, and these were some of their responses. Mentioned several times were crime and safety concerns, as well as road improvements and minimizing taxes.
• Prioritizing drainage issues in yards and streets
• Better management
• Crime
• Getting more officers on the street
• Roadways
• Seniors
• Improved parks
• Keeping taxes down
• Monthly brush pickup
• Noisy airplanes flying overhead
• Keeping stores full, not out of business
• Attracting more business
• Gangs
• Keeping Darien beautiful
• Prevent storm sewer flooding
• Schools
• Lowering water bills
• Broadening the tax base
• Infrastructure maintenance
• Skunk and coyote issues
• 437 people (91.42 percent) said they felt safe in their neighborhoods during the day. 41 said they didn’t.
• 362 people (76.21 percent) said they felt safe in their neighborhoods at night. 113 said they didn’t.
• 360 people said they felt safe in Darien’s parks — 92 said they didn’t.
• Just 284 people (61.61 percent) said they felt police patrol in Darien was sufficient — an issue that came up several times in the survey. 117 people disagreed.
• Residents that said they had safety concerns wrote what they worried most about. These were some of their answers:
• More police patrol is needed
• Darien needs more streetlights
• Robberies in the area
• House break-ins
• Car break-ins
• The mayor stating Darien residents are easy targets for theft
• Lots of petty crimes
• Drug dealing and use
• Drunk drivers
• Kidnapping attempts
• Wildlife
• When asked what the Darien police force should focus on in the coming 5 years, many people answered that they needed to increase their patrol presence across the city and look into the recent burglaries and robberies.

For full results of the survey, click here.

--

Photo by Anicka Slachta for Patch