Residents Enjoy Living In Wilsonville, According To Survey

WILSONVILLE, OR — The biennial community survey that asks Wilsonville residents to rate their quality of life reportedly found 94 percent of those surveyed consider their lives in Wilsonville 'excellent' or 'good.'

City spokesman Bill Evans said 568 residents — or about 2 percent of the city's population — responded to this year's iteration of the community survey. Along with rating their quality of life, residents were also asked to rate their satisfaction with the city's library, parks, schools, and transit services, as well as whether Wilsonville is a good place to raise children.

“The feedback from this survey is a very useful way for us to know which services are hitting the mark and where we stand to improve,” City Manager Bryan Cosgrove said in a statement. “More than anything, I’m pleased with the long-term stability these results demonstrate. We continue to develop a great community with high-quality amenities in partnership with residents who actively participate and who take pride in living here.”

The survey was reportedly administered via a mail-in form and online, as an "opt in" survey. Evans said the city randomly selected 1,600 households to participate in the mail-in survey; of those, 392 — or 24.5 percent — responded. For the voluntary online survey, 176 residents responded.

Results from the 2018 survey reportedly show improvements in many areas compared to results from the inaugural 2012 survey, as well as those from 2014 and 2016. Evans said the areas that appeared to show the greatest change were with regard to resident satisfaction with housing options, employment opportunities, and recreational opportunities.

Four areas received ratings exceeding the benchmark set for more than 500 other communities that also participate in the National Research Center survey: Satisfaction with the Wilsonville Library (96 percent positive), the city's parks (94 percent), the city's schools (93 percent), and the city's SMART transit services (83 percent).

Other high marks were noted for the quality of Wilsonville's natural environment (93 percent positive responses), overall city cleanliness (92 percent), overall appearance (92 percent), and image (88 percent).

The overall quality of services provided in Wilsonville received 85 percent positive responses, with specific outreach efforts including welcoming citizen involvement (68 percent), being honest (72 percent), and treating all residents fairly (70 percent).

(Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Wilsonville Patch)

On the low end, only 38 percent of respondents gave the city a positive rating for daily traffic flow, with 41 percent indicating “traffic, roads, and transportation” should be the city's top priority over the next five years. Despite vehicular traffic woes, however, 82 percent of respondents gave a positive rating for the ease of foot travel in Wilsonville, and 67 percent offered positive ratings for both bike travel as well as public transportation.

“It’s reassuring to hear that the overwhelming majority of residents consider Wilsonville a good place to live, work and raise families,” Mayor Tim Knapp said in a statement. “Participating in this survey every two years helps us understand what we are doing well and where our future challenges lie. We can use this data to continue to establish meaningful priorities that meet the community’s needs."

Follow this link to see the survey's full results, including supporting documents.

Image via Travis Loose/Patch