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The City of Blue Ash announced the results of a survey of citizens recently completed by the Institute for Policy Research (IPR), an independent research organization affiliated with the University of Cincinnati. IPR specializes in public policy and opinion research. Dr. Eric Rademacher presented the results at the May 8 Council meeting.
The telephone survey was conducted between March 12 and March 16, with 487 Blue Ash adult residents (18+ years of age) interviewed. According to IPR, the margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4%.
The study was initiated by the City Council and Administration to gain a more complete understanding of residents’ opinions, particularly those relating to overall quality of life, Downtown Blue Ash, development and land use, and future airport park development. This is the second citizen survey in recent years where assistance from IPR was utilized to gather data from citizens.
“The survey confirms that the City’s current direction, especially in terms of capital and development-related expenditures, is in line with the desires of our citizens,” said City Manager David Waltz. “To have scientific data that confirms the Council’s and Administration’s thoughts and direction is very meaningful. We see this as a vote of confidence from residents that we are moving in the right direction.”
Mayor Robert J. Buckman, Jr., commented that, “Understanding citizens’ main concerns and priorities is extremely important to City Council. Although we enjoy frequent direct interaction with our residents and regularly receive informal input, to receive objective and statistically valid data confirming that our direction is on the mark is very gratifying.”
Highlights of Survey Results A total of 21 questions were asked of survey participants, with four of those geared towards gathering demographic information. Although highlights of the survey results are summarized below, a PDF of complete survey results can be seen by clicking here.
Quality of Life – Blue Ash citizens remain extremely pleased with overall quality of life in their community. 98.7% answered that they were either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the quality of life in the City of Blue Ash, and 84.3% answered that the overall sense of community in the City of Blue Ash is either “excellent” or “good.” These ratings compare favorably to similar positive ratings received in the 2002 citizen assessment survey. Downtown Blue Ash – It is clear that Downtown Blue Ash is on the minds of citizens. Overall, 75.8% answered that they believe Downtown Blue Ash has a positive impact on the quality of life in Blue Ash. In addition, 63% answered that within the past year, they have visited Downtown Blue Ash businesses “at least once a day” or “a few times a week.” Furthermore, a clear majority (68.4%) answered that they would either “strongly favor” or “favor somewhat” the City providing financial assistance for downtown redevelopment to encourage the development of new businesses in downtown. When asked to rank first and second priorities for the City (over the next ten years), citizens answered attracting new business development downtown second most frequently only to development of the airport park. Future Airport Park – Residents appear well informed about efforts related to the future 130 acre park near the airport as 85.8% answered that they have heard either “a great deal” or “some” about those efforts. Of specific overall City projects, the airport park ranked as the highest priority for the City over the next 10 years, with 53.7% answering they believe it should be either the first or second priority. The future airport park was also the most frequently noted item when asked an open-ended question regarding the single most important issue facing Blue Ash during the next five years. Regarding the nature of specific development within the airport park and when asked which they would like to see Blue Ash develop first, the performing arts & conference center and greenspace were most frequently selected.
Quality of Life – Blue Ash citizens remain extremely pleased with overall quality of life in their community. 98.7% answered that they were either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the quality of life in the City of Blue Ash, and 84.3% answered that the overall sense of community in the City of Blue Ash is either “excellent” or “good.” These ratings compare favorably to similar positive ratings received in the 2002 citizen assessment survey.
Downtown Blue Ash – It is clear that Downtown Blue Ash is on the minds of citizens. Overall, 75.8% answered that they believe Downtown Blue Ash has a positive impact on the quality of life in Blue Ash. In addition, 63% answered that within the past year, they have visited Downtown Blue Ash businesses “at least once a day” or “a few times a week.” Furthermore, a clear majority (68.4%) answered that they would either “strongly favor” or “favor somewhat” the City providing financial assistance for downtown redevelopment to encourage the development of new businesses in downtown. When asked to rank first and second priorities for the City (over the next ten years), citizens answered attracting new business development downtown second most frequently only to development of the airport park.
Future Airport Park – Residents appear well informed about efforts related to the future 130 acre park near the airport as 85.8% answered that they have heard either “a great deal” or “some” about those efforts. Of specific overall City projects, the airport park ranked as the highest priority for the City over the next 10 years, with 53.7% answering they believe it should be either the first or second priority. The future airport park was also the most frequently noted item when asked an open-ended question regarding the single most important issue facing Blue Ash during the next five years. Regarding the nature of specific development within the airport park and when asked which they would like to see Blue Ash develop first, the performing arts & conference center and greenspace were most frequently selected.
Additional miscellaneous survey responses showed high satisfaction with Blue Ash’s overall land use mix (89.7%), and nearly three-quarters of respondents indicating that physical connection of more Blue Ash neighborhoods to one another is at least somewhat important.
Questions regarding the survey may be directed to the City Manager’s Office at 745-8510 (E-mail administration@blueash.com) or to Dr. Eric Rademacher at UC’s IPR at 556-3304.