I would like to thank all of the 600+ participants that responded to a community survey published in January. Although the survey is not scientific or sponsored by the City of Coronado, I believe the public deserves as many opportunities as possible to have a say in our local issues. I conducted a similar survey in 2013 and the results contributed to changing the signal at 10th and Orange, improving bicycle parking in the downtown area, community outreach for revamping the entrance to Coronado, and led to Nixle coming to Coronado.
It is my hope the results of this survey will contribute to our community’s awareness of certain issues and help provide guidance to the City Council as we prioritize issues for 2016.
This post highlights the results of the survey and includes several charts for reference. Once again, this was not a city-sanctioned survey and the results are not scientific.
Total number of respondents was 601 with nearly half of respondents stating they were a working professional or raising a family. Nearly 2/3 of respondents were between the ages of 25 and 65 years.
Over 90% stated they are satisfied or very satisfied with Coronado as a place to live. More than half of respondents believe Coronado will be about the same or better than it is today in five years, but a sizable percentage, 40%, believe Coronado will be worse off.
Overall, most of the traffic signals in Coronado received satisfactory remarks with the exception of 10th and Orange. In 2013 when the survey was first conducted, only 27% of respondents were satisfied with that signal but now 46% are at least satisfied with the service level. The City worked with Caltrans to change the timing and pedestrian patterns which has reduced wait time for cars and pedestrians.
As far as general cleanliness and maintenance of City resources is concerned, our beaches and parks received satisfactory scores from 95% of respondents. However, our downtown sidewalks were rated poorly by nearly 1 in 5 respondents.
A majority of respondents did not believe Coronado had adequate parking in the residential, beach, or downtown areas. About 54% stated Coronado should consider building a parking garage in the downtown area. The amount of bicycle parking received satisfactory ratings from a majority of respondents. Proximity to destination was listed as the primary factor in determining where to park a bike and a small margin preferred increasing on-sidewalk bike parking to increasing in-street bike parking.
The illegal riding of bicycles on Orange Ave sidewalks was the biggest nuisance reported with illegal vacation rentals being a bother to 60% of respondents. Our City staff has been much more proactive in the past year in cracking down on illegal rentals. If you would like to report a violation you can bring it to the city’s attention using the following email: [email protected].
The appearance of the toll plaza entrance received very low marks with a plurality of respondents preferring to remove the toll plaza wing. A survey specific to the entrance was conducted several months back and the results were nearly evenly split between keeping the toll plaza wing and removing it. In the next couple of months, Councilmembers Woiwode and Bailey will be presenting a recommendation to the entire City Council on a preferred design and reconfiguration of the entrance.
A plurality of 40% were in favor of creating an off-leash dog park while nearly a quarter of respondents said their position would depend on where the park was located.
Only 10% thought bicycle markings/lanes should be placed on every street while a majority felt that bicycle markings/lanes should be placed on some streets. The Council temporarily suspended placing bike markings/lanes on every street while we develop a more comprehensive approach.
Finally, I am always amazed at the level of civic engagement and love of community we all share for Coronado. In addition to the survey results there were over 400 comments received in response to a broad question of what changes big or small should Coronado consider. I will do my best to get back to each comment individually but please know I have read them and sincerely appreciate the time you took in participating.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.
Thank you!
Councilmember and Optimist
Richard Bailey
[email protected]
