What’s going right with Boerne? What needs to be improved? Where do you go for leisure? How safe do you feel when you’re out and about?
Boerne city officials have launched the 2024 Community Survey, to gauge citizens’ opinions on city operations, including quality of life, development, transportation, communication, public safety and more.
Chris Shadrock, city director of communications, said the city conducts such surveys about every two years, the most recent gathering residents’ opinions at the very start of 2023.
Feedback from these surveys is directly applied to the city’s strategic planning and used to identify specific goals and inform the allocation of resources, he said.
The survey, found on the city’s website, will remain active through Dec. 20. The results will be presented to City Council at the city’s annual Winter Workshop in late January or early February.
By having a consistent set of questions in every survey, Shadrock said the city “is always looking to delve deeper into the topics asked about and those brought up by participants, to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented.”
Results of surveys in 2021 and 2023 helped determine the projects included in Prop A and Prop B of the “Quality-of-Life” bond election in 2022.
Survey results were referenced as the city created and implemented the Urban Corridor Design and Enhancement Guide, which developed design vocabulary and material selections for future public and private improvements at key locations.
Additionally, Shadrock said, the survey results assist city leadership in setting strategic goals, allocating resources and ensuring that city initiatives align with community priorities.
The two previous surveys saw 1,133 and 1,203 Boerne residents participate “and we are continuously hoping to receive great resident participation,” he added.
Among questions on the survey, residents are given 12 “City Amenities” and are asked, “Which two should the city devote more time and resources to enhance?”
Among the 12 are city parks, Boerne City Lake, athletic playing fields, volunteer opportunities, city hike-and-bike trails, the nature centers, public art, the city pool, the library and its services, and the visitor’s center.
The “Safety and Security” sections asks respondents to choose two areas for more city time and resources, from among: panhandler/ solicitor control, downtown safety, traffic enforcement, pedestrian safety, fire prevention programs, vandalism/graffiti, school campus safety support, fire-EMS response, neighborhood safety patrolling, crime prevention initiatives and emergency preparation.
Shadrock said the city hopes to top past participation numbers as the city population and reach continues to grow.
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