Oklahoma City residents are largely content with the direction their city is heading, a sentiment emerging from the latest resident survey shared on the official city website. The July survey by ETC Institute, discussed in an article published yesterday by Oklahoma City's website, indicates that a striking 72% of participants perceive OKC as "excellent" or "good," outranking the national average for large cities by nearly 30%.
According to the survey's findings, the majority of OKC's denizens consider it a fine place to live (80%), make a living (73%), and rear children (66%). However, they signal issues that need attention, with city street conditions (75%), the effectiveness of the Homelessness Response System (51%), and the flow of traffic (36%) topping their list of concerns for the next few years.
City officials take the annual survey seriously, seeing it as a tool to guide decision-making and resource allocation. City Manager Craig Freeman underlined the city's commitment to tackling these concerns. "We are investing more than $1.5 billion in our street system through the 2025 bond, and one of the reasons is feedback from this annual survey," Freeman stated in the article. He also pointed out the ongoing efforts to address homelessness through the Key to Home Partnership, aimed at housing individuals and providing them with supportive services, according to the City of Oklahoma City website.
Public safety is another aspect gaining approval, with an 83% satisfaction rate for fire protection services. The sentiment somewhat dips in police services satisfaction, which stands at 59%. Meanwhile, stepping into the daylight, 85% of residents feel secure in their neighborhoods, and 70% share this feeling in city parks.
Moving onto transportation, EMBARK's public transit system has residents wishing for routes that access more places (40%), bus stops within walking distance (37%), and greater bus frequency (33%). Parks and recreation services also receive nods of appreciation, especially the Civic Center Music Hall and the maintenance of new or upgraded park facilities.
All is not without criticism, as the City's overall service quality rating experienced a minor drop, the details of which are outlined on the City of Oklahoma City website. Despite this, OKC still stands tall above the national average in eight out of twelve categories, though it could improve in areas such as traffic flow and transit.
With the survey entering its 19th year, 1,283 residents contributed their voice through mail and online responses, capturing a ±2.7% precision at the 95% confidence level. As new projects outlined in the 2025 Bond take shape, Oklahoma City is poised to address the highlighted issues as it continues to forge a path towards a city that not only listens to its residents but actively works to elevate their quality of life.
