The results are in, and Sammamish residents appear to be overwhelmingly pleased with the direction the city is headed.
In a cell phone and land line survey conducted in mid May by Bellevue-based Hebert Research Inc., a sample of 400 residents returned high marks across the board.
“This is pretty remarkable when you’re talking about a broad base of the public, to achieve this level of homogeneity,” said Jim Hebert, president of Hebert Research Inc.
The survey, which is conducted every two years, compared results from the same 32 questions asked in 2008. In nearly all cases, percentages were up.
More than 88 percent of respondents said they either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they were satisfied with the overall direction of the city — up from 78 percent in 2008.
More than 85 percent strongly agreed or somewhat agreed they were satisfied with the city council and administration — up from 74 percent in 2008.
“The survey really showed that the citizens are overall very happy with the way things are going, that we’re doing things right,” Mayor Tom Odell said. “There still are some areas that we need to work on, there’s always room for improvement.”
Citizens almost unanimously indicated they felt safe in Sammamish. More than 96 percent said they felt very safe or somewhat safe after dark. Ninety-nine percent said they felt very safe or somewhat safe in their neighborhood during the day.
Hebert said he’s never seen safety statistics similar to Sammamish’s.
“What we’re seeing is just the opposite of most cities, particularly cities west of here,” he said.
Residents also indicated they were pleased with parks and recreation opportunities and the city’s effort to protect the environment.
In terms of areas that needed improvement, roads topped the list at 22 percent, down slightly from 23 in 2008. Parks jumped drastically from 7 percent and fifth place in 2008 to second on the list of needed improvement at 18.5 percent.
Hebert said the Sammamish survey was only the second he’s done this year out of hundreds that received what he calls a “wow” status. The only other was the Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit at the Seattle Center.
“I may not see another one this year, I may not see one for a long time,” Hebert said. “Years go by and I don’t see it.”
