Traffic tops list of public's concerns in survey by city

Developing traffic solutions is a top priority for Belvedere residents who responded to a recent city survey.

The results of the survey were presented at an annual workshop held by the City Council on Wednesday. The survey, which the city conducted on its website in January and February, was meant to help city staff and officials focus on topics and projects of community concern.

But with only around 40 responses, council members and planning commissioners who participated in the joint meeting questioned the statistical relevance of the results and expressed interest in engaging more residents.

“I believe this survey was intended to elevate ideas, elevate thoughts and elevate directions,” Mayor Peter Mark said.

About 21% of those who responded said traffic mitigation policies, including on Tiburon Boulevard, are a top priority. Nearly 20% said improving the planning and building process should be a priority, and almost 19% said improving city infrastructure, including parks, lanes, and roads, should be a main priority.

Other areas mentioned included enforcing construction rules on noise, hours, and parking; improving construction cost appraisals and construction time limits; making progress on climate action; and improving the city's emergency preparedness.

Participants also were asked if they had other priorities, if they thought the city was headed in the right direction and if they had any ideas on how to improve city life.

However, many city officials found it difficult to draw a clear conclusion from the survey results, especially the open-ended questions.

Vice Mayor Jane Cooper said she had to search for a clear theme in the responses, which included remarks on the controversial housing project Mallard Pointe, city spending concerns, a previously proposed fire tax and the coyote management plan.

“When I read the all openended, I tried to see if there were any commonalities and I found that comments that supported the pie chart, a lot of them focused on infrastructure,” Cooper said. “However, there were also a lot on communication, or a lack thereof.”

Cooper said the city should continue to work on getting the information out to the public in an effective and clear way, and ensuring people feel like their comments are being heard.

Councilmember Nancy Kemnitzer said that while the survey is a start, more specific questions would help the city interpret the results.

“A survey is only as good as the questions asked, and this gives us some information, but the questions were kind of broad,” she said.