SATISFACTIONRATES Schertz residents have reported being satisfied with overall safety, however satisfaction for city parks and recreation has fluctuated over the past three surveys.
UPCOMING PROJECTS Based on community feedback, the city of Schertz has a focus on increasing outdoor amenities including parks and trails, and on improving roads within the city limits.
City parks and recreation programs
Walking and biking trails
Cypress Point Park
ECKHARDT RD.
73%
50%
2016
2016
35
83%
52%
Tri-County Parkway
Eckhardt Road/ Green Valley Road
2019
2019
79%
58%
2021
2021
FM 1103
Maintenance of major city streets
Overall feeling of safety
46%
89%
Oak Forest Park
1103
Forest Ridge Park
GREAT NORTHERN TRAIL
2016
2016
88%
49%
3009
2019
2019
94%
51%
Over the next 10 years, the city of Schertz hopes to finish the $3.5 million Great Northern Trail Project, which builds 8 miles of trails off the existing trail system at Forest Ridge Park to connect Schertz Parkway to Cypress Point Park. The two sections of the trail are complete, from Schertz Parkway to Forest Ridge Park.
2021
78
2021
1518
SOURCE: CITY OF SCHERTZ/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
FM 1518
WHAT CONCERNS RESIDENTS? Residents were asked to rank their top three concerns over the next five years. Rankings are then tallied to determine residents’ top concerns for the near future.
1604
Parks Transportation
79% 52%
51%
31% 24%
90
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
Traffic
Planning for rapid growth
Road repair/ maintenance/ expansion
Taxes/property taxes/finances
Crime
“I think the constant [feedback] has been that citizens still want to see more trails,” Strum said. “That has been consistent from 2016 to 2021. Even in that 2014 Master Plan, trails were at the top of our list.” Over the last three years, the city has made progress, including the start of the Great Northern Trail that will stretch 8 miles from Schertz Parkway to the northern part of Schertz. Strum said trail projects will also work to create more biking and walk- ing opportunities throughout the city to focus on the connectivity of Schertz. According to Strum, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed citizens to be more outdoor-focused as indoor activities became more regulated. “People have been saying for a decade that they want trails in our community,” Strum said. “Then the pandemic absolutely heightened the demand for that and I think every- body realized, once you were stuck at home, you didn’t really have a lot of other entertainment options.” Traffic, other concerns In addition to more outdoor ame- nities, among the highest ranked con- cerns are traffic at 79%, planning for rapid growth at 52%, roads, property
traffic, property taxes and crime. While the surveys show consis- tent increases year over year in most of the major categories, satisfac- tion overall in parks and recreation decreased by 4% from 2019 to 2021. Now, the parks department is using the data and feedback to plan for more outdoor and recreational activ- ities in the future. “We use the survey as a sort of benchmark,” said Lauren Strum, director of parks and recreation. “These results help us see the priori- ties of our residents and help us give them the parks and trails they want.” Parks and recreation analysis In the survey results, overall, parks and recreation decreased from 83% in 2019 to 79% in 2021. Within the parks and recreation section, the walk- ing and biking trails category saw an increase of 6% between 2019 and 2021, with a 2021 result of 58% satisfac- tion. However, this result is below the national average of 63%. With that in mind, the city wants to improve its ratings, using feedback from the survey and other sources to give Schertz the outdoor and recre- ational activities residents are asking for, Strum said.
SOURCE: CITY OF SCHERTZ/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Resident satisfaction shows city what services need improvement
BY JARRETT WHITENER
the results from local governments to their respective states and the overall average of the country. Public Affairs Director Linda Klep- per said the survey for Schertz is mailed out to around 3,000 randomly selected homes with the goal of get- ting back at least 400 responses. For the 2021 survey, 436 responses came in, according to the city. Klepper said Schertz residents are satisfied at rates above the U.S. aver- age in 41 out of 45 survey areas. “Satisfaction in Schertz is much higher than in other communities,” Klepper said. Survey results are used to help the city align better with what the public desires, she said. In the survey, cit- izens also rank the three areas that they feel will be the biggest challenges over the next five years, such as roads,
About 90% of respondents from a 2021 Schertz survey report they are satisfied with the overall quality of the city services provided, and citi- zens are overall more satisfied with 11 out of 14 major categories—increas- ing in satisfaction percentage-wise between 2019 and 2021. In December, the city of Schertz received the results from the 2021 Citizens Satisfaction Survey, which gives the city an addi- tional form of community feedback. Schertz has conducted three Cit- izen Satisfaction Surveys, in 2016, 2019 and 2021. Survey questions included categories encompassing all of the city departments and over- all results for the city itself. This sur- vey is provided by the ETC Institute, which conducts these surveys for cities across the nation and compares
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