Greendale Community Survey: What Residents Think Of The Village

GREENDALE, WI — Residents of Greendale who responded to the village's 2022 community survey were most satisfied with local fire, police and library services, but least satisfied with tax assessments and road maintenance.

About 13.9 percent of village households responded to the survey for 802 total responses, according to a release from the village. The survey covered a variety of topics, including satisfaction with municipal services, safety, neighborhood conditions, village communications and more.

The full report on survey responses is available on the village's website.

The first survey question asked people what the most important features of living in Greendale are for them. Ninety-three percent of people said crime and safety is "very much" important, with the quality of neighborhoods, parks paths and greenspaces, and quality of schools trailing just behind.

On the other end of things, 57.9 percent of respondents said public transportation is "not at all" important, with 41 percent saying nearby employment is "not at all important." Still, 10.9 percent of respondents said public transportation is "very much" important."

The second survey question asked what people thought of neighborhood conditions. Just 6.3 percent of respondents said road conditions are excellent while 15.9 percent said road conditions are poor.

Respondents gave top marks, however, for parks and green space, with 59.9 percent of respondents rating them "excellent." Notably, 53 percent of respondents said the village's proximity to other cities and highways was "excellent."

Another question posed several initiatives for the village to take up and asked if people would support them.

When it came to improving parks and public spaces, 73 percent of people were "very supportive." Meanwhile, new multi-family residential developments drew the least support of all ideas, with 47.7 percent of respondents saying they wouldn't support it at all and just 10.5 percent being very supportive.

Overall, respondents gave high marks for many safety matters, with pedestrian safety and freedom from vandalism scoring the lowest for satisfaction.

Of the people who responded to the survey, over 82 percent live in single-family houses. Over 12 percent live in a townhouse or condominium and just 4.9 percent of respondents lived in an apartment. Further, 45 percent of the people who responded said they lived in Greendale for over 25 years.

Forty-five percent of respondents had a head of household who is 65 years or older. Just 5.7 percent of respondents had a head of household between 18-34 while 22.5 percent were 51-64 years old.

When it came to other ideas and comments for Greendale, 17 respondents said the village needs to enforce the property maintenance code. Twelve respondents commented "I love Greendale," while 11 said, "the roads are in bad condition."

The village board approved the questions for the survey in June of 2022 with the purpose of gaining residents' input on a variety of topics. The results will help the village board in future decisions and was open from Aug. 1-15, a release from the village said.