HomeMy WebLinkAboutInformation Update.20190128
INFORMATION UPDATE
I. 2018 Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results
II. 2019 Capital Asset Major Projects Update
INFORMATION UPDATE
2018 Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results
2019 Capital Asset Major Projects Update
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Karen Harrington, Director of Quality
THROUGH: Sara Ott, Assistant City Manager
DATE OF MEMO: January 23, 2019
RE: Summary of 2018 Citizen Survey Results – Information
Only
REQUEST OF COUNCIL:
None. Information only.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Aspen has received the results of its 2018 Citizen Survey, which was
administered for the thirteenth time this year. The goal of the survey is to help
staff and Council understand resident attitudes about City facilities, services and
policies. The City of Aspen contracts with National Research Center, Inc. (NRC)
to implement the survey, which is mailed to registered voters.
In 2018, 303 people responded to the survey, yielding a response rate of 19%.
The full survey is attached.
SUMMARY:
One of the most important findings is that Aspen residents continue to feel safe in
our community. Ninety-three percent of respondents gave excellent (53%) or
good (40%) ratings to the overall quality of life in Aspen in 2018. Ratings of the
overall quality of life have remained stable since this question was first asked in
2007.
The executive summary of the survey offers insights into overall scores for the
departments and services as well as residents’ stated priorities.
The most notable difference between this survey and past surveys was the
breadth of the drops in service quality ratings. However, survey scores over time
can be variable. Nationally for instance, NRC has seen recent drops in scores
for recreation centers and communication with residents. While it can be difficult
to attribute such declines to any one cause, high-impact projects and
controversial policy debates can certainly have bearing.
Debates regarding City office space locations and sizing; changes in parking
policies and pricing; and the Castle Creek Bridge project (which included
unavoidable intrusions of traffic detours into neighborhoods for extended periods
of time) are all potential examples within the Aspen community. To the extent
that the City can pinpoint reasons for the declines in service quality rating, they
will be addressed. Providing high-quality services that meet the needs of the
community remains a top priority for City leaders and staff.
The City Manager’s Office does take this survey seriously and uses it as a tool
for quality improvement and to integrate positive changes across the
organization.
The City is poised to send a press release to the media, as it does every year,
with the survey results after Council receives this memo.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Information only. For more information or further questions related to the survey, contact
Karen Harrington, Director of Quality for the City of Aspen.
ASPEN CITIZEN SURVEY
Report of Results
November 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 1
SURVEY BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................... 5
SURVEY RESULTS ................................................................................................................................... 7
Overall Quality of Life .............................................................................................................................. 7
City Services ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Overall Quality of Services .............................................................................................................. 9
City Department Performance ................................................................................................... 10
Recreation and Arts Facilities ..................................................................................................... 14
Street Maintenance and Snow Removal .................................................................................. 24
Water Services............................................................................................................................... 26
Electric Utility ................................................................................................................................. 27
Government Performance........................................................................................................... 28
Policy and Planning ............................................................................................................................... 29
Importance of Potential Community Issues and Needs ....................................................... 29
Sustainability and Mobility .......................................................................................................... 30
Public Information ................................................................................................................................. 34
APPENDIX A: COMPLETE SET OF SURVEY RESPONSES ....................................................................... 39
APPENDIX B: VERBATIM RESPONSES .................................................................................................. 81
APPENDIX C: SELECT SURVEY RESULTS COMPARED BY RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS ................ 96
Select Survey Results by Respondent Age ....................................................................................... 96
Select Survey Results by Respondent Gender .............................................................................. 103
Select Survey Results by Annual Household Income .................................................................. 108
APPENDIX D: SELECT SURVEY RESULTS BY SURVEY YEAR .............................................................. 113
APPENDIX E: SURVEY METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 127
APPENDIX F: SURVEY MATERIALS .................................................................................................... 130
Prepared by
National Research Center, Inc.
2955 Valmont Rd., Suite 300; Boulder, CO 80301
303-444-7863 • www.n-r-c.com
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
FIGURES
Figure 1: Overall Quality of Life in Aspen, 2018 ......................................................................................................... 7
Figure 2: Overall Quality of Life by Survey Year ......................................................................................................... 7
Figure 3: Feeling of Safety in Aspen as a Whole by Survey Year ........................................................................... 8
Figure 4: Feelings of Safety in Aspen by Survey Year .............................................................................................. 8
Figure 5: Overall Satisfaction with City of Aspen Services, 2018 ........................................................................... 9
Figure 6: Overall Satisfaction with City of Aspen Services by Survey Year .......................................................... 9
Figure 7: Performance of City of Aspen Government by Survey Year ............................................................... 11
Figure 8: Quality of City of Aspen Services by Survey Year .................................................................................. 12
Figure 9: Additional Feedback about City Services, 2018 ..................................................................................... 13
Figure 10: Ratings of ARC Communication, 2018 ................................................................................................. 14
Figure 11: Quality of Programs Provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center by Survey Year ..................... 15
Figure 12: Red Brick Recreation Center by Survey Year ....................................................................................... 16
Figure 13: Parks, Athletic Fields and Trail System by Survey Year ..................................................................... 17
Figure 14: Quality of Open Space Events and Programs by Survey Year .......................................................... 18
Figure 15: Quality of Aspects of City Parks, Open Space and Trails by Survey Year ...................................... 18
Figure 16: Current Level of Enforcement for Dogs by Survey Year .................................................................... 19
Figure 17: Concerns Related to City Parks, Fields, Open Space and Trails, 2018 ............................................ 20
Figure 18: Quality of Wheeler Opera House by Survey Year ................................................................................ 21
Figure 19: Value of the Red Brick Center for the Arts, 2018 ................................................................................. 22
Figure 20: Quality of the Red Brick Center for the Arts, 2018 .............................................................................. 23
Figure 21: City Streets in Good Repair by Survey Year.......................................................................................... 24
Figure 22: City Streets and Snow Removal by Survey Year ................................................................................. 25
Figure 23: Quality of Water Services Overall by Survey Year ............................................................................... 26
Figure 24: Water Services by Survey Year ............................................................................................................... 26
Figure 25: Electric Services Compared by Provider, 2018 .................................................................................... 27
Figure 26: The City of Aspen's Electric Services by Survey Year ........................................................................ 27
Figure 27: City of Aspen Government Performance by Survey Year .................................................................. 28
Figure 28: Importance of Actions the City Could Take by Survey Year ............................................................. 29
Figure 29: Interest in Purchasing an Electric Vehicle, 2018 ................................................................................. 30
Figure 30: Likelihood of Doing Each, 2018 .............................................................................................................. 31
Figure 31: Preference for the Entrance to Aspen, 2018 ........................................................................................ 32
Figure 32: Preference for Approach to Downtown Parking, 2018 ...................................................................... 33
Figure 33: Satisfaction with Information Sources by Survey Year ..................................................................... 34
Figure 34: Topics About Which Residents Would Like More Information, 2018 .............................................. 36
Figure 35: Concerns about City Communications, 2018 ...................................................................................... 37
Figure 36: Importance of Website Uses by Survey Year ....................................................................................... 38
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Survey Background and Methods
In an effort to understand citizen attitudes about City facilities, services and policies, the City of
Aspen conducts an annual resident survey. The City’s baseline survey was conducted in 2006.
Aspen first contracted with National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) to implement the survey in
2007; the 2018 survey was the thirteenth iteration.
A postcard was mailed to 1,750 randomly selected registered voter households in the City of
Aspen, notifying them that they had been chosen to participate in the survey. A survey followed in
the mail after one week, with another arriving one week later. Approximately 7% of the mailed
surveys were returned as undeliverable because the housing unit was vacant or the postal service
was unable to deliver the survey as addressed. There were 303 respondents to the survey; yielding
a response rate of 19%. The margin of error is plus or minus six percentage points around any
given percent for all respondents (303). However, there were many questions where over half of
the respondents indicated that the question was not applicable or that they did not know enough
to answer the question. In these cases, the margin of error is higher.
The survey results were weighted to reflect the demographic profile of all registered voters in the
City of Aspen.
Key Findings
Aspen residents enjoy a high quality of life and feel safe in their community • Ninety-three percent of respondents gave excellent (53%) or good (40%) ratings to the overall
quality of life in Aspen in 2018; only 7% gave a fair rating and less than 1% felt quality of life in
Aspen was poor. • Ratings of the overall quality of life have remained stable since this question was first asked in
2007. • Nearly all survey participants agreed that they feel safe in all parts of Aspen, both during the
day and after dark. • About 9 in 10 residents were somewhat or very satisfied with the Police Department, similar to
what has been observed previous surveys. Services provided by Police staff were deemed
accurate and prompt by over 9 in 10 respondents, and a similar proportion agreed or strongly
agreed that Police staff were helpful, courteous, knowledgeable and informative.
Utility services continue to be lauded while street maintenance services rebounded • Nine in 10 respondents rated the overall quality of water services as excellent or good, similar
to what has been observed on previous surveys. About 9 in 10 also rated water reliability and
the customer service provided by Water department staff positively and 8 in 10 respondents
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 2
gave excellent or good ratings to water pressure and drinking water taste. Each of these ratings
were similar to previous surveys. • When rating aspects of their electricity service from their provider, either the City of Aspen or
Holy Cross Electric, nearly all respondents in 2018, as in 2017, felt the reliability, safety, the
customer service and the service overall was excellent or good, irrespective of the provider
used. When comparing ratings between the two service providers, responses were similar. • Respondents gave mostly positive reviews to street maintenance and snow removal in Aspen,
and ratings increased in 2018 compared to 2017 for a couple items where ratings had dropped
in 2017 compared to 2016. The proportion who agreed that City streets are in good repair
increased from 72% in 2017 to 85% in 2018 (back up to levels reported in 2016) while ratings
of timely repair of potholes also increased in 2018 from 2017, from 58% in 2017 to 69% in
2018 (after having fallen from 76% in 2015 and 2016). • Snow removal was viewed positively by respondents, with nearly 9 in 10 agreeing that snow
removal last winter in the Commercial Core was timely and thorough, and three-quarters
agreeing that the snow removal in residential areas was timely and thorough. Assessments of
snow removal in the City were similar from 2017 to 2018.
Aspen residents are generally happy with the City’s parks, athletic fields, trails and
open space, but note some opportunities for improvement • Several questions on the survey measured voter opinions about the quality of City of Aspen
outdoor recreation facilities. At least 9 in 10 respondents agreed with each statement about
parks, athletic fields and trails, with at least one-third strongly agreeing with each. Only 3% or
fewer strongly disagreed with any of the statements related to parks, athletic fields or trails. • Ratings of the conditions of these amenities were strong and stable compared to previous
years. • Close to 9 in 10 respondents gave positive reviews to the ability to find trail heads and open
space properties, similar to what had been observed in 2017, but only 6 in 10 rated the
availability parking as excellent or good, also similar to 2017. • About three-quarters rated the adequacy of signage on trails and in open spaces as good or
excellent, and a similar proportion felt the availability and quality of open space events and
programs was excellent or good. However, these ratings have declined since 2017. Adequacy
of enforcement also declined from 2017 (67%) to 2018 (54%). • As in the last few years, just under half of respondents felt that the current level of enforcement
for dogs was “about right,” with about 4 in 10 feeling it was “not strict enough” and only about
1 in 10 feeling it was “too strict.”
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 3
Declines in government performance ratings could be linked to communication • Surveyed voters were asked to evaluate seven aspects of the City of Aspen government
performance, including items such as the quality of information provided to residents, the job
the City does communicating to residents about major issues and the job the City does
matching expenditures to community priorities. Declines in 2018 compared to 2017 were seen
across all seven items, about 17% on average. The smallest decrease was observed for the value
of City services for the taxes you pay, with 52% rating this as excellent or good, a 10% decline
from 2017, and similar to ratings seen in 2010 and 2011. • While many City department ratings remained stable from 2017 to 2018, 8 of the 22 declined,
including City Manager's Office, Asset Department, new housing development and
Engineering, which all declined nearly 20% or more. • One area where concerns about communication arose was at the Red Brick Recreation
Center. While overall many ratings of the Red Brick Recreation Center were favorable and
similar to 2017, ratings of the communication of program information and schedules declined
considerably, with only 66% rating this as excellent or good in 2018 compared to 91% in 2017.
Other aspects of the Recreation Center also showed decreases in positive ratings in 2018
compared to 2017, including the cleanliness of the gym and locker rooms, the condition of the
gym and the quality of programs. • Additionally, respondents rated their level of satisfaction with information they received about
the City from 14 various sources. Satisfaction with 12 of the 14 sources declined from 2017 to
2018 by about 17%, on average. The largest decreases in satisfaction were seen for information
coming from social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), City streaming webcasts and by
contacting the Community Relations Department. This may be an area the City wishes to
investigate further to determine what is impacting residents’ satisfaction with the information
provided from these sources. • Survey scores over time can be variable. Nationally for instance, NRC has seen recent drops
in scores for recreation centers and communication with residents. While it can be difficult to
attribute such shifts to any one cause, high-impact projects and controversial policy debates can
certainly have bearing. Debates regarding City office space locations and sizing; changes in
parking policies and pricing; and the Castle Creek Bridge project (which included unavoidable
intrusions of traffic detours into neighborhoods for extended periods of time) are all potential
examples within the Aspen community. In some cases, there is no readily apparent reason for
shifts in scores, and the changes may simply be a result of normal variations over time. One
example is scores for the Red Brick Recreation Center, where declines in scores for
cleanliness of gyms and locker rooms occurred this year, without any change in practices
relating to maintenance of the facilities. Another example is availability of open space events
and programs, which has not actually declined, but which was rated lower this year. Regardless
of the causes for this year’s scores, providing high-quality services that meet the needs of the
community remains a top priority for City leaders and staff.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 4
Residents consider the health of the Roaring Fork River to be a top priority for City
government action • When presented with a list of 15 potential priority actions, and asked how important they felt it
was for the City government to take action on each, the two items considered most important
were related to the health of the Roaring Fork River. About 8 in 10 respondents deemed it
essential or very important to take action on improving and protecting the health of the
Roaring Fork River, and on protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring Fork River.
These actions have topped the list of priorities since 2016. • The next most important items were ensuring the availability of adequate affordable workforce
housing and encouraging the public to take part in water and energy conservation programs.
However, the importance of ensuring the availability adequate affordable workforce housing
dropped slightly from 2017 to 2018. • When asked about which topics they would like to more information, 39% selected water
conservation, the fourth most frequently selected topic. (Topics included in the survey were
those that could be addressed by the City’s Environmental Health and Sustainability
Department (EHS).)
No clear consensus for the Entrance to Aspen emerged among survey respondents • Survey participants were asked what they envisioned the Entrance to Aspen would look like if
they could wave a magic wand. Overall, residents were divided in their vision; of the six
options presented, the one garnering the greatest support was a new bridge in the current
alignment that accommodates a third “reversible” lane, chosen by 25% of respondent (only
slightly more than the 17% that would be expected if residents were exactly split between the
six options). • About 2 in 10 respondents chose four lanes with no restrictions on buses or cars across the
Marolt Open Space (20%), two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses/rail across the Marolt
Open Space with a cut-and-cover tunnel (17%) and for the City to do nothing with the current
entrance (17%). The two remaining choices, to add a rail/monorail/gondola system or the
“Split Shot” option, were selected by about 1 in 10 respondents each. • Related to mobility, residents were asked what approach they felt should be taken to
encourage use of another choice other than a personal vehicle for trips outside of the
Downtowner’s service area. It was explained that both positive incentives (“carrot”) and
negative incentives (“stick”) could be used. When asked to choose between three “stick”
options, nearly 8 in 10 respondents preferred that a negative approach not be used, but to
leave parking rates and times unchanged. When asked to choose between three “carrot”
approach options, about half preferred that no subsidy or incentive be offered, while about a
third preferred the option for subsidized rides in small van/taxi-like vehicles at $5 per vehicle
per round trip door-to-door, and about 1 in 10 preferred the option of subsidized rides at $5
per person per round trip door-to-door.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 5
SURVEY BACKGROUND
Survey Purpose
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey serves as a consumer report card for Aspen by providing
residents the opportunity to rate their satisfaction with the quality of life, local facilities and services
and satisfaction with local government. The survey also gives voter households an opportunity to
provide feedback to government on what is working well and what is not.
Focus on the quality of service delivery and perception of facilities lays the groundwork for
tracking community opinions about the core responsibilities of Aspen City government, helping to
assure maximum service quality over time. This type of survey generates a reliable foundation of
resident opinion that can be monitored periodically over the years, taking the community’s pulse
as the city changes and grows.
The City of Aspen takes resident perspectives seriously. The results of this annual survey are used
to measure departmental performance according to performance standards set by the City. The
City’s baseline survey was conducted in 2006.
National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) was selected in 2007 to administer Aspen’s Citizen Survey
and the 2018 survey is the thirteenth iteration. The 2018 results are compared with results from
the previous surveys when questions have been repeated.
Survey Administration
The City of Aspen survey was mailed to a random sample of 1,750 registered voter households.
In August 2018, a pre-survey notification postcard was mailed to these households and about one
week later surveys were mailed to the same residences. A reminder letter and a second survey
were sent to the same households one week after the first survey packet mailed. The purpose of
the second wave was to encourage those who had not yet completed a survey to do so. In NRC’s
experience, and according to best survey research practice, multiple contacts help to generate
higher response rates.
Approximately 131 postcards were undeliverable because the housing unit was vacant or the
postal service was unable to deliver it as addressed. Completed surveys were received from 303
residents, for a response rate of 19%.
The survey results were weighted to reflect the demographic profile of all registered voters in
Aspen. (For more information on the survey methodology and weighting, see Appendix E: Survey
Methodology.)
How the Results Are Reported
For the most part, the “percent positive” and frequency distributions (the percent of respondents
giving each possible response to a particular question) are presented in the body of the report.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 6
The percent positive is the combination of the top two most positive response options (i.e.,
“excellent” and “good,” “strongly agree” and “agree,” “very satisfied” and “somewhat satisfied”).
For some questions, respondents were permitted to select multiple responses. When the total
exceeds 100% in a table for a multiple response question, it is because some respondents are
counted in multiple categories. When a table for a question that only permitted a single response
does not total to exactly 100%, it is due to percentages being rounded to the nearest whole
number.
“Don’t Know” and “Not Applicable” Responses
On many of the questions in the survey, respondents could give an answer of “don’t know” or
“not applicable.” The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of
responses included in Appendix A: Complete Set of Survey Responses. However, these responses
have been removed from the analyses presented in the body of the report. In other words, the
majority of the tables and graphs in the body of the report display the responses from respondents
who had an opinion about a specific item. When a large percentage of residents (25% or more)
chose “don’t know” or “not applicable,” those items are noted in the figures. It is noteworthy that
for many items a large proportion (up to 73%) answered either “don’t know” or “not applicable.”
Precision of Estimates
It is customary to describe the precision of estimates made from surveys by a “level of confidence”
(or margin of error). The 95% confidence level for this survey is generally no greater than plus or
minus six percentage points around any given percent reported for all respondents (303
completed surveys). However, there were many questions where over half of the respondents
indicated that the question was not applicable or that they did not know enough to answer the
question. In these cases, the margin of error rises to as much as plus or minus 11%.
Comparing Survey Results over Time
The results in this report are compared to the results from the surveys conducted annually since
2006, whenever past data are available. It should be noted that a general instruction was added to
the 2018 survey asking survey participants to base their ratings on their experiences with city
services within the past 12 months, whereas in previous years this instruction was included on just
a handful of questions. Differences between 2017 and 2018 can be considered “statistically
significant” if they are nine or more percentage points. Any statistically significant differences
between survey years are discussed in the text. Trend data for Aspen represent important
comparisons and should be examined for improvements or declines. Deviations from stable
trends over time especially represent opportunities for understanding how local policies, programs
or public information may have affected residents’ opinions.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 7
SURVEY RESULTS
Overall Quality of Life
When asked to rate the overall quality of life in Aspen, 93% of residents felt it was good or
excellent. Seven percent of voters reported that the overall quality of life in the City was fair and
less than 1% felt it was poor. Ratings of the overall quality of life have remained stable since this
question was first asked in 2007.
Figure 1: Overall Quality of Life in Aspen, 2018
How do you rate the overall quality of life in Aspen?
Figure 2: Overall Quality of Life by Survey Year
Percent excellent or good
Excellent, 53%
Good, 40%
Fair, 7%
Poor, 0%
94%95%95%
98%95%97%96%95%95%94%95%93%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 8
The 2018 survey asked voters to rate their feelings of safety throughout different areas of Aspen.
Almost every resident felt safe in all areas of the city and this was true through all years of the
survey.
Figure 3: Feeling of Safety in Aspen as a Whole by Survey Year
Percent who agree or strongly agree they feel safe in Aspen as a whole
Figure 4: Feelings of Safety in Aspen by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the following: *
(Percent agree or strongly agree) 2018 2017 2016 2015
I feel safe in the Commercial Core during the day 97% 100% 100% 99%
I feel safe in my neighborhood during the day 100% 99% 100% 99%
I feel safe in the Commercial Core after dark 99% 99% 97% 96%
I feel safe in my neighborhood after dark 99% 97% 96% 95%
Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your
experience in the last 12 months, to what extent do.” In 2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of
the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12 months when making their
evaluations.
This set of questions was not included on the 2014 survey. In 2013, safety in neighborhoods and safety in the
Commercial Core were asked as single items and not broken out by “during the day” and “after dark” so a
comparison cannot be made.
100%99%99%100%99%99%99%
96%98%97%99%98%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 9
City Services
One goal of the Aspen Citizen Survey is to assess perspectives about the services the City provides
to residents. Registered voters were asked to rate the overall quality of City services, the
performance of City departments and aspects of Aspen City Government performance, various
aspects of street maintenance and snow removal, utilities and recreation.
Overall Quality of Services
In 2018, about 4 in 10 respondents were satisfied with the services provided by the City of Aspen,
and about an additional third were somewhat satisfied. This represented the lowest level of
satisfaction observed since this question was first asked in 2007, and is statistically significantly
lower had been observed in 2017.
Figure 5: Overall Satisfaction with City of Aspen Services, 2018
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with services
provided by the City of Aspen?
Figure 6: Overall Satisfaction with City of Aspen Services by Survey Year
Percent satisfied or somewhat satisfied
Satisfied, 42%
Somewhat
satisfied, 34%
Somewhat not
satisfied, 19%
Not at all satisfied,
5%
92%89%92%89%
84%
89%92%89%86%87%
83%
76%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 10
City Department Performance
The overall performance of 22 different services of the City of Aspen government was evaluated
on the survey. Of the voters who had an opinion about each service, at least 8 in 10 stated they
were somewhat or very satisfied with 12 of the 22 City services. At least half of respondents said
they were very satisfied with the Police Department, Parks, Aspen Recreation Center (ARC),
Water and the Wheeler Opera House (see Figure 7 on the next page).
Many ratings remained statistically similar to what had been observed in 2017, but ratings for
some departments decreased significantly, some greatly so. These included:
• City Manager’s Office, down 30%
• Asset Department, down 26%
• New housing development, down 25%
• Engineering, down 19%
• Kids First, down 12%
• GIS (Geographic Information System), down 10%
• Electric, down 10%
• Environmental Health and Sustainability, down 9%
It should be noted that many survey participants (between 8% and 73%) responded to these items
with “don’t know” or not applicable.” The percentages shown in the body of this report are only
for those who had an opinion about a particular item or service.
Voters were also asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with 22 positive statements about
each of five City offices based on their experiences in the 12 months prior to the survey (see
Figure 8 on page 12). Ratings were quite positive for Utility Billing, the Finance Window and
Police, with over 9 in 10 rating each aspect positively. These ratings were generally similar to what
had been observed in previous years.
About 7 in 10 respondents rated the aspects of the Housing Authority staff positively, with ratings
similar to what had been seen in 2017.
About 6 in 10 respondents gave positive ratings to most aspects of the service provided by the City
Manager’s Office. All City Manager’s Office ratings declined between 11% and 25% in 2018
compared to 2017.
Many survey participants (between 24% and 62%) also responded to these items with “don’t
know” or “not applicable.”
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 11
Figure 7: Performance of City of Aspen Government by Survey Year
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall performance
of the following City services?*
(Percent somewhat or very satisfied) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 83% 91% 89% 92% 94%
Asset Department 66% 92% 76%
City Clerk Office 88% 93% 94% 96% 95%
City Manager's Office 46% 76% 67% 66% 74%
Community Development 55% 63% 59% 57% 63%
Electric 84% 94% 81% 91% 88%
Engineering 53% 72% 68% 71% 73%
Environmental Health and Sustainability 76% 85% 79% 86% 85%
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and other payments to the city) 90% 93% 91% 94% 88%
Golf 91% 96% 87% 88% 90%
GIS (Geographic Information System) 80% 90% 96% 83% 85%
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted and rental units) 62% 67% 66% 68% 79%
Kids First 80% 92% 89% 83% 86%
New housing development 39% 64% 55% 62% 59%
Parks 88% 91% 91% 85% 92%
Police Department 94% 92% 94% 89% 93%
Red Brick Recreation Center 91% 96% 95% 96% 92%
Streets 71% 67% 83% 70% 79%
Transportation 78% 84% 85%
Parking 39% 47% 47%
Water 90% 88% 89% 86% 87%
Wheeler Opera House 84% 92% 92% 95% 92%
* Prior to 2018, the stem of this question read “In general, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall
performance of the following services of the City of Aspen government?”
Prior to 2016, “Transportation” and “Parking” were a single item, so comparisons over time could not be made.
Prior to 2015, the question asked about the “overall performance and responsiveness” for each department. In
2006, the scale used in the telephone survey, “Very satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Not very satisfied, Not at all
satisfied” was changed to “Satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Somewhat not satisfied, Not at all satisfied.” In 2009,
the scale was changed back to the original from 2006: “Very satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Somewhat not
satisfied, Not at all satisfied.” In 2011, “Red Brick Recreation Center” was “Recreation” and “Housing Authority
(existing deed-restricted and rental units)” was “Housing. In 2017 “New housing development” was “New housing
development “(Burlingame II).
Note: only Water, Wheeler Opera House, Parks, Police Department, Transportation, Parking, and Streets had
fewer than 25% of respondents answering “don’t know” or “not applicable.”
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 12
Figure 8: Quality of City of Aspen Services by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about
services provided by the City? (Percent agree or strongly agree)* 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
The service provided by the City Manager's Office was accurate 64% 77% 72% 63% 71%
The service provided by the City Manager's staff was prompt 54% 75% 73% 68% 76%
The City Manager's staff was responsive 57% 78% 68% 69% 77%
The City Manager's staff was helpful 57% 79% 71% 69% 72%
The City Manager's staff was knowledgeable 67% 78% 74% 69% 74%
The City Manager's staff was informative 56% 81% 73% 68% 77%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was accurate 92% 92% 87% 91% 96%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was timely 94% 94% 92% 92% 95%
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in dealing with my situation or
request 91% 96% 92% 91% 96%
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable in dealing with my situation or
request 93% 93% 91% 91% 95%
The Finance Window staff was courteous in dealing with my situation or
request 94% 95% 94% 95% 93%
The Finance Window staff was knowledgeable in dealing with my
situation or request 93% 95% 93% 96% 92%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff was accurate 74% 79% 75% 76% 82%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff was timely 73% 81% 80% 82% 81%
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 74% 74% 77% 78% 80%
The Housing Authority staff was knowledgeable 76% 73% 78% 80% 86%
The services provided by the Police staff were accurate 95% 92% 94% 89% 93%
The services provided by the Police staff were prompt 96% 94% 93% 94% 92%
The Police staff was courteous 97% 94% 97% 97% 95%
The Police staff was helpful 96% 94% 94% 94% 94%
The Police staff was knowledgeable 93% 94% 93% 91% 92%
The Police staff was informative 94% 94% 96% 90% 91%
*The “stem” of this question prior to 2018 was “Based on your experience in the last 12 months, to what extent do you
agree or disagree with the following statements about the quality of services City of Aspen offices provided?” In 2018,
the stem is what is shown, but there was a general instruction that preceded it that said “Please answer questions 2-21
based on your experiences with city services within the past 12 months. Even if you’ve just recently moved to Aspen,
we still want to hear from you!”
The 2006 question, “The police staff was courteous and helpful” was split by the City of Aspen into two separate
questions in 2007, as was “The police staff was knowledgeable and informative.” The 2006 question, “The City
manager’s staff was responsive and helpful” was split by the City of Aspen into two separate questions in 2007, as was
“The City Manager’s staff was knowledgeable and informative.”
For all items, the proportion responding “don’t know” or “not applicable” was 24% or greater.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 13
Additional Comments about City Services
Survey respondents could provide feedback, in their own words, about “any City of Aspen
services.” Of the 135 voters who chose to write-in a response, about one in four voiced
dissatisfaction with City services, staff or officials. About one in five had concerns about parking,
roads, or traffic safety/enforcement. Roughly 1 in 10 were concerned with the City budget or
about affordability issues in Aspen. A number of comments were made about issues that could
not be categorized, all verbatim responses can be found in Appendix B: Verbatim Responses.
Figure 9: Additional Feedback about City Services, 2018
Please provide any other feedback you may have on any City of Aspen services:
Results in the figure above represent the 135 who chose to write in a response in 2018.
Individual responses can be found in Appendix B: Verbatim Responses.
37%
2%
8%
9%
9%
21%
23%
Other
Concerns about the entrance to Aspen
Positive comments about local
government/services
Concerns about affordability (housing,
food/restaurants)
Budget concerns
Parking, roads, traffic safety/regulations and
enforcement for cars, bikes and pedestrians
Dissatisfaction with City services, departments,
staff and officials (includes ARC)
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 14
Recreation and Arts Facilities
The Aspen Citizen Survey monitors the quality of various recreation and arts facilities and
amenities, including the Aspen Recreation Center (ARC), the Red Brick Recreation Center,
parks, athletic fields, the trail system and open space as well as the Wheeler Opera and Red Brick
Arts Center.
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC)
While in the past, residents were asked to rate a variety of aspects related to ARC, in 2018 they
were only asked whether they agreed or disagreed that ARC does a good job communicating
program information. About three-quarters of respondents believed ARC does a good job.
Figure 10: Ratings of ARC Communication, 2018
Do you agree or disagree that the ARC (Aspen Recreation Center) does a good job
communicating program information?
Strongly agree,
13%
Agree, 62%
Disagree, 16%
Strongly
disagree, 9%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 15
Red Brick Recreation Center
Respondents were asked to evaluate different aspects of the Red Brick Recreation Center based
on their experiences during the 12 months prior to the survey.
Of those who had experience with the Red Brick Center in the last 12 months, 81% agreed that
the quality of programs provided were very good, a decline from 2017 (94%). About 9 in 10
agreed that the service provided by staff was accurate and accessible, and that staff were helpful
and knowledgeable. These ratings were similar to those observed in previous years. (See Figure 12
on the next page.)
For several aspects, ratings were lower in 2018 compared to 2017 (see Figure 12 on the next
page). In particular, the communication of program information declined the most, from 91% to
66%. The cleanliness of the gym and locker rooms, enthusiasm of the staff and coaches and the
condition of the gym also decreased significantly.
As with many survey questions, between 51% and 73% of respondents felt they could not provide
a rating to these items about the Red Brick Recreation Center and selected “don’t know” or “not
applicable.”
Figure 11: Quality of Programs Provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center by Survey Year
Percent who agree or strongly agree the quality of the program(s) provided by the Red Brick Recreation
Center was very good
98%
93%93%96%
89%
98%
90%93%92%94%
91%
94%
81%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 16
Figure 12: Red Brick Recreation Center by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the
Red Brick Recreation Center?*
(Percent agree or strongly agree) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was knowledgeable 95% 95% 99% 97% 96%
The service provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center staff was
accessible 94% 96% 96% 96% 96%
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was helpful 94% 97% 96% 98% 96%
The service provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center staff was
accurate 93% 98% 98% 98% 97%
The enthusiasm of the Red Brick Recreation Center staff and coaches
was very good 88% 99% 98% 95% 93%
The scheduling of events conducted by staff at the Red Brick Recreation
Center was very good 82% 90% 91% 94% 92%
The condition of the gym at the Red Brick Recreation Center was very
good 77% 87% 90% 86% 85%
The cleanliness of the Red Brick Recreation Center gym and locker
rooms was very good 76% 90% 88% 87% 88%
The Red Brick Recreation Center does a good job of communicating
program information 66% 91% 82% 86% 81%
Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your
experience in the last 12 months, to what extent do.” In 2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of
the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12 months when making their
evaluations.
The 2006 question, “The cleanliness of the Red Brick Recreation Center is very good” was changed to “The
cleanliness of the Red Brick Recreation Center gym and locker rooms was very good” in 2007; therefore, these
questions were not compared between 2006 and 2007. The 2006 question, “The enthusiasm of the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff and coaches is very high” was changed to “The enthusiasm of the Red Brick Recreation
Center staff and coaches was very good” in 2007. These were judged sufficiently similar to compare across
years.
In 2018, the wording of the item “The Red Brick Recreation Center does a good job of communicating program
information” changed compared to previous years, when it was “The communication of program information and
schedules was very good.”
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 17
Parks, Athletic Fields, Trail System and Open Space
Several questions on the survey measured voter opinions about the quality of City of Aspen
outdoor recreation facilities. Voters also provided their opinions on current dog enforcement laws.
Condition of Parks, Athletic Fields, Trails and Open Space
At least 9 in 10 respondents agreed with each statement about parks, athletic fields and trails, with
at least one-third strongly agreeing with each. Only 3% or fewer strongly disagreed with any of
these statements.
In general, ratings for various aspects of parks, athletic fields and trails in Aspen have remained
strong and stable since 2006.
Figure 13: Parks, Athletic Fields and Trail System by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the
condition of City parks, fields and trails? *
(Percent agree or strongly agree) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
The condition of the parks allowed me to have a safe and enjoyable
experience 96% 97% 96% 93% 97%
The parks were free of litter 91% 94% 95% 91% 93%
The condition of the athletic fields allowed me to have a safe and
enjoyable experience 96% 97% 96% 93% 98%
The athletic fields were free of litter 94% 96% 95% 91% 95%
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were free of debris/litter 91% 93% 93% 92% 95%
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were smooth enough for the intended
purpose 93% 94% 96% 89% 97%
The pedestrian/bike trail could be used safely 89% 93% 94% 89% 94%
The pedestrian/bike trail signage was very good 91% 93% 95% 89% 94%
The Nordic Trail System trail grooming was very good 96% 98% 97% 96% 98%
The Nordic Trail System trails could be used for the purpose intended 97% 98% 98% 96% 99%
The Nordic Trail System trail signage was very good 93% 96% 95% 93% 96%
Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your experience in
the last 12 months, to what extent do.” In 2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey
explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12 months when making their evaluations.
Prior to 2014, items related to the pedestrian/bike trails and Nordic Trail System were asked as separate question.
In 2007, some question wording was altered slightly to render all statements consistently past tense. The 2006
question, “The path and trail surfaces were free of debris and litter” was changed to “The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces
were free of debris/litter” in 2007. The 2006 question, “The trail maintenance is very good” was changed to “The Nordic
Trail System trail maintenance was very good” in the switch from phone to mail methodology in 2007, and in 2011, the
wording was modified to "The Nordic Trail System trail grooming was very good." Prior to 2011, "The pedestrian/bike
trail surfaces were smooth enough for the intended purpose" was "The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were smooth
enough for the biking." In 2011, “The pedestrian/bike trail could be used safely” was “The pedestrian/bike trail design
allowed for safe usage” and “The Nordic Trail System trails could be used for the purpose intended” was “The Nordic
Trail System trail design was very good.”
Note: just over 40% of voters selected “don’t know” or “not applicable” when assessing statements related to the Nordic
Trail System.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 18
Surveyed residents rated characteristics related to City parks, open space and trails. Overall, a
majority of respondents rated each aspect of parks, open space and trails as good or excellent.
Nearly 9 in 10 gave positive reviews to the ability to find trail heads and open space properties,
similar to what had been observed in 2017, but only 6 in 10 rated the availability of parking at trail
heads and open spaces as excellent or good, also similar to 2017.
About three-quarters rated the adequacy of signage on trails and in open spaces as good or
excellent, and three-quarters felt the availability and quality of open space events and programs
was excellent or good. However, these ratings have declined since 2017. Adequacy of
enforcement also declined from 2017 (67%) to 2018 (54%).
Figure 14: Quality of Open Space Events and Programs by Survey Year
Percent who rate the quality open space events and programs as excellent or good
Figure 15: Quality of Aspects of City Parks, Open Space and Trails by Survey Year
Please rate each of the following characteristics related
to City parks, open space and trails. (Percent good or
excellent) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Ability to find trail heads and open space properties 86% 93% 93% 92% 88%
Availability of parking at trail heads and open spaces 60% 62% 64% 64% 59%
Adequacy of enforcement of regulations 54% 67% 65% 61% 64%
Adequacy of signage on trails 76% 86% 88% 79% 79%
Adequacy of signage in open spaces 74% 89% 88% 82% 82%
Availability of open space events and programs 73% 85% 88% 85% 85%
About 30% of respondents answered “don’t know” or “not applicable when rating the availability of open space
events and programs and quality of open space events and programs.
87%87%88%86%
74%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 19
Enforcement for Dogs
Just under half of respondents felt that the current level of enforcement for dogs was “about right,”
with about 4 in 10 feeling it was “not strict enough” and only about 1 in 10 feeling it was “too
strict.” These were similar to what had been seen in 2016 and 2017.
Figure 16: Current Level of Enforcement for Dogs by Survey Year
Please rate the current level of enforcement for dogs (e.g., clean up; leash laws).
16%
14%
9%
10%
14%
9%
8%
11%
39%
46%
54%
51%
42%
44%
46%
47%
45%
40%
37%
39%
44%
47%
47%
42%
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Too strict About right Not strict enough
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 20
Other Parks, Fields, Open Space and Trail Concerns
Respondents were asked to write in their own words any other concerns they had related to City
parks, fields, open space and trails. Of the 101 respondents who chose to write in a response, 18%
provided comments related to concerns about dogs, the top concern in 2018.
About 15% made comments related to events at parks; accessibility, use and enforcement
concerns; bicycle-related concerns or maintenance concerns. About 1 in 10 mentioned other trail-
related concerns.
A complete list of the written in comments, including the “other” responses, can be found in
Appendix B: Verbatim Responses.
Figure 17: Concerns Related to City Parks, Fields, Open Space and Trails, 2018
What other specific concerns do you have with City parks, fields, open space and trails?
Percent of respondents
Results in the figure above represent the 101 respondents who chose to write-in a response.
Responses to “other” can be found in Appendix B: Verbatim Responses.
7%
4%
9%
13%
14%
15%
15%
18%
Other
Positive comments about parks,
fields, open space and trails
Trail-related concerns (e.g., sharing,
create connections, surface issues)
Park/trail construction/
maintenance concerns
Bicycle-related concerns
Accessibility/use/enforcement concerns
Events at parks
Dog-related concerns
(e.g., dog waste, leash laws, etc.)
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 21
Wheeler Opera House
Survey respondents evaluated the Wheeler Opera House and its communication devices and
programs. About 8 in 10 thought the overall value of the Wheeler Opera House to the
community was excellent or good, although this represented an 11% decline from 2017.
Three-quarters or more of respondents considered each of the communication devices and
programs excellent or good, generally similar to ratings from 2017. However, diversity of
programs did experience an 11% decline from 2017.
While only 11% of respondents chose “don’t know” or “not applicable” in rating the overall value,
14% to 52% were unable to evaluate the other items.
Figure 18: Quality of Wheeler Opera House by Survey Year
Please rate each of the following as they relate to the Wheeler Opera House?
Percent excellent or good
Note: Thirty percent of more of respondents answered “don’t know’ or “not applicable” when rating the items
social media, e-newsletters, printed materials, website and newspaper ads.
85%
81%
80%
80%
85%
84%
91%
84%
74%
76%
76%
79%
80%
80%
80%
81%
Diversity of programs
E-newsletters
Printed materials
Website
Social media
Accessibility of programs
Overall value of the Wheeler
Opera House to the
community
Newspaper ads 2018
2017
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 22
Red Brick Center for the Arts
The survey also included questions related to The Red Brick Center for the Arts to assess its
offerings and communication avenues, as well as its value in and vision for the community. Over 9
in 10 of residents with an opinion felt The Red Brick Center for the Arts is a valuable asset to the
community. About 8 in 10 believed The Red Brick Center is a creative center in the heart of
Aspen, that it allows locals and visitors the opportunity to explore, connect and inspire, and that it
provides a variety of affordable, valuable benefits for local artists. Three-quarters of respondents
agreed The Red Brick Center for the Arts focuses on discovery and promotion of the arts.
Figure 19: Value of the Red Brick Center for the Arts, 2018
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about The Red Brick Center for the Arts?
Percent agree or strongly agree
Note: About one-quarter to one-third of respondents answered “don’t know” or “not applicable” when rating these
items.
76%
79%
81%
83%
94%
The Red Brick Center focuses on
discovery and promotion of the arts
The Red Brick Center is a creative
center in the heart of Aspen
The Red Brick Center provides a
variety of affordable, valuable
benefits for local artists (such as
affordable studios, workshops,…
The Red Brick Center allows locals
and visitors the opportunity to
explore, connect and inspire
The Red Brick Center is a valuable
community asset
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 23
Respondents also rated various aspects of the offerings of the Red Brick Center for the Arts and
the information provided by the Center. About 8 in 10 of those with an opinion gave positive
ratings to the Gallery and Gallery openings. About 7 in 10 felt positively about the accessibility of
the offerings of the Red Brick Center for the Arts. The remaining information sources were rated
positively by about 6 in 10 respondents.
About half or more of respondents felt they did not know enough to rate these characteristics, or
felt they were not applicable to them.
Figure 20: Quality of the Red Brick Center for the Arts, 2018
Please rate each of the following as they relate to the Red Brick Center for the Arts?
Percent excellent or good
Note: Between 48% and 73% of respondents answered “don’t know” or “not applicable” when rating these items.
57%
60%
62%
64%
72%
72%
77%
80%
Social media pages such as
Facebook
Printed materials
Ads (radio, TV, newspaper)
Website
(www.redbrickaspen.com)
Diversity of classes,
workshops, and events
Shared spaces, conference
room, and dance studios
Accessibility of classes,
workshops, and events
Gallery and Gallery openings
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 24
Street Maintenance and Snow Removal
Respondents gave mostly positive reviews to the condition of streets in Aspen, and ratings
increased in 2018 compared to 2017 for a couple items where ratings had dropped in 2017
compared to 2016 (see Figure 21 below and Figure 22 on the next page). As seen below, the
percent of respondents who agreed that City streets are in good repair increased from 72% in
2017 to 85% in 2018. Ratings of the timeliness of pothole repair also increased over the 12 month
period.
Snow removal was viewed positively by respondents, with nearly 9 in 10 agreeing that snow
removal last winter in the Commercial Core was timely and thorough, and three-quarters agreeing
that the snow removal in residential areas was timely and thorough. Assessments of snow removal
in the City were similar from 2017 to 2018.
Figure 21: City Streets in Good Repair by Survey Year
Percent agree or strongly agree
88%
84%84%
90%
93%93%
88%
92%
84%
89%
72%
85%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 25
Figure 22: City Streets and Snow Removal by Survey Year
With the exception of Main Street and Highway 82, which are
maintained by the State of Colorado, do you agree or disagree with
the following statements concerning City streets?
(Percent agree or strongly agree) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
The street surfaces are smooth 76% 69% 84% 79% 86%
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 69% 58% 76% 76% 79%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial Core was timely 89% 87% 91% 89% 91%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial Core was thorough 85% 86% 83% 88% 89%
Last winter's snow removal in my
residential area was timely 75% 77% 82% 75% 77%
Last winter's snow removal in my
residential area was thorough 75% 74% 81% 78% 77%
Prior to 2014, items related to city streets and snow removal were asked as separate questions.
In 2007, there was a minor wording change to the snow removal questions. The 2006 questions, “Last winter ’s
snow removal was [timely/thorough] in [the Commercial Core/my residential area]” was changed to “Last winter ’s
snow removal in [the Commercial Core/my residential area] was [timely/thorough]” in the switch from phone to
mail methodology.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 26
Water Services
Survey respondents rated several aspects of water services in the city including reliability, pressure
and taste. About 9 in 10 rated the overall water services as excellent or good, similar to previous
years. About 9 in 10 also rated water reliability and the customer service provided by Water
department staff positively, similar to previous years. Water pressure and drinking water taste was
considered excellent or good by about 8 in 10 respondents, also similar to previous surveys.
Figure 23: Quality of Water Services Overall by Survey Year
Percent excellent or good
Figure 24: Water Services by Survey Year
Please rate the quality of your utility services: (Percent excellent or
good)* 2018 2017 2016 2015
Drinking water taste 83% 78% 85% 86%
Water pressure 82% 86% 88% 87%
Water reliability 92% 96% 98% 97%
Overall customer service provided by the Water department staff 87% 92% 93% 89%
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your
experience in the last 12 months, please.” In 2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey
explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12 months when making their evaluations.
95%94%93%
90%
2015 2016 2017 2018
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 27
Electric Utility
Among those who knew what entity provided their electrical service (only 10% did not know who
their electric provider was), approximately 6 in 10 received electric service from Holy Cross
Electric, and nearly 4 in 10 from the City of Aspen, similar to what had been observed in previous
survey years (see Table 27 in Appendix A: Complete Set of Survey Responses).
When rating various aspects of their electricity service from their respective providers, nearly all
voters in 2018, as in 2017, felt each aspect was excellent or good, irrespective of the provider used.
When comparing ratings between the two service providers, responses were similar. Looking at
the ratings over time among those whose provider is the City Aspen, each aspect has been rated as
excellent or good by 90% or more of respondents in every survey year.
Figure 25: Electric Services Compared by Provider, 2018
Based on your experience in the last 12 months, please rate the quality of each of the following:
Percent excellent or good
* Note: About one-quarter of respondents answered “don’t know” or “not applicable” when rating this item.
Figure 26: The City of Aspen's Electric Services by Survey Year
Please rate the quality of your utility services: (Percent
excellent or good)*
2018 2017 2016 2015
Electrical service reliability 93% 99% 96% 91%
Safety of electric service 95% 99% 99% 96%
Overall customer service provided by the Electric department
staff**
94% 97% 93% 89%
Electric services overall 94% 97% 92% 91%
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your
experience in the last 12 months, please.” In 2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey
explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12 months when making their evaluations.
** Note: About one-quarter of respondents answered “don’t know” or “not applicable” when rating this item.
94%
90%
90%
91%
93%
94%
94%
95%
Electrical service
reliability
Overall customer
service provided by
the Electric…
Electric services
overall
Safety of electric
service
The City of Aspen
Holy Cross Electric
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 28
Government Performance
Survey respondents evaluated seven aspects of the City government’s performance. About three-
quarters of voters gave excellent or good ratings to the job the City does informing its residents
and to the quality of the information the City provides to its residents. About 7 in 10 gave positive
evaluations to the job the City does at responding to requests for public records and information
(71%) and 6 in 10 gave positive evaluations to the value of City services for taxes paid (62%) and
the job the City does at communicating major issues to residents (64%). Just over 4 in 10 believed
that the City does at least a good job matching expenditures to community priorities (44%) and
listening to residents (45%). About one-quarter of voters gave poor evaluations to the job the City
does at matching expenditures to community priorities and listening to residents (see Appendix A:
Complete Set of Survey Responses).
All ratings of City government performance declined between 2017 and 2018 by about 17%, on
average.
It should be noted that 52% of respondents said “don’t know” when rating the job the City does
responding to requests for public records and information.
Figure 27: City of Aspen Government Performance by Survey Year
Please rate the following categories of
Aspen government performance:
(Percent good or excellent) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
The job the City does responding to
requests for public records and information 62% 71% 61% 61% 63% 61% 59%
The quality of the information the City
provides to residents 52% 74% 67% 66% 70% 68% 65% 61% 62%
The value of City services for the taxes you
pay 52% 62% 61% 60% 59% 61% 63% 55% 55%
The job the City does informing residents 50% 74% 68% 69% 75% 71% 72% 68% 65%
The job the City does communicating to
residents about major issues 45% 64% 55% 56% 59% 60% 58% 56%
The job the City does matching
expenditures to community priorities 29% 44% 42% 43% 43% 44% 41% 36%
The job the City does listening to residents 27% 45% 41% 42% 42% 49% 40% 36% 44%
Note: About half of respondents said “don’t know” when rating the job the City does responding to requests for
public records and information.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 29
Policy and Planning
Importance of Potential Community Issues and Needs
Residents were asked to rate how important, if at all, it was for the City government to take action
on each of 15 potential issues facing the community. About 8 in 10 voters felt that it was very
important or essential for the City to improve and protect the health of the Roaring Fork River
and to protect a minimum volume of water in Roaring Fork River. These have been the top two
concerns since 2016. Roughly 7 in 10 thought it was at least somewhat important to ensure the
availability of adequate workforce housing at a reasonable cost and to encourage the public to take
part in water and energy conservation programs.
Of relatively less importance to respondents encouraging the development of additional lodging
(44% very important or essential) and increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather (43%).
Most ratings remained stable from 2017 to 2018. However, fewer respondents in 2018 felt it was
important to ensure the availability of adequate workforce housing at a reasonable cost to
rent/purchase, to have economic development without the development, improve pedestrian
connectivity, improve bike connectivity and find ways to increase available child care spaces.
Figure 28: Importance of Actions the City Could Take by Survey Year
How important, if at all, is it for the City government to take
action on each of the following: (Percent very important or
essential) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Improving and protecting the health of the Roaring Fork River 79% 85% 85%
Protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring Fork River 77% 81% 81%
Ensuring the availability of adequate workforce housing at a
reasonable cost to rent/purchase 71% 80% 77% 77% 71%
Encouraging the public to take part in water conservation
programs 68%
Encouraging the public to take part in energy conservation
programs 68%
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise, traffic, runoff, dust,
lane, and sidewalk closures) 63%
Improving the availability of affordable high-speed internet
service 63%
Economic development without the development (without new
physical development) 59% 73% 64% 68%
Increasing access to affordable locally grown food 58% 65% 57%
Improving pedestrian connectivity 55% 70% 65%
Providing new transportation options to reduce reliance on
personal automobiles* 55%
Improving bike connectivity 53% 66% 61%
Finding ways to increase available child care spaces 53% 65% NA
Encouraging the development of additional lodging 44% 38% 37% 36% 34%
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather 43% 46% 49% 35%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 30
Sustainability and Mobility
The 2018 survey included several new questions related to sustainability and mobility in the City
of Aspen. About half of survey respondents (50%) said they would be very or somewhat interested
in purchasing an electric vehicle. Four percent of residents already owned an electric vehicle and
46% were not at all interested in purchasing an electric vehicle.
Figure 29: Interest in Purchasing an Electric Vehicle, 2018
How interested, if at all, are you in purchasing an electric vehicle?
Very interested,
12%
Somewhat
interested, 38%
Already own one,
4%
Not at all
interested, 46%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 31
Survey respondents were asked how likely they were, if at all, to use a number of alternative
transportation services. About 7 in 10 residents indicated they would be very or somewhat likely to
use Downtowner-like services in an expanded service area and use reservation-based shuttles that
take you directly to your end destination upon request. About 6 in 10 respondents said they would
be likely to use mini buses or vans that allow dogs, bikes or tools. Half of residents would be likely
to use an electric bike and fewer (43%) were likely to log travel modes on a mobile app.
Figure 30: Likelihood of Doing Each, 2018
How likely or unlikely would you be to use each of the following, if they were available?
Percent very or somewhat likely
23%
28%
29%
37%
43%
20%
22%
34%
31%
29%
43%
50%
63%
68%
72%
Log your travel modes on a mobile app to
earn points redeemable, for instance, at
merchants
Use an electric bike (E-bike) as part of a
bike-share system
Use mini buses or vans that allow dogs,
bikes or tools
Use reservation-based shuttles that take
you directly to your end destination upon
request
Use Downtowner-like services in an
expanded service area
Very likely Somewhat likely
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 32
Respondents were asked what they envisioned the Entrance to Aspen would look like if they
could wave a magic wand. Overall, residents were divided in their vision of the Entrance to Aspen.
About one-quarter wanted a new bridge in the current alignment that accommodates a third
“reversible” lane. About 2 in 10 respondents wanted four lanes with no restrictions on buses or
cars across the Marolt Open Space (20%), two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses/rail across
the Marolt Open Space with a cut-and-cover tunnel (17%) and for the City to do nothing with the
current entrance (17%). The remaining options were selected by about 1 in 10 respondents.
Figure 31: Preference for the Entrance to Aspen, 2018
If you could “wave your magic wand” and make the Entrance to Aspen (Buttermilk through the S-
curves) of your dreams, which ONE of the following options would you choose:
Percent of respondents
* (one lane in each direction for each mode) using the existing S-Curve alignment as the “downvalley” one-way
couplet and another S-Curve created for an “upvalley” one-way couplet with a new bridge across Castle Creek
connecting to the end of Main Street
10%
11%
17%
17%
20%
25%
The “Split Shot” of two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses*
Leave the existing alignment as it is, but add a
rail/monorail/gondola system to the existing roadway system
Two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses/rail (one lane in
each direction) across the Marolt Open Space in a cut-and-
cover tunnel (referred to by CDOT as the “Preferred
Alternative”)
Do nothing –it works just fine as it currently is
Four lanes (two in each direction) with no restrictions on buses
or cars in any lane across the Marolt Open Space (could use a
cut-and-cover tunnel)
A new bridge in the current alignment that accommodates a
third lane that is “reversible” –creating two lanes for cars and
buses at different times of the day for either direction (e.g. 2
lanes inbound in the morning, 2 lanes outbound in the
afternoon)
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 33
Surveyed voters shared their preferences for two different approaches related to parking
Downtown. Overall, residents wanted things kept as they currently are. For the “carrot” approach,
about half of residents preferred no subsidy and having people pay for the existing taxi service.
Just over one-third of respondents preferred a subsidized ride in a small van or taxi-like vehicle at
$5 per vehicle, while only 12% preferred a subsidized ride at $5 per person. If using a “stick”
approach, a majority of respondents (77%) preferred leaving things as they are and not increasing
parking rates or times charged. About 1 in 10 preferred increasing parking rates for daytime
parking only (not charging in the evening) and increasing parking rates including paying to park in
the evening.
Figure 32: Preference for Approach to Downtown Parking, 2018
About two-thirds of cars parking in the Downtown core are parked for a relatively short period and
are registered in the 81611 zip code. To encourage use of another choice other than a personal
vehicle for trips outside of the Downtowner’s service area, both positive incentives (“carrot”) and
negative incentives (“stick”) could be used.
If a “carrot” approach was used, which would you most prefer? (Check only one.)
If a “stick” approach was used, which would you most prefer? (Check only one.)
12%
37%
51%
A subsidized ride in a small van/taxi-like vehicle at
$5 per person per round trip door-to-door
A subsidized ride in a small van/taxi-like vehicle at
$5 per vehicle per round trip door-to-door
No subsidy –people can pay for the existing taxi
service
9%
14%
77%
Increase the parking rates, including paying to
park in the evening
Increase the parking rates for daytime parking
only, don’t charge in the evening
Leave things like they are, don’t increase
parking rates or times charged
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 34
Public Information
Knowing how residents prefer to receive information can assist local governments’ communication
and engagement with residents. The survey included a number of questions designed to measure
how respondents get information about the City of Aspen, satisfaction with these sources and the
topics about which they would like to receive more information. Voters were also given the
opportunity to express in their own words any concerns they had regarding the City’s
communications.
Residents were most satisfied with the information they received about the City from newspaper
ads and stories, the City’s main website, other City websites and the radio (news and ads).
However, more than 4 in 10 respondents did not feel they had enough information about radio
news and ads to provide an evaluation. Similarly, most residents were lacking sufficient knowledge
of others and could not rate them (contacting the Community Relations Department, online
feedback site, City streaming webcasts, Social media and CGTV - Channel 11).
Overall, satisfaction with most information sources decreased over time.
Figure 33: Satisfaction with Information Sources by Survey Year
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the information you
receive about the City from each of the following: (Percent
very or somewhat satisfied)
2018 2017 2016 2015
Newspaper stories 75% 89% 87% 91%
Newspaper ads 72% 90% 89% 90%
The City's main website (www.cityofaspen.com) 71% 78% 83% 83%
Other City websites (APCHA, ARC, Golf, Wheeler, etc.) 71% 77% 84%
Radio ads 71% 85% 85% 83%
Radio news 70% 87% 85% 85%
City meetings and open houses 68% 80% 78% 82%
Mailed materials (brochures, bill inserts) 68% 81% 80% 80%
Emails (electronic newsletters, email updates) 66% 77% 84% 75%
CGTV - Channel 11 65% 83% 76% 92%
Online feedback site (www.aspencommunityvoice.com) 63% 74% 76%
City streaming webcasts 61% 83% 82% 75%
Contacting the Community Relations Department 57% 78% 75%
Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) 50% 78% 76% 69%
Please note: Prior to 2016, "CGTV - Channel 11" was "Community government television (Grassroots/CGTV,
Channel 11)", and prior to 2011 it was "Community government television (CGTV, Channel 11)"; “Social media
(Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)” was “The City's social network sites (Twitter, Facebook)”; “City streaming
webcasts” was “City webcasts”.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 35
A new question was added to the 2018 survey gauging resident interest in receiving information
about a variety of topics that could be addressed by the City’s Environmental Health and
Sustainability Department (EHS). Respondents could select all topics of interest. About 4 in 10
residents were interested in receiving more information about waste diversion, waste reduction,
mobility options, water conservation and outdoor air quality (see Figure 34 on the next page).
Respondents could write in their own words a topic they wanted more information about that was
not listed on the survey. About 3% or less of respondents sought information that falls outside of
the services addressed by the EHS Department, including maintenance, housing, City
departments/services and permitting and parking.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 36
Figure 34: Topics About Which Residents Would Like More Information, 2018
In which of the following topics are you most interested in receiving information or assistance from
the City?
Percent of respondents
Percents add to more than 100% as respondents could choose more than one option.
*These responses were coded out of other into these categories based on what was written in the "something
else" space. Some comments were left as "something else.” All responses to the “something else” sorted by
categories can be found in Appendix B: Verbatim Responses.
1%
1%
2%
2%
3%
8%
20%
21%
23%
26%
31%
31%
35%
39%
39%
41%
44%
48%
Parking*
City departments/services, permitting*
Housing*
Maintentance (snow plowing, leaf blowing, streets,
lighting, etc)*
Environmental Concerns, Environmental
Sustainability*
Something else
Indoor air quality (e.g., radon, lead)
Consumer protection (e.g., food safety)
None of these
Public health protection (e.g., sun safety,
vaccines)
Climate actions (e.g., greenhouse gas reduction,
renewables)
Noise (e.g., leaf blower ban)
Energy efficiency (e.g., home energy
assessments)
Outdoor air quality (e.g., vehicle idling, quality
monitoring)
Water conservation (e.g., water use, river health)
Mobility options (e.g., bikeshare, Downtowner,
buses)
Waste reduction (e.g., reusable items)
Waste diversion (e.g., composting, recycling)
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 37
Respondents wrote, in their own words, any concerns they had about City communications. Of
the 76 respondents who wrote in a response (25% of all respondents), about one-quarter
mentioned increasing or improving communication through the Internet, newsletters or mailings
and being transparent, accurate and timely with information. Other residents commented on
increasing availability/improved customer service, listening to resident input and provided positive
feedback about communication. About 30% of respondents suggested some “other” way for the
City to improve its communication with residents that could not be grouped into a category. These
“other” responses, as well as all comments for this question, can be found in Appendix B:
Verbatim Responses.
Figure 35: Concerns about City Communications, 2018
Considering that the City provides information via all of the sources mentioned above,
what improvements can we make with our communications?
Percent of respondents
Results in the figure above are of the 76 respondents who chose to write-in a response in 2018.
Individual responses sorted by categories can be found in Appendix B: Verbatim Responses.
30%
5%
7%
9%
23%
27%
Other
Positive comments about communication
Listen to resident input, increase
involvement
Increase availability/improved customer
service
Be transparent, accurate and timely with
information/ communication
More or improved communication through
internet (e-mail, social media),
newspapers or newsletters/mailings
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 38
As in 2017, Aspen residents provided feedback on the importance of various activities or
transactions on the City’s website. All activities were thought to be essential or very important to
complete via the website by about 6 in 10 or more respondents. Residents viewed paying bills, fees
and fines, applying for permits and licenses, and accessing city council agendas and videos as the
most important website features. Compared to 2017, the importance of the various website
offerings was similar in 2018.
Figure 36: Importance of Website Uses by Survey Year
How important is it, if at all, to complete the following types of activities or transactions on the City
website:
Percent essential or very important
62%
69%
72%
69%
69%
78%
80%
58%
65%
68%
69%
72%
74%
76%
Apply for city jobs
Access and analyze city data
Apply for APCHA housing
Reserve buildings, parks or other facilities
Access city council agendas and videos
Apply for permits and licenses
Pay bills, fees and fines
2018
2017
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 39
APPENDIX A: COMPLETE SET OF SURVEY RESPONSES
The following pages contain a complete set of responses to each question on the survey. For questions that included a “don’t know”
or “not applicable” response option, two tables for that question are provided: the first that excludes the don’t know or not applicable
responses, the second that includes those response options.
Table 1: Question 1
How do you rate the overall quality of life in Aspen? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Excellent 53% N=131
Good 40% N=100
Fair 7% N=17
Poor 0% N=1
Total 100% N=248
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 40
Table 2: Question 2 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about services
provided by the City? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
The service provided by the City Manager's
Office was accurate 10% N=12 54% N=64 24% N=28 12% N=15 100% N=119
The service provided by the City Manager's
staff was prompt 11% N=11 43% N=45 29% N=31 17% N=18 100% N=105
The City Manager's staff was responsive 10% N=11 47% N=53 30% N=33 13% N=15 100% N=113
The City Manager's staff was helpful 11% N=12 46% N=53 27% N=31 16% N=19 100% N=116
The City Manager's staff was
knowledgeable 16% N=19 51% N=60 20% N=23 13% N=16 100% N=117
The City Manager's staff was informative 13% N=15 43% N=50 24% N=28 20% N=23 100% N=116
The service provided by the Utility Billing
staff was accurate 29% N=48 63% N=105 5% N=9 3% N=5 100% N=166
The service provided by the Utility Billing
staff was timely 29% N=48 64% N=105 3% N=4 4% N=6 100% N=163
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in
dealing with my situation or request 32% N=45 59% N=85 7% N=10 2% N=3 100% N=144
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable in
dealing with my situation or request 28% N=40 64% N=91 5% N=6 3% N=4 100% N=142
The Finance Window staff was courteous in
dealing with my situation or request 39% N=51 54% N=70 3% N=4 3% N=4 100% N=129
The Finance Window staff was
knowledgeable in dealing with my situation
or request 34% N=43 59% N=76 3% N=3 4% N=5 100% N=129
The service provided by the Housing
Authority staff was accurate 26% N=38 48% N=72 12% N=18 14% N=20 100% N=149
The service provided by the Housing
Authority staff was timely 24% N=36 49% N=73 12% N=17 16% N=24 100% N=150
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 27% N=42 48% N=75 11% N=18 14% N=22 100% N=157
The Housing Authority staff was
knowledgeable 34% N=52 42% N=63 9% N=14 15% N=23 100% N=152
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 41
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about services
provided by the City? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
The services provided by the Police staff
were accurate 53% N=104 42% N=82 3% N=5 2% N=5 100% N=195
The services provided by the Police staff
were prompt 50% N=101 46% N=92 2% N=4 2% N=4 100% N=201
The Police staff was courteous 57% N=124 40% N=86 1% N=2 3% N=5 100% N=217
The Police staff was helpful 55% N=120 40% N=87 2% N=4 2% N=5 100% N=216
The Police staff was knowledgeable 53% N=112 40% N=86 5% N=11 2% N=3 100% N=212
The Police staff was informative 54% N=111 41% N=84 5% N=11 1% N=1 100% N=206
Table 3: Question 2 (including don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about services
provided by the City?
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know
Not
applicable Total
The service provided by the City
Manager's Office was accurate 4% N=12 23% N=64 10% N=28 5% N=15 22% N=62 36% N=101 100% N=281
The service provided by the City
Manager's staff was prompt 4% N=11 17% N=45 11% N=31 6% N=18 24% N=65 38% N=103 100% N=273
The City Manager's staff was responsive 4% N=11 19% N=53 12% N=33 5% N=15 23% N=65 37% N=102 100% N=280
The City Manager's staff was helpful 4% N=12 19% N=53 11% N=31 7% N=19 22% N=62 36% N=101 100% N=278
The City Manager's staff was
knowledgeable 7% N=19 21% N=60 8% N=23 6% N=16 23% N=65 35% N=97 100% N=280
The City Manager's staff was informative 5% N=15 18% N=50 10% N=28 8% N=23 23% N=62 35% N=98 100% N=276
The service provided by the Utility Billing
staff was accurate 17% N=48 37% N=105 3% N=9 2% N=5 16% N=45 25% N=72 100% N=283
The service provided by the Utility Billing
staff was timely 17% N=48 37% N=105 2% N=4 2% N=6 16% N=44 26% N=74 100% N=281
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in
dealing with my situation or request 16% N=45 30% N=85 3% N=10 1% N=3 14% N=41 35% N=98 100% N=282
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable
in dealing with my situation or request 14% N=40 32% N=91 2% N=6 1% N=4 15% N=42 35% N=98 100% N=281
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 42
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about services
provided by the City?
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know
Not
applicable Total
The Finance Window staff was courteous
in dealing with my situation or request 18% N=51 25% N=70 1% N=4 1% N=4 16% N=45 38% N=106 100% N=281
The Finance Window staff was
knowledgeable in dealing with my
situation or request 16% N=43 28% N=76 1% N=3 2% N=5 16% N=43 38% N=106 100% N=278
The service provided by the Housing
Authority staff was accurate 14% N=38 26% N=72 7% N=18 7% N=20 15% N=42 32% N=89 100% N=281
The service provided by the Housing
Authority staff was timely 13% N=36 26% N=73 6% N=17 8% N=24 14% N=41 32% N=90 100% N=281
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 15% N=42 27% N=75 6% N=18 8% N=22 14% N=38 31% N=86 100% N=281
The Housing Authority staff was
knowledgeable 19% N=52 23% N=63 5% N=14 8% N=23 15% N=41 30% N=82 100% N=275
The services provided by the Police staff
were accurate 37% N=104 29% N=82 2% N=5 2% N=5 13% N=36 18% N=51 100% N=282
The services provided by the Police staff
were prompt 36% N=101 33% N=92 2% N=4 1% N=4 11% N=31 18% N=50 100% N=282
The Police staff was courteous 44% N=124 30% N=86 1% N=2 2% N=5 10% N=28 14% N=38 100% N=284
The Police staff was helpful 42% N=120 31% N=87 2% N=4 2% N=5 10% N=27 14% N=40 100% N=284
The Police staff was knowledgeable 40% N=112 30% N=86 4% N=11 1% N=3 10% N=29 15% N=42 100% N=283
The Police staff was informative 39% N=111 30% N=84 4% N=11 0% N=1 12% N=32 15% N=43 100% N=282
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 43
Table 4: Question 3 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with
the overall performance of the following
City services? Very satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied
Somewhat not
satisfied
Not at all
satisfied Total
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 51% N=104 32% N=66 9% N=19 8% N=15 100% N=205
Asset Department 21% N=18 45% N=40 13% N=11 21% N=18 100% N=87
City Clerk Office 42% N=67 46% N=74 6% N=10 6% N=10 100% N=161
City Manager's Office 19% N=25 27% N=34 19% N=24 35% N=44 100% N=127
Community Development 18% N=24 37% N=51 22% N=30 23% N=31 100% N=136
Electric 45% N=62 39% N=55 13% N=18 3% N=4 100% N=140
Engineering 15% N=17 39% N=46 26% N=31 20% N=24 100% N=118
Environmental Health and Sustainability 31% N=47 44% N=66 9% N=13 15% N=23 100% N=148
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and other
payments to the city) 37% N=52 53% N=75 6% N=8 5% N=7 100% N=141
Golf 47% N=54 45% N=51 5% N=6 4% N=4 100% N=115
GIS (Geographic Information System) 41% N=40 39% N=38 11% N=11 9% N=9 100% N=97
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted
and rental units) 34% N=59 28% N=48 21% N=36 17% N=30 100% N=173
Kids First 42% N=30 38% N=27 12% N=9 8% N=5 100% N=71
New housing development 19% N=25 20% N=27 22% N=29 39% N=51 100% N=133
Parks 54% N=129 34% N=80 7% N=18 5% N=11 100% N=238
Police Department 66% N=164 28% N=71 2% N=5 4% N=9 100% N=250
Red Brick Recreation Center 43% N=79 47% N=86 7% N=12 3% N=5 100% N=182
Streets 26% N=68 45% N=117 19% N=49 10% N=27 100% N=261
Transportation 45% N=111 33% N=81 14% N=34 8% N=19 100% N=245
Parking 13% N=34 26% N=66 22% N=56 39% N=99 100% N=255
Water 49% N=104 41% N=87 7% N=16 3% N=6 100% N=212
Wheeler Opera House 49% N=111 36% N=82 8% N=18 8% N=18 100% N=230
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 44
Table 5: Question 3 (including don't know and not applicable)
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you
with the overall performance of the
following City services?
Very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied
Somewhat
not
satisfied
Not at all
satisfied Don't know
Not
applicable Total
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 37% N=104 23% N=66 7% N=19 5% N=15 8% N=24 19% N=54 100% N=283
Asset Department 7% N=18 15% N=40 4% N=11 7% N=18 26% N=71 42% N=112 100% N=270
City Clerk Office 25% N=67 28% N=74 4% N=10 4% N=10 16% N=43 24% N=64 100% N=267
City Manager's Office 9% N=25 13% N=34 9% N=24 16% N=44 23% N=63 30% N=80 100% N=270
Community Development 9% N=24 19% N=51 11% N=30 11% N=31 21% N=58 29% N=78 100% N=272
Electric 23% N=62 20% N=55 6% N=18 2% N=4 20% N=56 29% N=78 100% N=274
Engineering 6% N=17 17% N=46 12% N=31 9% N=24 26% N=69 30% N=81 100% N=268
Environmental Health and Sustainability 17% N=47 24% N=66 5% N=13 8% N=23 20% N=53 25% N=69 100% N=270
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and
other payments to the city) 19% N=52 28% N=75 3% N=8 2% N=7 20% N=53 27% N=73 100% N=268
Golf 20% N=54 19% N=51 2% N=6 2% N=4 22% N=61 35% N=96 100% N=273
GIS (Geographic Information System) 15% N=40 14% N=38 4% N=11 3% N=9 26% N=71 37% N=100 100% N=268
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted
and rental units) 21% N=59 17% N=48 13% N=36 11% N=30 13% N=37 24% N=67 100% N=277
Kids First 11% N=30 10% N=27 3% N=9 2% N=5 25% N=68 48% N=129 100% N=268
New housing development 9% N=25 10% N=27 11% N=29 19% N=51 18% N=49 34% N=92 100% N=273
Parks 46% N=129 29% N=80 6% N=18 4% N=11 6% N=18 8% N=22 100% N=278
Police Department 58% N=164 25% N=71 2% N=5 3% N=9 4% N=12 7% N=20 100% N=282
Red Brick Recreation Center 28% N=79 31% N=86 4% N=12 2% N=5 13% N=36 21% N=59 100% N=277
Streets 24% N=68 42% N=117 17% N=49 10% N=27 3% N=8 5% N=13 100% N=282
Transportation 41% N=111 30% N=81 13% N=34 7% N=19 3% N=7 7% N=19 100% N=271
Parking 12% N=34 23% N=66 20% N=56 35% N=99 4% N=11 6% N=18 100% N=285
Water 38% N=104 32% N=87 6% N=16 2% N=6 7% N=20 14% N=37 100% N=269
Wheeler Opera House 40% N=111 29% N=82 6% N=18 6% N=18 8% N=22 11% N=30 100% N=282
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 45
Table 6: Question 4 (excluding don't know)
Please rate the following categories of
Aspen government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
The job the City does informing residents 15% N=43 35% N=100 30% N=86 19% N=54 100% N=282
The quality of the information the City
provides to residents 14% N=38 38% N=105 30% N=82 18% N=50 100% N=275
The job the City does listening to residents 8% N=21 19% N=53 30% N=84 43% N=119 100% N=276
The value of City services for the taxes you
pay 15% N=43 36% N=101 32% N=89 16% N=46 100% N=278
The job the City does communicating to
residents about major issues 9% N=25 36% N=101 32% N=91 23% N=63 100% N=281
The job the City does matching expenditures
to community priorities 7% N=19 22% N=59 26% N=69 44% N=117 100% N=263
The job the City does responding to requests
for public records and information 17% N=24 45% N=62 23% N=31 15% N=20 100% N=137
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 46
Table 7: Question 4 (including don't know)
Please rate the following categories of
Aspen government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total
The job the City does informing residents 15% N=43 34% N=100 29% N=86 19% N=54 3% N=9 100% N=291
The quality of the information the City
provides to residents 13% N=38 36% N=105 28% N=82 17% N=50 5% N=14 100% N=289
The job the City does listening to residents 7% N=21 18% N=53 29% N=84 41% N=119 5% N=13 100% N=290
The value of City services for the taxes you
pay 15% N=43 35% N=101 31% N=89 16% N=46 4% N=11 100% N=289
The job the City does communicating to
residents about major issues 9% N=25 35% N=101 31% N=91 22% N=63 3% N=8 100% N=289
The job the City does matching expenditures
to community priorities 7% N=19 20% N=59 24% N=69 41% N=117 8% N=24 100% N=287
The job the City does responding to requests
for public records and information 8% N=24 22% N=62 11% N=31 7% N=20 52% N=149 100% N=286
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 47
Table 8: Question 5 (excluding don't know)
With the exception of Main Street and
Highway 82, which are maintained by the
State of Colorado, do you agree or
disagree with the following statements
concerning City streets? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
City streets are in good repair 23% N=67 62% N=181 11% N=33 3% N=10 100% N=291
The street surfaces are smooth 19% N=56 57% N=165 19% N=56 5% N=15 100% N=291
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 22% N=61 47% N=132 21% N=58 10% N=29 100% N=280
Last winter's snow removal in the
Commercial Core was timely 28% N=76 61% N=163 5% N=15 5% N=15 100% N=269
Last winter's snow removal in the
Commercial Core was thorough 29% N=79 56% N=152 10% N=26 5% N=13 100% N=271
Last winter's snow removal in my residential
area was timely 25% N=70 50% N=138 20% N=55 6% N=16 100% N=278
Last winter's snow removal in my residential
area was thorough 23% N=65 51% N=143 19% N=52 7% N=18 100% N=278
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 48
Table 9: Question 5 (including don't know)
With the exception of Main Street and
Highway 82, which are maintained by the
State of Colorado, do you agree or
disagree with the following statements
concerning City streets?
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know Total
City streets are in good repair 23% N=67 62% N=181 11% N=33 3% N=10 0% N=1 100% N=292
The street surfaces are smooth 19% N=56 56% N=165 19% N=56 5% N=15 0% N=1 100% N=292
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 21% N=61 45% N=132 20% N=58 10% N=29 4% N=11 100% N=291
Last winter's snow removal in the
Commercial Core was timely 26% N=76 57% N=163 5% N=15 5% N=15 7% N=20 100% N=289
Last winter's snow removal in the
Commercial Core was thorough 27% N=79 52% N=152 9% N=26 5% N=13 7% N=21 100% N=292
Last winter's snow removal in my residential
area was timely 24% N=70 48% N=138 19% N=55 5% N=16 4% N=12 100% N=290
Last winter's snow removal in my residential
area was thorough 22% N=65 49% N=143 18% N=52 6% N=18 4% N=12 100% N=290
Table 10: Question 6 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree that the ARC (Aspen Recreation Center)
does a good job communicating program information? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Strongly agree 13% N=28
Agree 62% N=133
Disagree 16% N=35
Strongly disagree 9% N=19
Total 100% N=215
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 49
Table 11: Question 6 (including don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree that the ARC (Aspen Recreation Center)
does a good job communicating program information? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Strongly agree 10% N=28
Agree 46% N=133
Disagree 12% N=35
Strongly disagree 6% N=19
Don't know 14% N=42
Not applicable 11% N=32
Total 100% N=288
Table 12: Question 7 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Please rate each of the following as they
relate to The Red Brick Center for the
Arts: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
Diversity of classes, workshops, and events 22% N=30 51% N=69 22% N=30 5% N=7 100% N=137
Accessibility of classes, workshops, and
events 23% N=34 54% N=78 18% N=27 5% N=7 100% N=146
Gallery and Gallery openings 33% N=45 48% N=66 15% N=20 5% N=7 100% N=138
Shared spaces, conference room, and
dance studios 20% N=21 53% N=58 22% N=25 5% N=6 100% N=110
Website (www.redbrickaspen.com) 21% N=22 43% N=44 27% N=28 9% N=10 100% N=103
Social media pages such as Facebook 18% N=13 40% N=30 31% N=24 12% N=9 100% N=75
Printed materials 18% N=17 41% N=38 30% N=28 10% N=10 100% N=93
Ads (radio, TV, newspaper) 19% N=19 43% N=42 19% N=19 19% N=19 100% N=99
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 50
Table 13: Question 7 (including don't know and not applicable)
Please rate each of the following as
they relate to The Red Brick Center for
the Arts: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know
Not
applicable Total
Diversity of classes, workshops, and
events 11% N=30 25% N=69 11% N=30 3% N=7 28% N=80 23% N=65 100% N=282
Accessibility of classes, workshops, and
events 12% N=34 28% N=78 10% N=27 3% N=7 25% N=70 23% N=65 100% N=281
Gallery and Gallery openings 16% N=45 23% N=66 7% N=20 2% N=7 27% N=77 24% N=67 100% N=282
Shared spaces, conference room, and
dance studios 8% N=21 21% N=58 9% N=25 2% N=6 34% N=95 28% N=78 100% N=282
Website (www.redbrickaspen.com) 8% N=22 16% N=44 10% N=28 3% N=10 35% N=99 28% N=80 100% N=282
Social media pages such as Facebook 5% N=13 11% N=30 8% N=24 3% N=9 39% N=111 34% N=97 100% N=283
Printed materials 6% N=17 14% N=38 10% N=28 3% N=10 41% N=115 26% N=74 100% N=282
Ads (radio, TV, newspaper) 7% N=19 15% N=42 7% N=19 7% N=19 40% N=114 25% N=70 100% N=283
Table 14: Question 8 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about The Red
Brick Center for the Arts? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
The Red Brick Center is a valuable
community asset 46% N=101 48% N=106 5% N=11 1% N=3 100% N=221
The Red Brick Center is a creative center in
the heart of Aspen 27% N=56 53% N=111 14% N=29 7% N=15 100% N=212
The Red Brick Center focuses on discovery
and promotion of the arts 24% N=44 52% N=93 20% N=35 5% N=8 100% N=181
The Red Brick Center provides a variety of
affordable, valuable benefits for local artists
(such as affordable studios, workshops,
classes and exhibit opportunities) 28% N=49 53% N=96 14% N=24 5% N=9 100% N=179
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 51
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about The Red
Brick Center for the Arts? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
The Red Brick Center allows locals and
visitors the opportunity to explore, connect
and inspire 22% N=39 61% N=107 12% N=21 6% N=10 100% N=177
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 52
Table 15: Question 8 (including don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about The Red
Brick Center for the Arts?
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know
Not
applicable Total
The Red Brick Center is a valuable
community asset 35% N=101 37% N=106 4% N=11 1% N=3 14% N=41 9% N=26 100% N=289
The Red Brick Center is a creative center
in the heart of Aspen 20% N=56 39% N=111 10% N=29 5% N=15 16% N=46 10% N=28 100% N=286
The Red Brick Center focuses on
discovery and promotion of the arts 15% N=44 33% N=93 13% N=35 3% N=8 26% N=73 10% N=28 100% N=282
The Red Brick Center provides a variety of
affordable, valuable benefits for local
artists (such as affordable studios,
workshops, classes and exhibit
opportunities) 17% N=49 34% N=96 9% N=24 3% N=9 26% N=75 11% N=31 100% N=284
The Red Brick Center allows locals and
visitors the opportunity to explore, connect
and inspire 14% N=39 38% N=107 7% N=21 3% N=10 27% N=78 10% N=29 100% N=283
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 53
Table 16: Question 9 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about the Red
Brick Recreation Center? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
The service provided by the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff was accurate 28% N=31 66% N=73 4% N=5 3% N=3 100% N=112
The service provided by the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff was accessible 25% N=31 69% N=83 3% N=4 2% N=3 100% N=120
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was
helpful 32% N=40 61% N=76 4% N=5 2% N=2 100% N=124
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was
knowledgeable 33% N=40 62% N=76 3% N=3 2% N=2 100% N=122
The Red Brick Recreation Center does a
good job of communicating program
information 18% N=26 48% N=69 25% N=35 9% N=12 100% N=142
The quality of the program(s) provided by
the Red Brick Recreation Center was very
good 23% N=31 59% N=79 10% N=14 9% N=12 100% N=135
The condition of the gym at the Red Brick
Recreation Center was very good 22% N=26 55% N=65 14% N=16 9% N=11 100% N=118
The scheduling of events conducted by staff
at the Red Brick Recreation Center was
very good 25% N=24 57% N=56 8% N=8 10% N=10 100% N=98
The cleanliness of the Red Brick Recreation
Center gym and locker rooms was very
good 29% N=31 48% N=51 14% N=15 10% N=10 100% N=107
The enthusiasm of the Red Brick Recreation
Center staff and coaches was very good 38% N=41 50% N=55 4% N=4 8% N=9 100% N=109
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 54
Table 17: Question 9 (including don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about the Red
Brick Recreation Center?
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know
Not
applicable Total
The service provided by the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff was accurate 11% N=31 26% N=73 2% N=5 1% N=3 39% N=109 22% N=62 100% N=283
The service provided by the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff was accessible 11% N=31 29% N=83 1% N=4 1% N=3 36% N=100 22% N=61 100% N=281
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was
helpful 14% N=40 27% N=76 2% N=5 1% N=2 34% N=94 22% N=63 100% N=281
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was
knowledgeable 14% N=40 27% N=76 1% N=3 1% N=2 34% N=94 22% N=62 100% N=279
The Red Brick Recreation Center does a
good job of communicating program
information 9% N=26 24% N=69 13% N=35 4% N=12 30% N=85 19% N=54 100% N=281
The quality of the program(s) provided by
the Red Brick Recreation Center was very
good 11% N=31 28% N=79 5% N=14 4% N=12 32% N=91 20% N=55 100% N=281
The condition of the gym at the Red Brick
Recreation Center was very good 9% N=26 23% N=65 6% N=16 4% N=11 37% N=103 21% N=60 100% N=281
The scheduling of events conducted by
staff at the Red Brick Recreation Center
was very good 9% N=24 20% N=56 3% N=8 3% N=10 43% N=122 22% N=61 100% N=282
The cleanliness of the Red Brick
Recreation Center gym and locker rooms
was very good 11% N=31 18% N=51 5% N=15 4% N=10 41% N=116 21% N=60 100% N=283
The enthusiasm of the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff and coaches was
very good 15% N=41 20% N=55 2% N=4 3% N=9 39% N=108 22% N=61 100% N=278
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 55
Table 18: Question 10 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about the condition
of City parks, fields and trails? Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
The condition of the parks allowed me to
have a safe and enjoyable experience 44% N=121 51% N=141 3% N=9 1% N=3 100% N=274
The parks were free of litter 38% N=105 53% N=146 7% N=20 2% N=5 100% N=276
The condition of the athletic fields allowed
me to have a safe and enjoyable experience 41% N=93 55% N=125 3% N=6 2% N=4 100% N=228
The athletic fields were free of litter 37% N=87 57% N=134 4% N=10 1% N=3 100% N=234
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were free
of debris/litter 35% N=97 55% N=152 7% N=20 2% N=5 100% N=274
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were
smooth enough for the intended purpose 37% N=101 57% N=156 5% N=13 2% N=6 100% N=275
The pedestrian/bike trail could be used
safely 32% N=89 57% N=160 8% N=22 3% N=8 100% N=280
The pedestrian/bike trail signage was very
good 34% N=90 57% N=152 6% N=17 3% N=8 100% N=266
The Nordic Trail System trail grooming was
very good 50% N=81 46% N=74 4% N=6 1% N=1 100% N=162
The Nordic Trail System trails could be used
for the purpose intended 49% N=78 48% N=78 3% N=4 1% N=1 100% N=161
The Nordic Trail System trail signage was
very good 46% N=74 47% N=75 6% N=10 1% N=1 100% N=160
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 56
Table 19: Question 10 (including don't know and not applicable)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about the
condition of City parks, fields and
trails?
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know
Not
applicable Total
The condition of the parks allowed me to
have a safe and enjoyable experience 42% N=121 49% N=141 3% N=9 1% N=3 4% N=11 2% N=5 100% N=291
The parks were free of litter 36% N=105 50% N=146 7% N=20 2% N=5 4% N=12 2% N=5 100% N=294
The condition of the athletic fields allowed
me to have a safe and enjoyable
experience 32% N=93 43% N=125 2% N=6 1% N=4 11% N=32 11% N=31 100% N=290
The athletic fields were free of litter 30% N=87 46% N=134 3% N=10 1% N=3 12% N=34 7% N=21 100% N=288
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were
free of debris/litter 33% N=97 52% N=152 7% N=20 2% N=5 4% N=12 2% N=5 100% N=292
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were
smooth enough for the intended purpose 35% N=101 54% N=156 4% N=13 2% N=6 4% N=11 2% N=4 100% N=291
The pedestrian/bike trail could be used
safely 31% N=89 55% N=160 8% N=22 3% N=8 2% N=4 2% N=5 100% N=290
The pedestrian/bike trail signage was very
good 31% N=90 53% N=152 6% N=17 3% N=8 5% N=15 2% N=6 100% N=287
The Nordic Trail System trail grooming
was very good 28% N=81 26% N=74 2% N=6 0% N=1 28% N=79 15% N=43 100% N=284
The Nordic Trail System trails could be
used for the purpose intended 28% N=78 27% N=78 1% N=4 0% N=1 28% N=78 15% N=44 100% N=284
The Nordic Trail System trail signage was
very good 26% N=74 26% N=75 3% N=10 0% N=1 29% N=81 15% N=43 100% N=284
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 57
Table 20: Question 11 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Please rate each of the following
characteristics related to City parks,
open space and trails. Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
Ability to find trail heads and open space
properties 36% N=95 51% N=134 13% N=35 1% N=2 100% N=266
Availability of parking at trail heads and
open spaces 21% N=54 38% N=97 30% N=76 10% N=26 100% N=252
Adequacy of enforcement of regulations 20% N=46 34% N=81 31% N=73 15% N=35 100% N=235
Adequacy of signage on trails 26% N=66 49% N=126 21% N=55 3% N=8 100% N=255
Adequacy of signage in open spaces 25% N=64 49% N=128 23% N=59 3% N=7 100% N=258
Availability of open space events and
programs 26% N=52 48% N=96 15% N=31 12% N=23 100% N=201
Quality of open space events and programs 28% N=54 46% N=86 15% N=28 11% N=22 100% N=190
Table 21: Question 11 (including don't know and not applicable)
Please rate each of the following
characteristics related to City parks,
open space and trails. Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know
Not
applicable Total
Ability to find trail heads and open space
properties 33% N=95 47% N=134 12% N=35 1% N=2 5% N=16 2% N=5 100% N=287
Availability of parking at trail heads and
open spaces 19% N=54 34% N=97 26% N=76 9% N=26 9% N=26 3% N=10 100% N=288
Adequacy of enforcement of regulations 16% N=46 28% N=81 26% N=73 12% N=35 15% N=42 2% N=7 100% N=285
Adequacy of signage on trails 23% N=66 44% N=126 19% N=55 3% N=8 9% N=25 2% N=5 100% N=285
Adequacy of signage in open spaces 22% N=64 45% N=128 21% N=59 3% N=7 7% N=21 2% N=6 100% N=286
Availability of open space events and
programs 18% N=52 34% N=96 11% N=31 8% N=23 24% N=67 5% N=13 100% N=282
Quality of open space events and
programs 19% N=54 31% N=86 10% N=28 8% N=22 28% N=78 5% N=15 100% N=282
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 58
Table 22: Question 12 (excluding don't know)
Please rate the current level of enforcement for dogs (e.g., clean up,
leash laws). Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Too strict 11% N=31
About right 47% N=130
Not strict enough 42% N=118
Total 100% N=279
Table 23: Question 12 (including don't know)
Please rate the current level of enforcement for dogs (e.g., clean up,
leash laws). Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Too strict 11% N=31
About right 44% N=130
Not strict enough 40% N=118
Don't know 5% N=15
Total 100% N=293
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 59
Table 24: Question 13
What other specific concerns, if any, do you have with City parks, fields, open space
and trails?
Percent of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Dog-related concerns (e.g., dog waste, leash laws, etc.) 18% N=18
Trail-related concerns (e.g., sharing, create connections, surface issues) 9% N=9
Accessibility/use/enforcement concerns 15% N=15
Bicycle-related concerns 14% N=14
Park/trail construction/maintenance concerns 13% N=13
Events at parks 15% N=15
Positive comments about parks, fields, open space and trails 4% N=4
Other 7% N=7
None or not sure 6% N=6
Total 100% N=101
Table 25: Question 14 (excluding don't know)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following: Strongly agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Total
I feel safe in my neighborhood after dark 60% N=178 37% N=108 2% N=7 1% N=2 100% N=297
I feel safe in my neighborhood during the
day 71% N=211 28% N=84 0% N=0 0% N=1 100% N=296
I feel safe in the Commercial Core after
dark 58% N=169 41% N=119 1% N=4 0% N=1 100% N=293
I feel safe in the Commercial Core during
the day 70% N=207 29% N=85 0% N=1 0% N=1 100% N=293
I feel safe in Aspen as a whole 68% N=203 31% N=91 0% N=1 1% N=2 100% N=298
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 60
Table 26: Question 14 (including don't know)
Do you agree or disagree with the
following:
Strongly
agree Agree Disagree
Strongly
disagree Don't know Total
I feel safe in my neighborhood after dark 60% N=178 36% N=108 2% N=7 1% N=2 0% N=1 100% N=298
I feel safe in my neighborhood during the
day 71% N=211 28% N=84 0% N=0 0% N=1 0% N=0 100% N=296
I feel safe in the Commercial Core after
dark 57% N=169 40% N=119 1% N=4 0% N=1 1% N=4 100% N=298
I feel safe in the Commercial Core during
the day 70% N=207 29% N=85 0% N=1 0% N=1 1% N=2 100% N=295
I feel safe in Aspen as a whole 68% N=203 31% N=91 0% N=1 1% N=2 0% N=0 100% N=298
Table 27: Question 15 (excluding don't know)
Which of the following entities provides your electrical service? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
The City of Aspen 36% N=96
Holy Cross Electric 62% N=164
Other 2% N=4
Total 100% N=264
Table 28: Question 15 (including don't know)
Which of the following entities provides your electrical service? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
The City of Aspen 33% N=96
Holy Cross Electric 56% N=164
Other 1% N=4
Don't know 10% N=28
Total 100% N=292
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 61
Table 29: Question 16 (excluding don't know)
Please rate the quality of your utility
services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
Drinking water taste 45% N=133 37% N=110 8% N=24 9% N=27 100% N=294
Water pressure 43% N=126 39% N=116 9% N=27 9% N=25 100% N=294
Water reliability 53% N=156 39% N=115 4% N=10 5% N=14 100% N=295
Water services overall 48% N=141 42% N=122 3% N=10 6% N=18 100% N=292
Overall customer service provided by the
Water department staff 48% N=110 39% N=90 4% N=10 8% N=19 100% N=229
Electrical service reliability 50% N=140 42% N=117 7% N=20 1% N=2 100% N=279
Safety of electric service 54% N=139 37% N=97 6% N=15 3% N=9 100% N=259
Overall customer service provided by the
Electric department staff 52% N=114 37% N=81 6% N=12 5% N=10 100% N=218
Electric services overall 49% N=136 41% N=113 6% N=17 4% N=10 100% N=275
Table 30: Question 16 (including don't know)
Please rate the quality of your utility
services: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total
Drinking water taste 45% N=133 37% N=110 8% N=24 9% N=27 1% N=2 100% N=296
Water pressure 42% N=126 39% N=116 9% N=27 9% N=25 1% N=2 100% N=297
Water reliability 52% N=156 39% N=115 3% N=10 5% N=14 1% N=2 100% N=297
Water services overall 48% N=141 41% N=122 3% N=10 6% N=18 1% N=4 100% N=296
Overall customer service provided by the
Water department staff 38% N=110 31% N=90 3% N=10 7% N=19 21% N=62 100% N=292
Electrical service reliability 47% N=140 40% N=117 7% N=20 1% N=2 5% N=15 100% N=294
Safety of electric service 47% N=139 33% N=97 5% N=15 3% N=9 12% N=35 100% N=294
Overall customer service provided by the
Electric department staff 39% N=114 28% N=81 4% N=12 4% N=10 25% N=74 100% N=292
Electric services overall 46% N=136 38% N=113 6% N=17 3% N=10 6% N=18 100% N=293
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 62
Table 31: Question 17 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Please rate each of the following as they
relate to the Wheeler Opera House: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total
Diversity of programs 32% N=81 42% N=106 17% N=44 8% N=21 100% N=252
Accessibility of programs 31% N=75 49% N=119 15% N=35 5% N=13 100% N=242
E-newsletters 31% N=53 45% N=78 19% N=33 5% N=8 100% N=172
Printed materials 26% N=47 51% N=92 19% N=35 4% N=8 100% N=183
Website 29% N=55 50% N=94 14% N=26 7% N=13 100% N=188
Social media 31% N=41 49% N=66 15% N=21 5% N=6 100% N=134
Newspaper ads 30% N=60 51% N=102 12% N=24 7% N=15 100% N=200
Overall value of the Wheeler Opera House
to the community 45% N=116 35% N=92 13% N=33 7% N=19 100% N=260
Table 32: Question 17 (including don't know and not applicable)
Please rate each of the following as
they relate to the Wheeler Opera
House: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know
Not
applicable Total
Diversity of programs 28% N=81 36% N=106 15% N=44 7% N=21 9% N=27 5% N=14 100% N=292
Accessibility of programs 26% N=75 41% N=119 12% N=35 4% N=13 11% N=33 5% N=15 100% N=291
E-newsletters 19% N=53 27% N=78 12% N=33 3% N=8 28% N=79 12% N=34 100% N=285
Printed materials 17% N=47 32% N=92 12% N=35 3% N=8 26% N=74 10% N=28 100% N=285
Website 19% N=55 33% N=94 9% N=26 5% N=13 26% N=74 8% N=24 100% N=286
Social media 14% N=41 23% N=66 7% N=21 2% N=6 38% N=109 14% N=41 100% N=283
Newspaper ads 21% N=60 36% N=102 8% N=24 5% N=15 22% N=64 8% N=22 100% N=286
Overall value of the Wheeler Opera
House to the community 40% N=116 32% N=92 11% N=33 7% N=19 7% N=20 4% N=10 100% N=290
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 63
Table 33: Question 18 (excluding don't know and not applicable)
Please tell us how satisfied or
dissatisfied you are with the information
you receive about the City from each of
the following. Very satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied
Somewhat not
satisfied
Not at all
satisfied Total
City meetings and open houses 18% N=42 50% N=119 24% N=58 7% N=18 100% N=236
City streaming webcasts 18% N=25 43% N=60 27% N=38 12% N=17 100% N=140
Emails (electronic newsletters, email
updates) 17% N=30 49% N=88 16% N=29 18% N=33 100% N=181
Social media (Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram) 14% N=19 36% N=48 23% N=31 27% N=36 100% N=134
Online feedback site
(www.aspencommunityvoice.com) 18% N=20 45% N=52 17% N=20 20% N=23 100% N=115
The City's main website
(www.cityofaspen.com) 15% N=31 56% N=116 21% N=44 9% N=18 100% N=209
Other City websites (APCHA, ARC, Golf,
Wheeler, etc.) 18% N=33 53% N=99 19% N=36 10% N=18 100% N=185
CGTV - Channel 11 18% N=20 48% N=55 17% N=20 17% N=20 100% N=115
Radio ads 16% N=21 55% N=70 18% N=23 11% N=14 100% N=128
Radio news 17% N=26 53% N=80 17% N=26 13% N=20 100% N=151
Newspaper ads 20% N=46 52% N=118 21% N=48 7% N=16 100% N=228
Newspaper stories 22% N=53 53% N=128 20% N=49 4% N=10 100% N=240
Mailed materials (brochures, bill inserts) 15% N=29 53% N=108 18% N=37 14% N=27 100% N=201
Contacting the Community Relations
Department 16% N=19 41% N=48 24% N=27 19% N=22 100% N=116
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 34: Question 18 (including don't know and not applicable)
Please tell us how satisfied or
dissatisfied you are with the
information you receive about the City
from each of the following.
Very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied
Somewhat
not
satisfied
Not at all
satisfied Don't know
Not
applicable Total
City meetings and open houses 15% N=42 42% N=119 20% N=58 6% N=18 12% N=33 4% N=12 100% N=281
City streaming webcasts 9% N=25 21% N=60 13% N=38 6% N=17 35% N=98 16% N=44 100% N=282
Emails (electronic newsletters, email
updates) 11% N=30 32% N=88 10% N=29 12% N=33 26% N=74 9% N=26 100% N=280
Social media (Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram) 7% N=19 17% N=48 11% N=31 13% N=36 35% N=98 17% N=48 100% N=280
Online feedback site
(www.aspencommunityvoice.com) 7% N=20 19% N=52 7% N=20 8% N=23 41% N=115 17% N=48 100% N=277
The City's main website
(www.cityofaspen.com) 11% N=31 41% N=116 16% N=44 6% N=18 19% N=55 6% N=18 100% N=281
Other City websites (APCHA, ARC, Golf,
Wheeler, etc.) 12% N=33 36% N=99 13% N=36 6% N=18 24% N=67 8% N=23 100% N=275
CGTV - Channel 11 7% N=20 20% N=55 7% N=20 7% N=20 44% N=124 15% N=41 100% N=280
Radio ads 8% N=21 26% N=70 8% N=23 5% N=14 39% N=104 14% N=37 100% N=269
Radio news 9% N=26 29% N=80 9% N=26 7% N=20 32% N=88 12% N=34 100% N=273
Newspaper ads 16% N=46 42% N=118 17% N=48 5% N=16 16% N=45 4% N=12 100% N=285
Newspaper stories 19% N=53 45% N=128 17% N=49 4% N=10 13% N=36 3% N=7 100% N=284
Mailed materials (brochures, bill inserts) 11% N=29 39% N=108 13% N=37 10% N=27 22% N=61 6% N=17 100% N=279
Contacting the Community Relations
Department 7% N=19 18% N=48 10% N=27 8% N=22 39% N=107 18% N=49 100% N=273
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 35: Question 19
Considering that the City provides information via all of the sources
mentioned above, what improvements, if any, can we make with our
communications?* Percent of respondents* Number of respondents
More or improved communication through internet (e-mail, social media),
newspapers or newsletters/mailings 18% N=13
Be transparent, accurate and timely with information/ communication 23% N=17
Listen to resident input, increase involvement 7% N=5
Increase availability/improved customer service 9% N=6
More printed communication (newspaper, mailings) 9% N=7
Positive comments about communication 5% N=4
Other 30% N=23
None or not sure 8% N=6
Total 100% N=76
*Percents add to more than 100% as up to two codes were used for each respondent’s comment. Verbatim comments can be found in Appendix B:
Verbatim Responses
Table 36: Question 20 (excluding don't know)
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with
services provided by the City of Aspen? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Satisfied 42% N=121
Somewhat satisfied 34% N=99
Somewhat not satisfied 19% N=56
Not at all satisfied 5% N=16
Total 100% N=292
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 37: Question 20 (including don't know)
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with
services provided by the City of Aspen? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Satisfied 41% N=121
Somewhat satisfied 34% N=99
Somewhat not satisfied 19% N=56
Not at all satisfied 5% N=16
Don't know 0% N=1
Total 100% N=293
Table 38: Question 21
Please provide any other feedback you may have on any City of
Aspen services* Percent of respondents* Number of respondents
Parking, roads, traffic safety/regulations and enforcement for cars, bikes
and pedestrians 21% N=29
Dissatisfaction with City services, departments, staff and officials
(includes ARC) 23% N=31
Concerns about affordability (housing, food/restaurants) 9% N=13
Concerns about the entrance to Aspen 2% N=3
Budget concerns 9% N=12
Positive comments about local government/services 8% N=11
Other 37% N=51
None or not sure 1% N=1
Total 100% N=136
*Percents add to more than 100% as up to two codes were used for each respondent’s comment. Verbatim comments can be found in Appendix B:
Verbatim Responses.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 39: Question 22 (excluding don't know)
How likely or unlikely would you be to
use each of the following, if they were
available: Very likely Somewhat likely Not at all likely Total
Use reservation-based shuttles that take
you directly to your end destination upon
request 37% N=101 31% N=85 32% N=89 100% N=275
Use an electric bike (E-bike) as part of a
bike-share system 28% N=77 22% N=60 50% N=138 100% N=275
Log your travel modes on a mobile app to
earn points redeemable, for instance, at
merchants 23% N=64 20% N=54 57% N=157 100% N=275
Use mini buses or vans that allow dogs,
bikes or tools 29% N=80 34% N=93 37% N=101 100% N=273
Use Downtowner-like services in an
expanded service area 43% N=120 29% N=80 28% N=76 100% N=276
Table 40: Question 22 (including don't know)
How likely or unlikely would you be to
use each of the following, if they were
available: Very likely Somewhat likely Not at all likely Don't know Total
Use reservation-based shuttles that take
you directly to your end destination upon
request 35% N=101 30% N=85 31% N=89 3% N=9 100% N=285
Use an electric bike (E-bike) as part of a
bike-share system 27% N=77 21% N=60 48% N=138 4% N=11 100% N=286
Log your travel modes on a mobile app to
earn points redeemable, for instance, at
merchants 22% N=64 19% N=54 55% N=157 4% N=12 100% N=287
Use mini buses or vans that allow dogs,
bikes or tools 28% N=80 32% N=93 35% N=101 5% N=15 100% N=288
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How likely or unlikely would you be to
use each of the following, if they were
available: Very likely Somewhat likely Not at all likely Don't know Total
Use Downtowner-like services in an
expanded service area 42% N=120 28% N=80 26% N=76 4% N=12 100% N=288
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 41: Question 23
How interested, if at all, are you in purchasing an electric vehicle? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Very interested 12% N=35
Somewhat interested 38% N=108
Not at all interested 46% N=130
Already own one 4% N=10
Total 100% N=283
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 42: Question 24
In which of the following topics are you most interested in receiving
information or assistance from the City: Percent of respondents** Number of respondents
Outdoor air quality (e.g., vehicle idling, quality monitoring) 39% N=108
Indoor air quality (e.g., radon, lead) 20% N=57
Climate actions (e.g., greenhouse gas reduction, renewables) 31% N=86
Mobility options (e.g., bikeshare, Downtowner, buses) 41% N=113
Consumer protection (e.g., food safety) 21% N=59
Energy efficiency (e.g., home energy assessments) 35% N=97
Public health protection (e.g., sun safety, vaccines) 26% N=73
Noise (e.g., leaf blower ban) 31% N=85
Water conservation (e.g., water use, river health) 39% N=108
Waste reduction (e.g., reusable items) 44% N=122
Waste diversion (e.g., composting, recycling) 48% N=133
Something else 8% N=21
None of these 23% N=65
Housing* 2% N=5
Parking* 1% N=3
Maintenance (snow plowing, leaf blowing, streets, lighting, etc.)* 2% N=5
Concerns over new construction* 0% N=1
Environmental Concerns, Environmental Sustainability* 3% N=7
City departments/services, permitting* 1% N=3
**Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option.
*These responses were coded out of “other something else” into these categories based on what was written in the "other specify" space. Some
comments were left as " something else”.
"Verbatim comments written in the "something else" space can be found in Appendix B: Verbatim Responses
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 43: Question 25 (excluding don't know)
How important is it, if at all, to complete
the following types of activities or
transactions on the City website: Essential Very important
Somewhat
important
Not at all
important Total
Apply for city jobs 33% N=72 26% N=57 12% N=26 30% N=66 100% N=222
Apply for permits and licenses 41% N=99 33% N=81 14% N=35 12% N=29 100% N=244
Pay bills, fees and fines 42% N=109 34% N=87 13% N=34 11% N=28 100% N=257
Request information about city services 39% N=98 38% N=94 12% N=30 10% N=26 100% N=247
Report concerns/problems 43% N=109 35% N=88 12% N=30 11% N=28 100% N=256
Apply for APCHA housing 38% N=89 30% N=71 13% N=30 20% N=47 100% N=237
Reserve buildings, parks or other facilities 40% N=98 29% N=70 17% N=42 14% N=35 100% N=245
Access city council agendas and videos 38% N=96 34% N=86 15% N=38 12% N=31 100% N=252
Access and analyze city data 34% N=84 31% N=78 19% N=48 16% N=39 100% N=248
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 44: Question 25 (including don't know)
How important is it, if at all, to complete
the following types of activities or
transactions on the City website: Essential
Very
important
Somewhat
important
Not at all
important Don't know Total
Apply for city jobs 26% N=72 21% N=57 10% N=26 24% N=66 19% N=53 100% N=275
Apply for permits and licenses 36% N=99 29% N=81 13% N=35 10% N=29 12% N=34 100% N=279
Pay bills, fees and fines 39% N=109 31% N=87 12% N=34 10% N=28 8% N=23 100% N=280
Request information about city services 36% N=98 34% N=94 11% N=30 9% N=26 10% N=26 100% N=273
Report concerns/problems 39% N=109 32% N=88 11% N=30 10% N=28 8% N=22 100% N=278
Apply for APCHA housing 32% N=89 25% N=71 11% N=30 17% N=47 15% N=42 100% N=278
Reserve buildings, parks or other facilities 35% N=98 25% N=70 15% N=42 13% N=35 12% N=32 100% N=277
Access city council agendas and videos 34% N=96 31% N=86 14% N=38 11% N=31 10% N=27 100% N=279
Access and analyze city data 30% N=84 28% N=78 17% N=48 14% N=39 11% N=31 100% N=279
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Table 45: Question 26 (excluding don't know)
How important, if at all, is it for the City government to take action on each of the following: Essential Very important
Somewhat
important
Not at all
important Total
Economic development without the
development (without new physical
development) 25% N=58 35% N=82 22% N=52 18% N=43 100% N=236
Ensuring the availability of adequate
workforce housing at a reasonable cost to
rent/purchase 48% N=133 23% N=63 16% N=43 13% N=36 100% N=275
Encouraging the development of additional
lodging 24% N=64 21% N=56 25% N=68 31% N=83 100% N=270
Improving pedestrian connectivity 27% N=76 28% N=78 29% N=82 15% N=42 100% N=278
Improving bike connectivity 26% N=73 26% N=73 27% N=74 20% N=56 100% N=276
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell
or gather 16% N=43 28% N=75 29% N=79 28% N=77 100% N=274
Providing new transportation options to
reduce reliance on personal automobiles 30% N=84 24% N=68 24% N=66 22% N=61 100% N=279
Increasing access to affordable locally
grown food 32% N=89 26% N=73 17% N=49 24% N=68 100% N=279
Protecting a minimum volume of water in
Roaring Fork River 52% N=142 25% N=70 12% N=32 11% N=31 100% N=275
Improving and protecting the health of the
Roaring Fork River 57% N=160 22% N=61 11% N=32 10% N=27 100% N=279
Finding ways to increase available child
care spaces 25% N=64 28% N=70 26% N=66 21% N=52 100% N=251
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise,
traffic, runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk
closures) 37% N=104 26% N=72 24% N=68 12% N=35 100% N=279
Improving the availability of affordable
high-speed internet service 39% N=105 24% N=64 25% N=66 12% N=33 100% N=268
Encouraging the public to take part in water
conservation programs 36% N=100 32% N=87 24% N=65 9% N=24 100% N=276
Encouraging the public to take part in
energy conservation programs 35% N=97 33% N=91 22% N=61 10% N=28 100% N=276
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 46: Question 26 (including don't know)
How important, if at all, is it for the City government to take action on each of the following: Essential
Very
important
Somewhat
important
Not at all
important Don't know Total
Economic development without the
development (without new physical
development) 22% N=58 31% N=82 20% N=52 17% N=43 10% N=26 100% N=261
Ensuring the availability of adequate
workforce housing at a reasonable cost to
rent/purchase 47% N=133 22% N=63 15% N=43 13% N=36 2% N=6 100% N=280
Encouraging the development of additional
lodging 23% N=64 20% N=56 24% N=68 30% N=83 3% N=10 100% N=280
Improving pedestrian connectivity 27% N=76 28% N=78 29% N=82 15% N=42 2% N=4 100% N=282
Improving bike connectivity 26% N=73 26% N=73 26% N=74 20% N=56 2% N=7 100% N=283
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell
or gather 15% N=43 27% N=75 28% N=79 27% N=77 2% N=7 100% N=281
Providing new transportation options to
reduce reliance on personal automobiles 30% N=84 24% N=68 23% N=66 21% N=61 2% N=6 100% N=285
Increasing access to affordable locally
grown food 31% N=89 26% N=73 17% N=49 24% N=68 1% N=4 100% N=282
Protecting a minimum volume of water in
Roaring Fork River 50% N=142 25% N=70 11% N=32 11% N=31 3% N=8 100% N=283
Improving and protecting the health of the
Roaring Fork River 57% N=160 21% N=61 11% N=32 9% N=27 2% N=4 100% N=283
Finding ways to increase available child
care spaces 23% N=64 25% N=70 23% N=66 18% N=52 11% N=31 100% N=282
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise,
traffic, runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk
closures) 37% N=104 25% N=72 24% N=68 12% N=35 2% N=6 100% N=285
Improving the availability of affordable
high-speed internet service 39% N=105 23% N=64 24% N=66 12% N=33 2% N=4 100% N=272
Encouraging the public to take part in water
conservation programs 35% N=100 31% N=87 23% N=65 9% N=24 2% N=5 100% N=281
Encouraging the public to take part in
energy conservation programs 35% N=97 33% N=91 22% N=61 10% N=28 1% N=3 100% N=279
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City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 47: Question 27
If you could “wave your magic wand” and make the Entrance to
Aspen (Buttermilk through the S-curves) of your dreams, which
ONE of the following options would you choose: Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses/rail (one lane in each
direction) across the Marolt Open Space in a cut-and-cover tunnel
(referred to by CDOT as the “Preferred Alternative”). 17% N=46
The "Split Shot" of two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses (one lane
in each direction for each mode) using the existing S-Curve alignment as
the “downvalley” one-way couplet and another S-Curve created for an
“upvalley” one-way couplet with a new bridge across Castle Creek
connecting to the end of Main Street. 10% N=29
A new bridge in the current alignment that accommodates a third lane
that is "reversible" – creating two lanes for cars and buses at different
times of the day for either direction (e.g. two lanes inbound in the
morning, two lanes outbound in the afternoon). 25% N=71
Leave the existing alignment as it is, but add a rail/monorail/gondola
system to the existing roadway system. 11% N=31
Four lanes (two in each direction) with no restrictions on buses or cars in
any lane across the Marolt Open Space (could use a cut-and-cover
tunnel). 20% N=56
Do nothing – it works just fine as it currently is. 17% N=47
Total 100% N=280
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Table 48: Question 28
About two-thirds of cars parking in the Downtown core are parked
for a relatively short period and are registered in the 81611 zip
code. To encourage use of another choice other than a personal
vehicle for trips outside of the Downtowner’s service area, both
positive incentives (“carrot”) and negative incentives (“stick”)
could be used. Percent of respondents Number of respondents
If a “carrot” approach was used,
which would you most prefer?
(Check only one.)
A subsidized ride in a small van/taxi-
like vehicle at $5 per vehicle per
round trip door-to-door 37% N=96
A subsidized ride in a small van/taxi-
like vehicle at $5 per person per
round trip door-to-door 12% N=31
No subsidy – people can pay for the
existing taxi service 51% N=131
Total 100% N=258
If a “stick” approach was used,
which would you most prefer?
(Check only one.)
Increase the parking rates, including
paying to park in the evening 9% N=23
Increase the parking rates for
daytime parking only, don’t charge in
the evening 14% N=38
Leave things like they are, don’t
increase parking rates or times
charged 77% N=204
Total 100% N=264
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Table 49: Question D1
How much do you anticipate your household’s total income before
taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total
income money from all sources for all persons living in your
household.) Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Less than $25,000 4% N=10
$25,000 to under $50,000 10% N=26
$50,000 to under $75,000 22% N=60
$75,000 to under $100,000 18% N=49
$100,000 to under $150,000 23% N=62
$150,000 to under $200,000 6% N=16
$200,000 or more 18% N=48
Total 100% N=273
Table 50: Question D2
What is your gender? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
Female 50% N=140
Male 50% N=142
Total 100% N=282
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Table 51: Question D3
In which category is your age? Percent of respondents Number of respondents
18-24 years 3% N=9
25-34 years 19% N=54
35-44 years 17% N=49
45-54 years 23% N=66
55-64 years 13% N=38
65-74 years 16% N=46
75-84 years 8% N=23
85 years or older 1% N=4
Total 100% N=289
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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APPENDIX B: VERBATIM RESPONSES
All write-in responses are presented below verbatim (without corrections to respondents’ spelling
or punctuation). The responses to open-ended survey questions were coded thematically.
Comments are presented by the category into which they were coded. (If more than two codes
were applied to a comment, the comment is shown in the first category to which it was coded.)
The number of comments in categories shown in this appendix may not match the numbers
shown in the tables in Appendix A: Complete Set of Survey Responses because the numbers
shown in those tables have been statistically weighted to better reflect the voter population. (See
Appendix E: Survey Methodology for more information on weighting.)
Question 13: What other specific concerns, if any, do you have with City parks, fields,
open space and trails?
Dog-related concerns (e.g., dog waste, leash laws, etc.)
• Lack of enforcement by city when signs are clearly posted. Officials ignore off-leash dogs. Why have
an ordinance if city will not enforce it?
• Enforce leash laws!
• Dogs off leash, dog poop.
• Unleashed dogs, dog waste & dog harassing wildlife- no enforcement.
• Not enough areas to be off leash for well-behaved dogs. Fine those who don't pick up!
• Dog poop or smuggler.
• Need trails for dogs off leash.
• My well behaved dogs appreciate spaces to run off leash! We always pick up after our pets.
• I would love to see a permitted off-leash system for (approved) dogs. [See Boulder, Co.].
• Unleashed dogs & dog waste- no enforcement.
• Dog owners need their own/ very unhappy trails without harassment of rangers!!!
• Dog poop!! Need a better system (DNA testing).
• Dog owners that don't pickup their dogs "poop". I do and have a dog!
• Leash laws never enforced.
• Would like one small park to be fenced of a "dog park".
• Pick up the poop!
• People don't pick up after their dogs.
• either do away with the doggie bags or stronger enforcement of picking them up.
• Leash law needs to be enhanced.
Trail-related concerns (e.g., sharing, create connections, surface issues)
• Lots of root damage to paved tracks.
• Improve surface quality, wheelchair to street ramps, signage, painted lanes.
• Root cracks on paths SH.
• Bike path to schools, ARC should be widened, flattered and visibility improved (remove some).
• Don't need more signs- "way finding" is good as is.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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• Street sidewalks are dangerously icy.
• Existing way finding signage is adequate.
• Ped/ bike trails are dangerous on winter nights. No lighting & very icy.
• Vegetation on trails blocks line of sight.
• Too much use bad turf.
Accessibility/use/enforcement concerns
• Better trail signage.
• Parking at smuggler is out of control. The park by smuggler is over run with cars and people on a
regular basis.
• Long trail closures are excessive and longer than need.
• No smoking signs. Too many cigarette butts!
• City could do better job with weed control. Many invasive species are spreading and taking over.
• Parks up hunter- people park without pass.
• Please fix road to Cathedral lake trail head/ address parking issue at upper lost man.
• Enforce 21+ ppl. to throw away cig. butts in the right place before making laws to 18-21 ppl.
• People with dogs without leashes, kids, strollers, walkers- driving car, riding bikes crossing streets all
while looking @ their cell phones! Downtown is dangerous.
• Why are vehicles/ motorcycles not allowed on smuggler anymore???
• Rio Grande trails summertime not safe- too many pedestrians & bikers.
• People should police themselves.
Bicycle-related concerns
• Being run over by cyclists while walking Rio.
• Bicycle using the sidewalks no enforcement.
• I am concerned about the speed of E-bikes. I have seen too many close calls and one slow/speed signs
for biker. E-bikers going too fast! I am wondering if we could post more bikes yield to pedestrian signs.
• More winter biking trail options should be allowed on a Nordic trail system.
• Electric bikes. I run a lot on trails around town and have collided/ nearby collided with several,
unfortunately.
• More signage supporting awareness of sharing path bikes/ pedestrians.
• Clean up too/ better enforcement of fast/ too fast/ dangerous riders.
• On the trails - E bikes, more signs (Don't want on single track).
• Ebikes are a concern on the bike path. They can go so fast.
• Wrong to bar dirt bikes from dirt roads if we smell less.
• If bike path East of town was paved, probably bikers would use the bike trail and not 82.
• Signs needed to encourage courteous biking etiquette as city is encouraging more people to bike.
Some bikers are dangerous to shared with.
• Bicyclists not announcing themselves before whizzing by waltus! (In spite of signage!)
• Speed limit for e-bikes please.
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Park/trail construction/maintenance concerns
• I'm concerned there's too much watering.
• Paying money to re-sod every year after Aspen classic.
• Bathrooms @ Heaven Park are disgusting for children. The park @ Wagner for children is uninspired
and uncertain.
• Over- used in places.
• Need new sand for Volleyball @ Koch park.
• Too much watering.
• Want trail to Crested Butte.
• Pesticides or sprays that are used in parks where kids & dogs play.
• Wildfire mitigation!
• Why is Anderson park still look like missibbppi.
• Rio & Wagner over-watered, swampy. Yellow brick grass needs love.
• NOT ON TOP OF REPAIRS : TOILET OFTEN DIRTY, LOCKED ON RIO GRANDE.
• Northstar preserve! Way to many people recreating (100+ a day) to preserve the natural habitat!
Grossly under managed!
Events at parks
• Wagner park- too often closed to the public for events. Why prep grass before food and wine when
the event will destroy it?
• Wagner park was closed for too long prior to F/W 18- For new so that was going to be destroyed by
food/ wine anyway.
• Wagner closed too often.
• Wagner Park closed too long in May, June.
• Special events prevent parks from being used by local's soccer fields off-limits to soccer practice b/c of
food & wines, art crush etc.
• Wagner closed often for the wine tent.
• I don't think Wagner Park should be closed for weeks (months?) at a time so that food & wine, an
exclusive, for profit event can take it over. We the tax payers should get a % of the fees paid to the city!
• Stop using Wagner Park for wine & food festival!!!
• Wagner Park is closed too often.
• Don't waste Wagner park on food and wine.
• Food & wine should pay 100% of field repair costs.
• Wagner park- 1) Good in spring. 2) Ruined by Fx 10. 3) Huge $ to fix again- closed too long.
• Too many events! You are getting rid of what made Aspen special.
• Re-sodding Wagner Park after food & wine- If required F&W should pay all of cost.
• 2 many special events for profit that close parks/ 2 many sign/ the poop patrol are ducks.
• Too many private events closing them, too much dog waste.
• Packs are over booked w/ events.
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Positive comments about parks, fields, open space and trails
• Nothing, you do a great job, Thank you!
• I basically just use North star trails & they are fine, patrolled, considering huge usage.
• None. These depts. do an excellent job!
• None- the department does a fantastic job.
None
• None.
• None.
• No.
• None.
• None.
• None.
Other
• Improve the cozy point archery facility!
• Great need for more and better pickleball courts.
• Quit developing open space.
• It would be nice to have a park w/ outdoor fitness stations (pull up bar, dip bar etc.).
• The Ice Garden (is this appropriate here?) is so unused all day until @ 3:30. With exception of noon
hockey for 1 1/4 hrs. 4x/ wk., ice is unused can be public skate, stick & puck...make use of it! It's a
waste of good ice in core where working people can get to easier than Arc.
• Please stop with random "Art" sculptures. Open space is art.
• Fewer & fewer places to take deep without regulation & issue.
• Catering to tourists is ruining the vibe. You are killing fun.
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Question 19: Considering that the City provides information via all of the sources
mentioned above, what improvements, if at all, can we make with our communications?
More or improved communication through internet (e-mail, social media), newspapers or
newsletters/mailings
• I don't need physical paper every day, more social media (Twitter, FB).
• I have a real hard time finding a useful info on the web site & I am very computer literate. Answer
your phones- I always have to leave messages.
• Don't want the Facebook streaming feature.
• A website that has all city activity links including wheeler etc.
• Send more emails, or simply one form of communication and prioritize it.
• Social media. Plus this survey could have been sent electronically.
• Website not that intuitive, search via google more successful than within website.
• Improve streaming webcasts accessibility.
• Better social media engagement, emergency details during fire non- existent.
• Webcasts don't work on all browsers, all websites are clunky.
• Never see facebook post text arc.
• Make better use of social media.
Be transparent, accurate and timely with information/ communication
• Keep news factual.
• More community awareness i.e. mail outs for very important items- maybe a quarterly newsletter about
important items for all topics (arts, health, environment, etc.)
• Discuss parking changes with public before raising rates on limiting time 7-4 hours.
• The city should communicate better with neighbors concerning AH projects. The city forces projects
on neighborhoods.
• Figure out a better way to reach citizens sooner.
• Give communication of bridge work would be a great start or just an info.
• Earlier notice in newspapers.
• How about logical or reasonable communication?
• Be more "open" with the public!
• Information as early as possible. In the newspapers.
• More communication & information on what's happening.
• More transparency & timely.
• Advertise is a more timely manner (visibly).
• More transparency- admit you are getting rid of bricks- you are going to heat the sidewalks like Vail.
• You don't inform us directly- you expect us to read the newspaper.
• Truth.
Listen to resident input, increase involvement
• Quit listening only to the screamers.
• Given city council does what it wants, it seems pointless to participate in meetings.
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• Do more.
• Listen more to your residents, your communication is one way.
• Seek more feedback like this survey.
• Voices in the community.
• City meetings could be held late in the evening for attendance purposes.
Increase availability/improved customer service
• Would be nice to be able to reach somebody by phone instead of getting voice mail constantly.
• Poor response to voice mail messages.
• Not aware of half the channels mentioned here.
• Stop preaching to us and lead by example. Answer the phones. Every time I call a department I get
voice mail and then I may or may not get called back.
• Make city meetings & live streams more publicized.
• Provide a recap of council meetings happenings.
More printed communication (newspaper, mailings)
• Mailed material- I don't do social media or listen to the radio. I don't want a lot of "junk" email- our left
wing newspaper would just upset me more about our out of control city cost. Seriously explain the art
museum.
• More communication via newspaper and emails.
• Bring back "this week in Aspen"!
• I still like to read the paper, so more info in the papers.
• Brochure re-bicycle safety.
• More printed mailings well in advance.
Positive comments about communication
• Clear & concise.
• New __who knows what they are doing, not just sliding by.
• People say you are not transparent enough but I go to council and do not find this true, nor are most
of these- there. However! More open discover before a proposed project is really underway. This
community is still feeling from the fact that threat & law suits brought us the architectural disaster
called AAM (Awful Art & Museum).
• WE BELIEVE IT'S GOOD.
Other
• Too much unimportant communication.
• Stop over spending!
• Better council members- for the people/senior longtime locals.
• Utilities website & billing.
• Back off a bit.
• Visits to retailers in core.
• Set the library the way it was computer 1 floor- Remove the coffee up, top floor.
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• The housing needs to be looked at. We very obviously need more for employees. Look at how many
apply & for which units.
• Newspaper is only way I can get information so go to the office.
• Reach out to full time residents.
• Cut back, enough already.
• Really don't trust the information they provide to the public.
• More local radio ads.
• Stop spending money on logos and surveys.
• Educate bikers to use courteous behaviors on paths.
• Push for more of us to get Pitkin alerts.
• Use both local papers/ Bi weekly Ad- "what's at wheeler".
• Too many staff- and we tax payers are funding.
• When changes are made to a policy- can't put in newspaper- only 1 time.
• Publish results of public hearing for development/ variances. We get notice of hearings for our
neighborhood but no results.
• There is no communication.
• Shorten written surveys- too broad.
• Make it shorter.
• The city's overall budget is excessive and over-funded.
• Stop using consultants ad spending so much money.
• Apcha & community development could both improve communication.
• Either Noon or MDNT! Don't us "p.m" or "a.m" with 12 o clock-its either noon or midnight.
None/Don’t know
• None.
• None.
• Unsure - sorry.
• None.
• Ok.
• Not sure.
• Unknown.
• No suggestion.
• None.
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Question 21: Please provide any other feedback you may have on any City of Aspen
services:
Parking, roads, traffic safety/regulations and enforcement for cars, bikes and pedestrians
• Cyclists go too fast on bike/pedestrian paths endangering pedestrians.
• Enforce parking laws & "no gas-powered leaf blower" laws! Get expired license plates off the public
streets. Don't just make them move occasionally-make them pay their fair share. Same for residents
with out-of-state registration.
• I would love to see more bikers yield to walker signs.
• Enforce existing ordinances & laws i.e. health laws, dog laws, pedestrian crosswalks, stop signs.
___didn't need an outside booking agency and he brought in much better entertainment!
• The city of aspen should be a car free zone at the core. Daily parking rates should be much higher to
encourage the use of alternative transport.
• CastleCrk bridge is a huge mistake.
• Parking, traffic are horribly mismanaged.
• Aspen has allowed traffic in the West end to get out of control. No speed monitoring. Parking
restrictions, fines and fees are distressing.
• It would be great to have earlier and later buses during offseason, earlier during the week and later on
weekends, for places like Highlands to Ruby Park, Hunter Creek, and other heavily used routes.
• Parking rates & limits to excessive not everybody lives in town on near a bus stop.
• Not happy with Castle Creek bridge & painted bike lanes or streets projects.
• Parking has become insanely unaffordable. It is a deterrent to patronize establishments within the
core.
• Change seats on Truscott bus stop and more cover for the snow winter's and rain. Keep/ BRT/
stopping in Maroon Creek bus stop.
• Start enforcing the laws & ordinances. Stop watering the bike paths & parks in the middle of day. Fix
water leaks, stop planting cottonwoods in dry land areas. Enforce dog leash & dog waste. Enforce
lighting & noise ordinances. I should not call Aspen dept. just to be told to call Pitkin county & then
Pitkin county tells me to call Aspen.
• Parking dept.- kill me.
• Every change in parking fees & method of payment has been worse than the last.
• Provide more parking, enforce the rule currently not being enforced unless we call! Construct new
parking garage.
• Very unhappy as a full-time long term local as are others I know about the lack of concern for dog
owners /do not appreciate rangers who only policy dog walkers and not bikers speeding all day Manolt
area never announcing and stopping at signs.
• 1) Parking is out of control, with high fees & tickets. That department is discouraging tourists and
down valley residents. 2) The police dept. is not stronger consistent. Too many of different (officers)
abilities.
• Construction permits for parking needs to be mapped out so that numerous permits aren't issued is
same area, i.e., last winter/ spring,140 spots were reserved in the area around in the new dancing bear,
IA condos, etc. Also, parking dept. has to take better notice of cars left for weeks in 2 hrs. parking
spots & lots.
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• Plowing side streets- They plow in parked cars & when dugout street is a mess & parking is unusable.
• Please stop allowing down valley commuters using the West End Streets as a race track to circumvent
city experiments with Main Street. 4 lanes the entrance to a seen! As the voters approved!
• Parking & related issues way worse then previously.
• Do not take away any more parking- period.
• Too many Maroon Bells buses at Highlands; the road was originally engineered for 2 buses total, now
on an average day there are 7 buses- that's ridiculous- Highlands is not a bus hub! And the availability
is horrible!
• City bus route hours need to start earlier in full off-season to match up lake hours of Mareen Lake bus
service. We should not need to take our cars & park in too crowded Highlands lot to catch the earliest
bus to the lake.
• The recent changes in parking rules & rates have made traveling to the core excessively expensive.
More flexibility in the parking as it was prior to the recent changes would be better.
• Street sidewalks and roads are dangerously icy.
• I moved here for the mountain not so interested in so much signage, parking, prefer leaving the trails
more natural.
• They continue to ignore the real problems- parking & cars.They are not going away!
• Improve bike infrastructure through the city. Remove dangerous head- in parking. More bikes, less
cars! Also, kids first should use net not gross income and include housing cost in the methodology for
assessing financial need.
• PARKING, PARKING, PARKING !!! NEED MORE, PAY LESS! BIKE LANES ARE
RIDICULOUS IN MIDDLE OF THE STREET NO BIKES ON MAIN ST. WHEN HOPKINS
IS CLOSE BY. BIKES SHOULD FOLLOW RULES OF THE ROAD.
• SHUTTLES / ASPEN BUSES GREAT (IF APPLICABLE).
Dissatisfaction with City services, departments, staff and officials (includes ARC)
• Cops have become scary and aggressive. I now would never call them, unless an absolute emergency.
Not as, friendly, helpful as the "old dogs".
• Becoming so bureaucratic and decentralized- departments seem disconnected.
• Make pool passes more affordable.
• Waste of gas, time and air pollution by repeated leaving my street when not needed.
• More timely utility billing. Specifically, water inefficiencies could be fixed if billing was more prompt.
Currently, it takes 2 months to see we have a problem.
• #15, The water has a very chemical taste. I buy water to drink.
• Community developments to be run like a business- charge fairly for services rendered & be
accountable for timely responses! Fees far out weight quality of service.
• Some alleys need paving and cleaning. For a while the city had 3 employees taking $500/ person for
Pickle ball play. Wouldn't one employee be enough?
• Too much street cleaning, as if they are trying to stay busy.
• Snowplowing & removal could be much improved!! On Lone Pine St.!!
• Too many free services!
• We are rebuilding a home in smuggler park and the permitting process has been long, frustrating and
confusing. Though it's meant to make it hard for development, it penalizes locals by being expensive
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and laborious. Often it seems each department does not know what the other is doing and it's hard to
get any sort of estimated timeline which makes moving (when you're displaced) hard.
• When you talk to the parks dept. or the building dept., I feel like they couldn't be bothered.
• What has happened to the Art Rec. Center? They used to be good?
• I don't think the streets need to be swept everyday it's not snowing. It crosses a ton of PM 10.
• The _____is out of touch & should be replaced.
• The ARC should have a couples pass.
• Rules for residential houses and landscape change all the time. We don't know which rules apply to us
or just new properties. Leader of building dept. is good but the staff needs to retire. They make
arbitrary inconsistent decisions.
• The Rec. Center work out room is small and sub-standard. The cardio room is solid. Are there plans
to improve the work out room?
• Better water from tap original curve apts. Aspen tap shouldn't be murky.
• Building department is rude, disorganized and punitive in their decision making. I feel that there
needs to be significant changes.
• We Cyole was the worst it has ever been.
• Community relations should be more proactively communicating with the community.
• Wheeler opera house needs to serve community orgs. & be affordable paid parking needs work.
• Cut budget & staff govt. is too big. Only concerned w/ "new offices" & provide prior services to
community. Don't listen to the community "City of Aspen" works for tax payers- often rude & entitled.
• Snowplowing can be too aggressive damaging curbs/ sidewalk.
• The new sigh "ASPEN POLICE" in front of new police dept. bldg. Is not too big necessary hyphen:
don't spend 1000s of dollars, reduce it!
Concerns about affordability (housing, food/restaurants)
• Need more housing.
• What a shame, that a couple that has worked in Pitkin county APCHA/ Aspen for 40 years, but
decides to retire before the age of 67, must pack up and leave. But a couple that moves to Pitkin
County/ Aspen at age of 62 can work for 4 years, buy employee housing, retire at 67, and live in their
housing for the rest of their lives... (maybe 30 years).
• Improve economic diversity and local opportunities, access to affordable health care and health
insurance. Need accessible mental health support.
• Need more ownership affordable housing.
• Very big shortage on employee housing for families.
• Housing is a huge issue, there needs to be some changes in now APCHA is structured. Inventory has
to be added.
Concerns about the entrance to Aspen
• Stop ignoring the entrance/ exit issue!
• Time to 4 lanes in/ out of town.
Budget concerns
• Spend too much money/ don't seek to economize before hitting up residents with higher taxes!
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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• Do not spend so much money on consultants. Head of city departments knows better what's needed &
what needs improvement. Not the consultant, consult your own people.
• I believe the city wastes a lot of money on things like start sweeping, plowing, flowers, etc. It's over the
top because the budget is so huge.
• There seems to be no financial oversight. City spending is out of control!
• City seems to look for projects to justify the taxes. Several projects seem unnecessary or are repeated
multiples times. The curbs on the corners of the block where I work seem to be torn up & replaced
annually.
• Quit wasting money. ______should get this head out of _______!
• Too many staff, spend money like its water.
• Seem to spend a lot of money on things the community does not want or need- bike path over bridge,
mobility lab, etc. would prefer employee housing businesses could by to put employees in.
• The city has too much money and spends it poorly on services and endless studies that are not
needed. Such as mobility lab, yet another wheel's study, housing $ ineffectively deployed.
• Same as above. Stop spending carelessly. Fire _________!
• Services good but tax burden is becoming an issue.
Positive comments about local government/services
• Police are great. Stop growing the government.
• Basically good council so.
• The community development department has been improving, but the permit process is an
embarrassment.
• The city of Aspen electric: I had a street light out on matchless/ Gibson. I think the gentleman's name
was ___He and his crew were fast, professional & nice!
• The ones I have need do a good job!
• _______ doing great job.
• Thank you for all the wonderful things you guys do for us! I am so thankful to call Aspen my home!
• Love the Downtowner!
• ____in utilities is a constant professional with great customer service skills. What's with all the turnover
in other depts.?
• Great! Thank you!
Other
• Re;22: Some people here allergies to dogs. Allowing them on mass transit (roads) can cause health
problems. City does not enforce idling law. People idle all over the city and neighborhoods regardless
of temperature (i.e., 600-need neither heat nor AC).
• Build 3 more pickleball courts. Why should Snowmass village residents have so much access to our
ARC pickleball courts? Cut them to 2 mornings/ week on only 2 courts
• Lots of lazy people! Fewer people should work harder working for aspen is early retirement!
• There is hardly a change contemplated or implemented that does degrade the experience of living in
town.
• Wish the air would be cleaner! Our patio every morning has black dust on the table. We have
appweed _______at the Env. Dept. many times with no results!
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• Consider the aging population.
• Permits for tree removal- Sky high! and then you have to pay for removal. Parks should monitor,
approve- or not, and charge a very minimum fee for this service- our taxes already fund parks.
• Water pressure in Burlingame is weak.
• The idea of paying 20 million dollars for daily news- Hunt's property is insane. Our city government
has a spending problem please be responsible.
• Include airport emissions and size in oral/ scene.
• Please send a mail out on how to sign up for notifications across all channels. I get same notifications,
not others (i.e. was not informed on Arc, redbrick services but very informed with APCHA). Do not
spend so much money to re-sod the grass after food & wine- waste of taxpayer money.
• I don't listen to local radio, but I do read the paper almost solely to read ads and see what events are
available in town. Reaching out in the paper is great.
• This survey is too long. Probably the last time I will respond.
• Less regulations.
• The city should keep the police sign and not spend 75k to promote a sport only 5% of the tax payers
can do! Uphilling is not for this 30 year resident. It's boring and too physical for most. Give our 75k
worth of free O2 to residents.
• The malls should be smoke free! This is a "No-Brainer".
• Quit kissing asses of rich people!
• 1) I am extremely unhappy at the way mgt. has gone at the wheeler since _____ left. As some who
once shared & for worked many shows, I can no longer do it because I don't have a computer to sign
up. 2) Mgt. changes have prevented me from working.
• Would like to always see the police dept. out at night when bars close.
• The city council and mayor are not realistic and do not represent the community, only a small old
contingency.
• Stop trying to bring more people to Aspen and then complain about the traffic.
• Underpaid over worked.
• Cut staff.
• Too much density- too much development- lot line to lot line- eventual poor quality of life here.
• No more downtown construction!
• Make the city viable to run a business and house workers for businesses.
• City govt. too often ignores voter preferences; goes its own way. It assumes it knows better than its
citizens. Too generous to its "followers".
• Castle Ridge black mold.
• Lousy survey/ questions are set up to show your doing good. Need more questions that can fix
problems! But you don't care and don't want to know!
• Sustainability is important to me. I attended the Green drinks happy hours and was surprised by the
plastic and take out used. A lot of trash generated. In addition airport does not compost!
• Need more yoga/ exercise class space at the ARC.
• PCHA becoming too strict on owners/glorified renters in fines for renting out a room in their own.
Home(glorified rental) want PCHA authorization. Waste of the payers time and money.
• Greater simplification of "Map" services.
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• The push for alternative transportation is heavy handed and not what the citizens want!!
• The audio system in Council chambers is quite poor. Hard to hear on public seating. Microphones
don't adequately pick up voices should be much better. Impedes good public dialogue.
• It's slow.
• Why so many new buildings? Are we getting highest and best use dedicating high demand real estate
to city offices?
• Planta Pavo the Alley at E. Hyman Ave.
• Live Main & 6th- Guys trying to break in & knocking on my door NITELY unsafe, you allow the
bums to park 7th & S Curre, not good.
• See attached comment.
• Answer the phone instead of voicemail.
• The survey should be digital! It's a waste of resources, to get 2 copies mailed, carbon footprint, etc. It's
not 1992!
• Stop promoting the resort w/ tax payers money stop selling out the community to the greed developers
support the needs of the community sustainability not resort profit.
• Approving too much construction As per is a community not a comodity.
• Very broad of a question.
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Question 24: In which of the following topics are you most interested in receiving
information or assistance from the City (“something else” responses)*
*Please note that topics included on the survey were those that could be addressed by the City’s Environmental
Health and Sustainability Department (EHS).
Housing
• Housing.
• Housing.
• Employees housing Rentals & ownership. Singles & families seem to have the hardest time getting
housing.
Parking
• Fix parking nightmare and Mitch
• Parking for locals.
• Parking!! We need parking no more rate hikes.
• Valet parking for large parties on quiet neighborhoods.
• New parking garage.
Maintenance (snow plowing, leaf blowing, streets, lighting, etc)
• Leaf blowing bad.
• I don't like to see cig. butts in the streets! 21 yr. and up also need Li tuts!!!
• Dog poop.
• Less icy streets for pedestrians.
• Plan to pave the alley at E. Hyman Ave.
Concerns over new construction
• Control building & construct in within city.
• Construction noise over dense housing.
Environmental Concerns, Environmental Sustainability
• Private at emissions and cost vs. cart.
• Renewable power.
• Expand malls. Reduce cars.
• Plastic bags- a black hole.
• Try to reduce take out containers for ex: Durhamgreentogo.com
• Fire mitigation.
• Any info that will help me be a better Steward of our environment.
• Electric car discounts.
• HEALTH OF OUR FOREST.
Other
• Community high speed internet.
• Enforce lighting ordinance.
• Improve service at building department too long expensive for permits.
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• Department, achievements, accomplishments.
• Financial- muni. bonds.
• Real issues in real life.
• City wide cigarette ban. Butts everywhere!!!
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APPENDIX C: SELECT SURVEY RESULTS COMPARED BY
RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS
The subgroup comparison tables in this Appendix contain the cross tabulations of survey
questions by selected respondent characteristics. They help the city understand, for instance,
whether the answers to a question vary by respondent subgroups, such as respondent age, gender
and annual household income. Only a subset of potential cross-tabulations is included.
Chi-square or ANOVA tests of significance were applied to these breakdowns of survey questions.
A “p-value” of 0.05 or less indicates that there is less than a 5% probability that differences
observed between groups are due to chance; or in other words, a greater than 95% probability that
the differences observed in the selected categories of the sample represent “real” differences
among those populations.
For each pair of subgroups that has a statistically significant difference, an upper case letter
denoting significance is shown in the category with the larger column proportion. The letter
denotes the category with the smaller column proportion from which it is statistically different.
Differences were marked as statistically significant if the probability that the differences were due
to chance alone were less than 5%. Categories were not used in comparisons when a column
proportion was equal to zero or one.
Items that have no upper-case letter denotation in their column and that are also not referred to in
any other column were not statistically different.
For example, in Table 52 below, 86% of respondents age 18 to 34 (A) rated the overall quality of
life in Aspen as excellent or good. This proportion of respondents was statistically significantly
lower than respondents age 35 to 54 and respondents age 55 and over, denoted with an A in each
of those columns. However, there was not a statistically significant difference between the ratings
of those age 35 to 54 and those ae 55+, which is seen by the lack of a letter B or C.
Select Survey Results by Respondent Age
Summary of Significant Differences by Age
Survey responses often varied by age of the survey respondent. A summary of the significant
differences by age of resident are provided below.
Survey respondents 18-34, in comparison with older persons, were significantly less likely to:
• Rate the overall quality of life as good or excellent
• Rate the service provided by the City Manager’s office as prompt, or to consider City
Manager office staff as informative
• Rate the service by Utility Billing staff as courteous
• Rate Housing Authority staff as knowledgeable
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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• Rate the services by Police as prompt
• Be satisfied with ARC, City Clerk, Community Development, Engineering, Environmental
Health and Sustainability, GIS, Kids First, Red Brick Rec Center, Streets, and Wheeler
Opera House services
• Be satisfied with Snow Removal in the Commercial Core
• Be satisfied, overall, with services offered by the City of Aspen
• Consider it important for the city to ensure availability of affordable housing; protect the
health of the Roaring Fork River; reduce construction impacts; improve the availability of
affordable high-speed internet
Residents falling into the age 35-55 group, in comparison with one or more of the other age
groups, rated the timeliness of services by Utility Billing lower. In addition, this group placed a
significantly higher level of importance on ensuring affordable housing, in comparison with the
other two groups.
Areas rated significantly lower by residents 55 years and older in comparison with one or more of
the other age groups included:
• The job the city does of responding to public records and information requests
• The level of enforcement of for dog laws (few felt it was too strict)
• The importance of ensuring affordable housing
• The importance of providing new transportation options to reduce use of personal
automobiles
• The importance of increasing access to locally grown food
Table 52: Overall Quality of Life by Respondent Age
Percent good or excellent
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
How do you rate the overall quality of life in Aspen? 86% 95%
A
95%
A
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 53: Quality of City Services by Respondent Age
Do you agree or disagree with the following
statements about services provided by the City?
(Percent agree or strongly agree)
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
The service provided by the City Manager's Office
was accurate
67% 67% 58%
The service provided by the City Manager's staff
was prompt
32% 64%
A
58%
A
The City Manager's staff was responsive 52% 57% 59%
The City Manager's staff was helpful 52% 55% 61%
The City Manager's staff was knowledgeable 68% 66% 66%
The City Manager's staff was informative 35% 66%
A
61%
A
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was
accurate
93% 90% 94%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was
timely
97% 88% 98%
B
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in dealing with
my situation or request
78% 94%
A
95%
A
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable in dealing
with my situation or request
97% 88% 95%
The Finance Window staff was courteous in dealing
with my situation or request
96% 91% 94%
The Finance Window staff was knowledgeable in
dealing with my situation or request
96% 92% 92%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff
was accurate
73% 76% 76%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff
was timely
73% 72% 77%
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 68% 78% 79%
The Housing Authority staff was knowledgeable 68% 77% 86%
A
The services provided by the Police staff were
accurate
92% 97% 95%
The services provided by the Police staff were
prompt
89% 99%
A
97%
A
The Police staff was courteous 97% 96% 97%
The Police staff was helpful 92% 97% 95%
The Police staff was knowledgeable 92% 94% 93%
The Police staff was informative 95% 93% 96%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 99
Table 54: Performance of City Departments by Respondent Age
In general, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you
with the overall performance of the following
services of the City of Aspen government?
(Percent somewhat satisfied or very satisfied)
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 67% 88%
A
89%
A
Asset Department 55% 72% 80%
City Clerk Office 76% 91%
A
90%
A
City Manager's Office 31% 53%
A
54%
A
Community Development 35% 63%
A
67%
A
Electric 78% 83% 91%
Engineering 31% 65%
A
60%
A
Environmental Health and Sustainability 62% 90%
A C
68%
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and other
payments to the city)
94% 92% 85%
Golf 93% 91% 89%
GIS (Geographic Information System) 61% 92%
A
94%
A
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted and
rental units)
56% 70% 59%
Kids First 58% 91%
A
91%
A
New housing development 29% 49% 42%
Parks 85% 91% 86%
Police Department 94% 95% 94%
Red Brick Recreation Center 78% 96%
A
93%
A
Streets 61% 76%
A
72%
Transportation 73% 85% 78%
Parking 34% 41% 41%
Water 92% 91% 87%
Wheeler Opera House 77% 90%
A
85%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 100
Table 55: City Government Performance by Respondent Age
Please rate the following categories of Aspen
government performance: (Percent good or
excellent)
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
The job the City does informing residents 43% 51% 56%
The quality of the information the City provides to
residents
65%
C
50% 48%
The job the City does listening to residents 30% 24% 27%
The value of City services for the taxes you pay 49% 55% 50%
The job the City does communicating to residents
about major issues
44% 49% 43%
The job the City does matching expenditures to
community priorities
37% 26% 29%
The job the City does responding to requests for
public records and information
82%
C
65% 50%
Table 56: City Streets and Snow Removal by Respondent Age
With the exception of Main Street and Highway
82, which are maintained by the State of
Colorado, do you agree or disagree with the
following statements concerning City streets?
(Percent agree or strongly agree)
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
City streets are in good repair 84% 90% 84%
The street surfaces are smooth 70% 78% 79%
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 66% 66% 76%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial Core
was timely
82% 91% 93%
A
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial Core
was thorough
80% 86% 89%
Last winter's snow removal in my residential area
was timely
80% 68% 79%
Last winter's snow removal in my residential area
was thorough
76% 72% 78%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 101
Table 57: Current Level of Enforcement for Dogs by Respondent Age
Please rate the current level of enforcement for
dogs (e.g., clean up; leash laws).
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
Too strict 17%
C
13% 5%
About right 48% 46% 46%
Not strict enough 35% 41% 49%
Total 100% 100% 100%
Table 58: Overall Satisfaction with City Services by Respondent Age
Percent somewhat or very satisfied
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with services provided by the City of
Aspen?
58% 81%
A
79%
A
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 102
Table 59: Importance of Actions the City Could Take by Respondent Age
How important, if at all, is it for the City
government to take action on each of the
following: (Percent very important or essential)
18-34 35-54 55+
(A) (B) (C)
Economic development without the development
(without new physical development)
49% 59% 65%
Ensuring the availability of adequate workforce
housing at a reasonable cost to rent/purchase
59% 82%
A C
67%
Encouraging the development of additional lodging 38% 47% 42%
Improving pedestrian connectivity 49% 57% 57%
Improving bike connectivity 53% 58% 47%
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather 51% 42% 39%
Providing new transportation options to reduce
reliance on personal automobiles
67%
C
58%
C
44%
Increasing access to affordable locally grown food 76%
C
62%
C
46%
Protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring
Fork River
75% 74% 82%
Improving and protecting the health of the Roaring
Fork River
73% 77% 87%
A
Finding ways to increase available child care
spaces
60% 55% 46%
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise, traffic,
runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk closures)
44% 69%
A
69%
A
Improving the availability of affordable high-speed
internet service
47% 64%
A
70%
A
Encouraging the public to take part in water
conservation programs
66% 69% 69%
Encouraging the public to take part in energy
conservation programs
66% 71% 68%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 103
Select Survey Results by Respondent Gender
Summary of Significant Differences by Gender
Survey responses often were found statistically similar when compared by respondent gender.
However, a few notable differences were found.
In comparison with males, females were significantly:
• Less likely to feel Utility Billing staff were knowledgeable
• Less likely to feel Police services were accurate, prompt, helpful and informative
• Less likely to feel that the city should take steps to encourage the development of
additional lodging
In comparison with females, males were significantly:
• Less likely to be satisfied with services at the ARC, the Asset Department and Streets
• Less likely to be satisfied overall with City services
• More likely to feel that dog enforcement was not strict enough
• More likely to want the city to take steps to ensure the availability of affordable housing;
improve pedestrian connectivity; protect water volumes and health of the Roaring Fork
River; reduce construction impacts; encourage the public to take part in water and energy
conservation programs
Table 60: Overall Quality of Life by Respondent Gender
Percent good or excellent
Female Male
(A) (B)
How do you rate the overall quality of life in Aspen? 96% 92%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 104
Table 61: Quality of City Services by Respondent Gender
Do you agree or disagree with the following
statements about services provided by the
City?(Percent agree or strongly agree)
Female Male
(A) (B)
The service provided by the City Manager's Office
was accurate
60% 65%
The service provided by the City Manager's staff
was prompt
53% 52%
The City Manager's staff was responsive 62% 53%
The City Manager's staff was helpful 66% 50%
The City Manager's staff was knowledgeable 65% 67%
The City Manager's staff was informative 58% 52%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was
accurate
90% 93%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was
timely
96% 92%
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in dealing
with my situation or request
94% 88%
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable in
dealing with my situation or request
87% 96%
A
The Finance Window staff was courteous in
dealing with my situation or request
92% 94%
The Finance Window staff was knowledgeable in
dealing with my situation or request
93% 93%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff
was accurate
70% 77%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff
was timely
74% 72%
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 72% 77%
The Housing Authority staff was knowledgeable 73% 78%
The services provided by the Police staff were
accurate
91% 99%
A
The services provided by the Police staff were
prompt
91% 100%
A
The Police staff was courteous 94% 99%
The Police staff was helpful 92% 98%
A
The Police staff was knowledgeable 90% 97%
The Police staff was informative 90% 97%
A
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 105
Table 62: Performance of City Departments by Respondent Gender
In general, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you
with the overall performance of the following
services of the City of Aspen government?
(Percent somewhat satisfied or very satisfied)
Female Male
(A) (B)
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 88%
B
77%
Asset Department 82%
B
59%
City Clerk Office 95%
B
82%
City Manager's Office 52% 41%
Community Development 56% 54%
Electric 88% 82%
Engineering 60% 49%
Environmental Health and Sustainability 78% 75%
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and other
payments to the city)
86% 94%
Golf 89% 92%
GIS (Geographic Information System) 91% 75%
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted and
rental units)
58% 64%
Kids First 83% 76%
New housing development 38% 42%
Parks 88% 88%
Police Department 91% 97%
Red Brick Recreation Center 91% 89%
Streets 78%
B
62%
Transportation 78% 81%
Parking 38% 37%
Water 90% 90%
Wheeler Opera House 88% 82%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 106
Table 63: City Government Performance by Respondent Gender
Please rate the following categories of Aspen
government performance: (Percent good or
excellent)
Female Male
(A) (B)
The job the City does informing residents 48% 52%
The quality of the information the City provides to
residents
47% 58%
The job the City does listening to residents 30% 22%
The value of City services for the taxes you pay 55% 49%
The job the City does communicating to residents
about major issues
42% 47%
The job the City does matching expenditures to
community priorities
27% 30%
The job the City does responding to requests for
public records and information
56% 67%
Table 64: City Streets and Snow Removal by Respondent Gender
With the exception of Main Street and Highway
82, which are maintained by the State of
Colorado, do you agree or disagree with the
following statements concerning City streets?
(Percent agree or strongly agree)
Female Male
(A) (B)
City streets are in good repair 87% 86%
The street surfaces are smooth 76% 76%
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 70% 70%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial
Core was timely
89% 89%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial
Core was thorough
83% 88%
Last winter's snow removal in my residential area
was timely
76% 72%
Last winter's snow removal in my residential area
was thorough
74% 76%
Table 65: Current Level of Enforcement for Dogs by Respondent Gender
Please rate the current level of enforcement for
dogs (e.g., clean up; leash laws).
Female Male
(A) (B)
Too strict 12% 9%
About right 52% 41%
Not strict enough 36% 49%
A
Total 100% 100%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 107
Table 66: Overall Satisfaction with City Services by Respondent Gender
Percent somewhat or very satisfied
Female Male
(A) (B)
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with services provided by the City of
Aspen?
81%
B
71%
Table 67: Importance of Actions the City Could Take by Respondent Gender
How important, if at all, is it for the City
government to take action on each of the
following: (Percent very important or essential)
Female Male
(A) (B)
Economic development without the development
(without new physical development)
63% 54%
Ensuring the availability of adequate workforce
housing at a reasonable cost to rent/purchase
79%
B
62%
Encouraging the development of additional lodging 35% 52%
A
Improving pedestrian connectivity 62%
B
47%
Improving bike connectivity 58% 47%
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather 43% 42%
Providing new transportation options to reduce
reliance on personal automobiles
55% 53%
Increasing access to affordable locally grown food 62% 56%
Protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring
Fork River
85%
B
69%
Improving and protecting the health of the Roaring
Fork River
88%
B
71%
Finding ways to increase available child care
spaces
58% 46%
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise, traffic,
runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk closures)
76%
B
50%
Improving the availability of affordable high-speed
internet service
68% 57%
Encouraging the public to take part in water
conservation programs
77%
B
58%
Encouraging the public to take part in energy
conservation programs
75%
B
61%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 108
Select Survey Results by Annual Household Income
Summary of Significant Differences by Annual Household Income
When survey responses were compared by household income, those making less than $75,000
per year, when compared to those making $75,000 per year or more, were significantly:
• Less satisfied with new housing development services.
• Less satisfied with the quality of the information the city provides to residents.
• Less likely to feel it is important for the city to encourage more lodging development.
In comparison with those making less than $75,000 per year, those making more than $75,000
per year were significantly:
• Less likely to feel services provided by the City Manager’s Office was prompt, responsive,
helpful and informative.
• Less likely to be satisfied with services of the Asset Department, the City Manager’s Office,
Community Development, Engineering, Environmental Health and Sustainability, GIS and
the Wheeler Opera House.
Table 68: Overall Quality of Life by Annual Household Income
Percent good or excellent
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
How do you rate the overall quality of life in Aspen? 90% 94%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 109
Table 69: Quality of City Services by Annual Household Income
Do you agree or disagree with the following
statements about services provided by the
City?(Percent agree or strongly agree)
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
The service provided by the City Manager's Office
was accurate
67% 63%
The service provided by the City Manager's staff
was prompt
74%
B
46%
The City Manager's staff was responsive 77%
B
50%
The City Manager's staff was helpful 77%
B
50%
The City Manager's staff was knowledgeable 72% 65%
The City Manager's staff was informative 78%
B
49%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was
accurate
94% 91%
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was
timely
96% 92%
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in dealing with
my situation or request
98% 88%
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable in dealing
with my situation or request
92% 92%
The Finance Window staff was courteous in dealing
with my situation or request
95% 93%
The Finance Window staff was knowledgeable in
dealing with my situation or request
94% 94%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff
was accurate
82% 70%
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff
was timely
77% 71%
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 83% 70%
The Housing Authority staff was knowledgeable 82% 74%
The services provided by the Police staff were
accurate
96% 94%
The services provided by the Police staff were
prompt
95% 96%
The Police staff was courteous 98% 95%
The Police staff was helpful 94% 96%
The Police staff was knowledgeable 90% 95%
The Police staff was informative 92% 95%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 110
Table 70: Performance of City Departments by Annual Household Income
In general, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you
with the overall performance of the following
services of the City of Aspen government?
(Percent somewhat satisfied or very satisfied)
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 91% 80%
Asset Department 89%
B
60%
City Clerk Office 91% 85%
City Manager's Office 65%
B
41%
Community Development 77%
B
49%
Electric 84% 83%
Engineering 81%
B
44%
Environmental Health and Sustainability 89%
B
71%
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and other
payments to the city)
91% 91%
Golf 89% 92%
GIS (Geographic Information System) 100%
B
73%
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted and
rental units)
65% 63%
Kids First 84% 80%
New housing development 24% 48%
A
Parks 88% 87%
Police Department 92% 95%
Red Brick Recreation Center 90% 91%
Streets 64% 76%
Transportation 81% 78%
Parking 42% 39%
Water 91% 89%
Wheeler Opera House 93%
B
83%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 111
Table 71: City Government Performance by Annual Household Income
Please rate the following categories of Aspen
government performance: (Percent good or
excellent)
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
The job the City does informing residents 48% 52%
The quality of the information the City provides to
residents
43% 58%
A
The job the City does listening to residents 33% 23%
The value of City services for the taxes you pay 48% 54%
The job the City does communicating to residents
about major issues
41% 47%
The job the City does matching expenditures to
community priorities
32% 29%
The job the City does responding to requests for
public records and information
61% 64%
Table 72: City Streets and Snow Removal by Annual Household Income
With the exception of Main Street and Highway
82, which are maintained by the State of
Colorado, do you agree or disagree with the
following statements concerning City streets?
(Percent agree or strongly agree)
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
City streets are in good repair 83% 88%
The street surfaces are smooth 74% 76%
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 68% 70%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial Core
was timely
93% 87%
Last winter's snow removal in the Commercial Core
was thorough
87% 85%
Last winter's snow removal in my residential area
was timely
80% 72%
Last winter's snow removal in my residential area
was thorough
80% 73%
Table 73: Current Level of Enforcement for Dogs by Annual Household Income
Please rate the current level of enforcement for
dogs (e.g., clean up; leash laws).
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
Too strict 9% 12%
About right 45% 47%
Not strict enough 46% 41%
Total 100% 100%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 112
Table 74: Overall Satisfaction with City Services by Annual Household Income
Percent somewhat or very satisfied
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with services provided by the City of
Aspen?
74% 76%
Table 75: Importance of Actions the City Could Take by Annual Household Income
How important, if at all, is it for the City
government to take action on each of the
following: (Percent very important or essential)
Under $75,000 $75,000 or more
(A) (B)
Economic development without the development
(without new physical development)
66% 56%
Ensuring the availability of adequate workforce
housing at a reasonable cost to rent/purchase
78% 70%
Encouraging the development of additional lodging 34% 47%
A
Improving pedestrian connectivity 58% 55%
Improving bike connectivity 54% 54%
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather 44% 43%
Providing new transportation options to reduce
reliance on personal automobiles
52% 56%
Increasing access to affordable locally grown food 54% 63%
Protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring
Fork River
80% 76%
Improving and protecting the health of the Roaring
Fork River
82% 79%
Finding ways to increase available child care
spaces
49% 57%
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise, traffic,
runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk closures)
65% 62%
Improving the availability of affordable high-speed
internet service
59% 66%
Encouraging the public to take part in water
conservation programs
71% 69%
Encouraging the public to take part in energy
conservation programs
72% 68%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 113
APPENDIX D: SELECT SURVEY RESULTS BY SURVEY YEAR
Table 76: Overall Quality of Life by Survey Year
Percent excellent or good 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
How do you rate the overall quality of life
in Aspen?
93% 94% 94% 95% 95% 96% 97% 95% 98% 95% 95% 94%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 114
Table 77: Quality of City Services by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about services
provided by the City? (Percent agree
or strongly agree)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
The service provided by the City
Manager's Office was accurate
64% 77% 72% 63% 71% 75% 72% 79% 70% 78% 67% 86% 86%
The service provided by the City
Manager's staff was prompt
54% 75% 73% 68% 76% 74% 84% 82% 73% 84% 73% 78% 84%
The City Manager's staff was responsive 57% 78% 68% 69% 77% 73% 82% 82% 75% 82% 67% 77% 83%
The City Manager's staff was helpful 57% 79% 71% 69% 72% 76% 77% 83% 73% 78% 65% 82% .
The City Manager's staff was
knowledgeable
67% 78% 74% 69% 74% 73% 81% 80% 79% 82% 66% 84% 85%
The City Manager's staff was informative 56% 81% 73% 68% 77% 71% 71% 84% 78% 81% 64% 79% .
The service provided by the Utility Billing
staff was accurate
92% 92% 87% 91% 96% 98% 97% 95% 93% 95% 92% 94% 92%
The service provided by the Utility Billing
staff was timely
94% 94% 92% 92% 95% 92% 94% 97% 92% 92% 96% 93% 96%
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in
dealing with my situation or request
91% 96% 92% 91% 96% 98% 95% 99% 93% 90% 96% 95% 97%
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable
in dealing with my situation or request
93% 93% 91% 91% 95% 98% 96% 94% 88% 88% 88% 93% 93%
The Finance Window staff was courteous
in dealing with my situation or request
94% 95% 94% 95% 93% 91% 94% . . . . . .
The Finance Window staff was
knowledgeable in dealing with my
situation or request
93% 95% 93% 96% 92% 91% 94% . . . . . .
The service provided by the Housing
Authority staff was accurate
74% 79% 75% 76% 82% 77% 80% 78% 77% 81% 73% 83% 86%
The service provided by the Housing
Authority staff was timely
73% 81% 80% 82% 81% 87% 84% 79% 77% 84% 77% 79% 88%
The Housing Authority staff was helpful 74% 74% 77% 78% 80% 74% 84% 80% 75% 86% 77% 78% 82%
The Housing Authority staff was
knowledgeable
76% 73% 78% 80% 86% 77% 83% 81% 79% 84% 75% 83% 82%
The services provided by the Police staff
were accurate
95% 92% 94% 89% 93% 88% 92% 90% 89% 93% 93% 88% 90%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 115
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about services
provided by the City? (Percent agree
or strongly agree)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
The services provided by the Police staff
were prompt
96% 94% 93% 94% 92% 91% 94% 92% 91% 97% 94% 93% 91%
The Police staff was courteous 97% 94% 97% 97% 95% 90% 95% 93% 91% 96% 97% 91% 93%
The Police staff was helpful 96% 94% 94% 94% 94% 89% 92% 91% 90% 95% 95% 89% .
The Police staff was knowledgeable 93% 94% 93% 91% 92% 90% 94% 91% 89% 94% 95% 92% 91%
The Police staff was informative 94% 94% 96% 90% 91% 89% 95% 91% 92% 94% 95% 89% .
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your experience in the last 12 months, do.” In
2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12
months when making their evaluations.
Table 78: Performance of City Departments by Survey Year
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you
with the overall performance of the
following City services? (Percent
somewhat satisfied or very satisfied)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) 83% 91% 89% 92% 94% 88% 89% . . . . . .
Asset Department 66% 92% 76% . . . . . . . . . .
City Clerk Office 88% 93% 94% 96% 95% 90% 92% 95% 91% 87% 98% 97% 97%
City Manager's Office 46% 76% 67% 66% 74% 71% 72% 75% 74% 73% 63% 82% 88%
Community Development 55% 63% 59% 57% 63% 58% 62% 67% 71% 63% 54% 68% 71%
Electric 84% 94% 81% 91% 88% 81% 92% 92% 92% 94% 94% 93% 100%
Engineering 53% 72% 68% 71% 73% 61% 64% 68% 70% 75% 74% 78% 86%
Environmental Health and Sustainability 76% 85% 79% 86% 85% 80% 83% 83% 79% 90% 89% 83% 89%
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and
other payments to the city)
90% 93% 91% 94% 88% 86% 91% 77% 87% . . . .
Golf 91% 96% 87% 88% 90% 84% 85% 88% 85% 89% 90% 84% 95%
GIS (Geographic Information System) 80% 90% 96% 83% 85% 84% 86% 99% 87% 92% 95% . .
Housing Authority (existing deed-
restricted and rental units)
62% 67% 66% 68% 79% 61% 67% 68% 72% 73% 67% 76% 77%
Kids First 80% 92% 89% 83% 86% 71% 75% 98% 90% 90% 90% 94% 96%
New housing development 39% 64% 55% 62% 59% 50% 41% . . . . . .
Parks 88% 91% 91% 85% 92% 91% 91% 91% 95% 95% 93% 97% 95%
Police Department 94% 92% 94% 89% 93% 88% 92% 93% 90% 92% 94% 88% 92%
Red Brick Recreation Center 91% 96% 95% 96% 92% 92% 93% 90% 96% 95% 96% 94% 97%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 116
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you
with the overall performance of the
following City services? (Percent
somewhat satisfied or very satisfied)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Streets 71% 67% 83% 70% 79% 81% 83% 79% 88% 86% 79% 86% 91%
Transportation 78% 84% 85% . . . . . . . . . .
Parking 39% 47% 47% . . . . . . . . . .
Water 90% 88% 89% 86% 87% 90% 88% 86% 92% 90% 92% 97% 98%
Wheeler Opera House 84% 92% 92% 95% 92% 88% 92% 86% 94% 92% 96% 97% 98%
* Prior to 2018, the stem of this question read: “In general, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall performance of the following
services of the City of Aspen government?:
Table 79: City Government Performance by Survey Year
Please rate the following categories of Aspen government
performance: (Percent good or excellent)
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
The job the City does informing residents 50% 74% 68% 69% 75% 71% 72% 68% 65%
The quality of the information the City provides to residents 52% 74% 67% 66% 70% 68% 65% 61% 62%
The job the City does listening to residents 27% 45% 41% 42% 42% 49% 40% 36% 44%
The value of City services for the taxes you pay 52% 62% 61% 60% 59% 61% 63% 55% 55%
The job the City does communicating to residents about major issues 45% 64% 55% 56% 59% 60% 58% 56% .
The job the City does matching expenditures to community priorities 29% 44% 42% 43% 43% 44% 41% 36% .
The job the City does responding to requests for public records and
information
62% 71% 61% 61% 63% 61% 59% . .
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 117
Table 80: City Streets and Snow Removal by Survey Year
With the exception of Main Street and
Highway 82, which are maintained by
the State of Colorado, do you agree or
disagree with the following statements
concerning City streets? (Percent
agree or strongly agree)
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
City streets are in good repair 85% 72% 89% 84% 92% 88% 93% 93% 90% 84% 84% 88% 87%
The street surfaces are smooth 76% 69% 84% 79% 86% 85% 90% 90% 88% 81% 83% 87% 86%
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner 69% 58% 76% 76% 79% 78% 86% 81% 77% 74% 70% 77% 81%
Last winter's snow removal in the
Commercial Core was timely
89% 87% 91% 89% 91% 95% 95% 94% 93% 91% 91% 92% 95%
Last winter's snow removal in the
Commercial Core was thorough
85% 86% 83% 88% 89% 90% 93% 92% 90% 86% 87% 90% 93%
Last winter's snow removal in my
residential area was timely
75% 77% 82% 75% 77% 83% 87% 78% 81% 78% 74% 83% 78%
Last winter's snow removal in my
residential area was thorough
75% 74% 81% 78% 77% 80% 86% 78% 77% 71% 71% 81% 76%
Prior to 2014, items related to city streets and snow removal were asked as separate question.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 81: Red Brick Recreation Center by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about the Red
Brick Recreation Center? (Percent
agree or strongly agree)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
The service provided by the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff was accurate
93% 98% 98% 98% 97% 95% 90% 97% 96% 95% 95% 95% 97%
The service provided by the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff was accessible
94% 96% 96% 96% 96% 89% 86% 95% 94% 95% 94% 92% 99%
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff
was helpful
94% 97% 96% 98% 96% 92% 88% 93% 93% 94% 95% 91% 96%
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff
was knowledgeable
95% 95% 99% 97% 96% 92% 90% 98% 92% 95% 98% 90% 98%
The Red Brick Recreation Center does a
good job of communicating program
information
66% 91% 82% 86% 81% 84% 72% 85% 80% 92% 87% 82% .
The quality of the program(s) provided
by the Red Brick Recreation Center was
very good
81% 94% 91% 94% 92% 93% 90% 98% 89% 96% 93% 93% 98%
The condition of the gym at the Red
Brick Recreation Center was very good
77% 87% 90% 86% 85% 83% 89% 89% 75% 90% 80% 86% 84%
The scheduling of events conducted by
staff at the Red Brick Recreation Center
was very good
82% 90% 91% 94% 92% 89% 85% 94% 88% 92% 89% 86% 89%
The cleanliness of the Red Brick
Recreation Center gym and locker rooms
was very good
76% 90% 88% 87% 88% 93% 82% 92% 84% 90% 86% 82% .
The enthusiasm of the Red Brick
Recreation Center staff and coaches
was very good
88% 99% 98% 95% 93% 91% 87% 95% 95% 94% 96% 90% 94%
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your experience in the last 12 months, do.” In
2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12
months when making their evaluations.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 82: Parks, Athletic Fields and Trail System by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the
following statements about the
condition of City parks, fields and
trails? (Percent agree or strongly
agree)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
The condition of the parks allowed me to
have a safe and enjoyable experience
96% 97% 96% 93% 97% 95% 96% 98% 97% 97% 97% 98% 98%
The parks were free of litter 91% 94% 95% 91% 93% 93% 89% 94% 94% 92% 90% 92% 95%
The condition of the athletic fields allowed
me to have a safe and enjoyable
experience
96% 97% 96% 93% 98% 96% 95% 99% 94% 98% 99% 98% 97%
The athletic fields were free of litter 94% 96% 95% 91% 95% 95% 91% 97% 94% 93% 90% 96% 96%
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were
free of debris/litter
91% 93% 93% 92% 95% 95% 91% 94% 95% 95% 96% 94% 94%
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were
smooth enough for the intended purpose
93% 94% 96% 89% 97% 95% 95% 96% . . . . .
The pedestrian/bike trail could be used
safely
89% 93% 94% 89% 94% 93% 91% 95% 95% 94% 95% 94% 95%
The pedestrian/bike trail signage was
very good
91% 93% 95% 89% 94% 93% 91% 94% . . . . .
The Nordic Trail System trail grooming
was very good
96% 98% 97% 96% 98% 98% 96% 98% 98% 96% 97% 97% 98%
The Nordic Trail System trails could be
used for the purpose intended
97% 98% 98% 96% 99% 98% 96% 99% 99% 96% 99% 97% 98%
The Nordic Trail System trail signage was
very good
93% 96% 95% 93% 96% 96% 94% 96% 96% 93% 95% 94% 89%
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your experience in the last 12 months, do.” In
2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12
months when making their evaluations.
Prior to 2014, items related to the pedestrian/bike trails and Nordic Trail System were asked as separate question.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 120
Table 83: Quality of Aspects of City Parks, Open Space and Trails by Survey Year
Please rate each of the following characteristics related to City parks, open
space and trails. (Percent good or excellent)
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Ability to find trail heads and open space properties 86% 93% 93% 92% 88%
Availability of parking at trail heads and open spaces 60% 62% 64% 64% 59%
Adequacy of enforcement of regulations 54% 67% 65% 61% 64%
Adequacy of signage on trails 76% 86% 88% 79% 79%
Adequacy of signage in open spaces 74% 89% 88% 82% 82%
Availability of open space events and programs 73% 85% 88% 85% 85%
Quality of open space events and programs 74% 86% 88% 87% 87%
Table 84: Current Level of Enforcement for Dogs by Survey Year
Too strict About right Not strict enough
2018 11% 47% 42%
2017 8% 46% 47%
2016 9% 44% 47%
2015 14% 42% 44%
2014 10% 51% 39%
2013 9% 54% 37%
2012 14% 46% 40%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 85: Feelings of Safety in Aspen by Survey Year
Do you agree or disagree with the
following: (Percent agree or strongly
agree)*
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
I feel safe in my neighborhood after
dark
97% 97% 96% 95% . . . . . . . . .
I feel safe in my neighborhood during
the day
100
%
99% 100
%
99% . 96% 99% 100
%
99% 100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
I feel safe in the Commercial Core after
dark
98% 99% 97% 96% . . . . . . . . .
I feel safe in the Commercial Core
during the day
99% 100
%
100
%
99% . 97% 99% 100
%
99% 100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
I feel safe in Aspen as a whole 99% 99% 97% 98% . 96% 99% 99% 99% 100
%
99% 99% 100
%
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your experience in the last 12 months, do.” In
2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the last 12
months when making their evaluations.
Table 86: Electrical Service Provider by Survey Year
Which of the following entities provides your electrical service? 2018 2017 2016 2015
The City of Aspen 36% 36% 40% 37%
Holy Cross Electric 62% 61% 59% 62%
Other 2% 3% 0% 1%
Table 87: Water Services by Survey Year
Please rate the quality of your utility services: (Percent excellent or good) 2018 2017 2016 2015
Drinking water taste 83% 78% 85% 86%
Water pressure 82% 86% 88% 87%
Water reliability 92% 96% 98% 97%
Water services overall 90% 93% 94% 95%
Overall customer service provided by the Water department staff 87% 92% 93% 89%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 88: Electric Services by Survey Year
Please rate the quality of your utility services: (Percent excellent or good) 2018 2017 2016 2015
Electrical service reliability 92% 98% 97% 94%
Safety of electric service 91% 99% 98% 98%
Overall customer service provided by the Electric department staff 90% 96% 95% 93%
Electric services overall 90% 97% 95% 95%
Table 89: The City of Aspen's Electric Services by Survey Year
Please rate the quality of your utility services: (Percent excellent or good) 2018 2017 2016 2015
Electrical service reliability 93% 99% 96% 91%
Safety of electric service 95% 99% 99% 96%
Overall customer service provided by the Electric department staff 94% 97% 93% 89%
Electric services overall 94% 97% 92% 91%
Table 90: Holy Cross Electric Services by Survey Year
Please rate the quality of your utility services: (Percent excellent or good) 2018 2017 2016 2015
Electrical service reliability 94% 97% 98% 95%
Safety of electric service 91% 98% 98% 98%
Overall customer service provided by the Electric department staff 90% 96% 97% 95%
Electric services overall 90% 95% 97% 96%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 123
Table 91: Quality of Wheeler Opera House by Survey Year
Please rate each of the following as they relate to the Wheeler Opera House: (Percent good or
excellent)
2018 2017
Diversity of programs 74% 85%
Accessibility of programs 80% 84%
E-newsletters 76% 81%
Printed materials 76% 80%
Website 79% 80%
Social media 80% 85%
Newspaper ads 81% 84%
Overall value of the Wheeler Opera House to the community 80% 91%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 124
Table 92: Satisfaction with Information Sources by Survey Year
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the information you receive about the City
from each of the following: (Percent very or somewhat satisfied)*
2018 2017 2016 2015
City meetings and open houses 68% 80% 78% 82%
City streaming webcasts 61% 83% 82% 75%
Emails (electronic newsletters, email updates) 66% 77% 84% 75%
Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) 50% 78% 76% 69%
Online feedback site (www.aspencommunityvoice.com) 63% 74% 76% .
The City's main website (www.cityofaspen.com) 71% 78% 83% 83%
Other City websites (APCHA, ARC, Golf, Wheeler, etc.) 71% 77% 84% .
CGTV - Channel 11 65% 83% 76% 92%
Radio ads 71% 85% 85% 83%
Radio news 70% 87% 85% 85%
Newspaper ads 72% 90% 89% 90%
Newspaper stories 75% 89% 87% 91%
Mailed materials (brochures, bill inserts) 68% 81% 80% 80%
Contacting the Community Relations Department 57% 78% 75% .
* Prior to 2018, this question stem included the following at the beginning of the question: “Based on your experience in the last 12 months,
please.” In 2018, a general instruction was added to the beginning of the survey explaining respondents should consider their experience in the
last 12 months when making their evaluations.
Please note: Prior to 2016, "CGTV - Channel 11" was "Community government television (Grassroots/CGTV, Channel 11)", and prior to 2011 it
was "Community government television (CGTV, Channel 11)"; “Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)” was “The City's social network sites
(Twitter, Facebook)”; “City streaming webcasts” was “City webcasts”.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 93: Overall Satisfaction with City Services by Survey Year
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with services provided by the City of
Aspen?
75% 83% 87% 86% 89% 92% 89% 84% 89% 92% 89% 92%
Table 94: Importance of Website Uses by Survey Year
How important is it, if at all, to complete the following types of activities or transactions on the City
website: (Percent essential or very important)
2018 2017
Apply for city jobs 58% 62%
Apply for permits and licenses 74% 78%
Pay bills, fees and fines 76% 80%
Request information about city services 78% 77%
Report concerns/problems 77% 77%
Apply for APCHA housing 68% 72%
Reserve buildings, parks or other facilities 69% 69%
Access city council agendas and videos 72% 69%
Access and analyze city data 65% 69%
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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Table 95: Importance of Actions the City Could Take by Survey Year
How important, if at all, is it for the City government to take action on each of
the following: (Percent very important or essential)
2018 2017 2016 2015
Economic development without the development (without new physical
development)
59% 73% 64% 68%
Ensuring the availability of adequate workforce housing at a reasonable cost to
rent/purchase
71% 80% 77% 77%
Encouraging the development of additional lodging 44% 38% 37% 36%
Improving pedestrian connectivity 55% 70% 65% .
Improving bike connectivity 53% 66% 61% .
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather 43% 46% 49% 35%
Providing new transportation options to reduce reliance on personal automobiles 55% . . .
Increasing access to affordable locally grown food 58% 65% 57% .
Protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring Fork River 77% 81% 81% .
Improving and protecting the health of the Roaring Fork River 79% 85% 85% .
Finding ways to increase available child care spaces 53% 65% . .
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise, traffic, runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk
closures)
63% . . .
Improving the availability of affordable high-speed internet service 63% . . .
Encouraging the public to take part in water conservation programs 68% . . .
Encouraging the public to take part in energy conservation programs 68% . . .
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 127
APPENDIX E: SURVEY METHODOLOGY
General citizen surveys, such as this one, ask recipients their perspectives about the quality of life
in the city, their use of City amenities, their opinion on policy issues facing the city and their
assessment of City service delivery. The Aspen Citizen Survey was first administered in 2006 by
telephone. In 2007, the telephone survey was converted to a mail survey format and the mail
format has been used for the subsequent surveys. The City of Aspen funded this research. Please
contact Karen Harrington of the City of Aspen at karen.harrington@cityofaspen.com if you have
any questions about the survey.
Instrument Development
The 2018 Citizen Survey for Aspen was based on the 2017 survey, with several questions added
and several removed. Topics for potential new questions were gathered from City staff and new
questions were crafted for the revised survey. In an iterative process between City staff and NRC
staff, a final six-page questionnaire was created (see Appendix F: Survey Materials).
Selecting Survey Recipients
All City of Aspen households with a registered voter were eligible to complete the 2018 survey.
The decision was made to use a registered voter list to focus on gathering input from primary
homeowners living in Aspen. A registered voter list was obtained from the Pitkin County Clerk
and Recorder, which contained a total of about 6,500 names. As in previous years, the survey was
mailed to both active and inactive 1 registered voter households that have mailing addresses in
Aspen in an effort to include the largest potential survey respondent pool of full-time Aspen
residents (approximately 3,500 voter households). NRC randomly selected 1,750 registered voter
households from this list to participate in the survey – 145 inactive voter households and 1,605
active voter households.
Survey Administration and Response Rate
Voter households received three mailings in August 2017. The first was a postcard notifying them
that they had been selected to participate in the City of Aspen Citizen Survey. The postcard was
signed by the Mayor. A week later a survey was mailed with a cover letter signed by the Mayor.
Approximately one week after the first survey was mailed, a second survey was mailed, with a
cover letter asking those who had not yet participated to do so, while informing those who had
already completed the survey not to do so again.
Of the 1,750 households that were mailed the survey, about 131 were undeliverable because the
housing unit was vacant or the postal service was unable to deliver the survey as addressed,
approximately 7% of mailings. In 2017, the number of undeliverable postcards was 170, or about
10% of the mailings. Of the remaining 1,619 delivered surveys, 303 individuals completed the
survey, providing a response rate of 19%.
1 The County Clerk’s Office considers a voter as “inactive” if they had not voted in the past two general elections.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
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The response rates were calculated using AAPOR’s response rate #2 2 for mailed surveys of
unnamed persons. The table below shows the total number of returned surveys and response rate.
Table 96: 2017 City of Aspen Survey Response Rate
Overall
Total sample used 1,750
I=Complete Surveys 248
P=Partial Surveys 55
R=Refusal and break off 0
NC=Non Contact 0
O=Other 0
UH=Unknown household 0
UO=Unknown other 1,316
UND=Undeliverable 131
Response rate: (I+P)/(I+P) + (R+NC+O) + (UH+UO) 19%
Confidence Intervals
The 95% confidence interval (or “margin of error”) quantifies the “sampling error” or precision of
the estimates made from the survey results. A 95% confidence interval can be calculated for any
sample size, and indicates that in 95 of 100 surveys conducted like this one, for a particular item, a
result would be found that is within plus or minus five percentage points of the result that would
be found if everyone in the population of interest was surveyed. The practical difficulties of
conducting any resident survey may introduce other sources of error in addition to sampling error.
Despite best efforts to boost participation and ensure potential inclusion of all voter households,
some selected households will decline participation in the survey (potentially introducing non-
response error) and some eligible households may be unintentionally excluded from the listed
sources for the sample (referred to as coverage error).
While the 95 percent confidence level for the survey is generally no greater than plus or minus six
percentage points around any given percent reported for all respondents (303), results for
subgroups will have wider confidence intervals. Where estimates are given for subgroups, they are
less precise. For each subgroup from the survey, the margin of error rises to as much as plus or
minus 14% for a sample size of 50 to plus or minus 7% for 200 completed surveys.
Survey Processing (Data Entry)
Mailed surveys were submitted via postage-paid business reply envelopes. Once received, surveys
were assigned a unique identification number to each questionnaire. Additionally, each survey was
reviewed and “cleaned” as necessary. For example, a question may have asked a respondent to
pick two items out of a list of five, but the respondent checked three; staff would choose randomly
two of the three selected items to be coded in the dataset.
2 See AAPOR’s Standard Definitions here: http://www.aapor.org/Standards-Ethics/Standard-Definitions-(1).aspx for more
information
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 129
Once all surveys were assigned a unique identification number, they were entered into an
electronic dataset. This dataset was subject to a data entry protocol of “key and verify,” in which
survey data were entered twice into an electronic dataset and then compared. Discrepancies were
evaluated against the original survey form and corrected. Range checks as well as other forms of
quality control also were performed.
Comparing Survey Results and Weighting the Data
The demographic characteristics of the sample were compared to the registered voters list for the
City of Aspen and were statistically adjusted to reflect the larger population when necessary.
Survey results were weighted using the registered voter norms to reflect the appropriate percent of
residents by age and gender in the Aspen registered voter population. The results of the weighting
scheme are presented in the table below. No adjustments were made for design effects. The
results of the weighting scheme are presented below.
Table 97: 2018 Aspen Citizen Survey Weighting Table
Population Norm1
Registered Voter
List Norm2 Unweighted Weighted
Age 18-34 28% 22% 11% 22%
Age 35-54 41% 40% 29% 40%
Age 55 and over 31% 38% 60% 38%
Female 48% 49% 56% 50%
Male 52% 51% 44% 50%
Female 18-34 14% 11% 9% 11%
Female 35-54 19% 19% 16% 19%
Female 55 and over 15% 20% 31% 20%
Male 18-34 14% 11% 2% 11%
Male 35-54 22% 21% 13% 21%
Male 55 and over 16% 18% 29% 18%
1 Source: 2010 Census
2 Source: Pitkin County Registered Voter List, purchased July, 2018.
Data Analysis
The electronic dataset was analyzed by NRC staff using the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS). For the most part, frequency distributions or the percent positive (e.g., the
percent “strongly agree” and “agree”) are presented in the body of the report. A complete set of
frequencies for each survey question is presented in Appendix A: Complete Set of Survey
Responses. In addition, crosstabulations of select survey results by respondent characteristics can
be found in Appendix C: Select Survey Results Compared by Respondent Characteristics. Tests
of statistical significance were performed on these survey result breakdowns and are noted in the
tables.
City of Aspen Citizen Survey: Report of Results • November 2018
Page 130
APPENDIX F: SURVEY MATERIALS
The following pages contain the survey materials that were mailed to randomly selected registered
voter households in the City of Aspen.
2018 City of Aspen Citizen Survey
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey Page 1 of 6
Please complete this questionnaire if you are the adult (age 18 or older) in the household who most recently had a birthday.
The adult’s year of birth does not matter. Your responses are anonymous and will be reported in group form only.
Excellent Good Fair Poor
1. How do you rate the overall quality of life in Aspen? .......... 1 2 3 4
Please answer questions 2-21 based on your experiences with city services within the past 12 months.
Even if you’ve just recently moved to Aspen, we still want to hear from you!
2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about services provided by the City?
Strongly Strongly Don’t Not
agree Agree Disagree disagree know applicable
The service provided by the City Manager’s Office was accurate ............................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The service provided by the City Manager’s staff was prompt .................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City Manager’s staff was responsive ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City Manager’s staff was helpful ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City Manager’s staff was knowledgeable ....................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City Manager’s staff was informative ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was accurate ................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The service provided by the Utility Billing staff was timely ...................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Utility Billing staff was courteous in dealing with my situation or request ................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Utility Billing staff was knowledgeable in dealing with my situation or request ............ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Finance Window staff was courteous in dealing with my situation or request ............... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Finance Window staff was knowledgeable in dealing with my situation or request ......... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff was accurate ............................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The service provided by the Housing Authority staff was timely ............................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Housing Authority staff was helpful ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Housing Authority staff was knowledgeable .................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The services provided by the Police staff were accurate .......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The services provided by the Police staff were prompt ........................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Police staff was courteous ........................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Police staff was helpful ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Police staff was knowledgeable .................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Police staff was informative ...................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
3. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall performance of the following City services?
Very Somewhat Somewhat Not at all Don’t Not
satisfied satisfied not satisfied satisfied know applicable
Aspen Recreation Center (ARC) ....................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Asset Department ......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
City Clerk Office .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
City Manager’s Office .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Community Development ............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Electric ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Engineering ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Environmental Health and Sustainability .............................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Finance Window (RETT, sales tax, and other payments to the city) ............. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Golf .......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
GIS (Geographic Information System) ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Housing Authority (existing deed-restricted and rental units) .................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Kids First .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
New housing development ............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Parks ......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Police Department ........................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Red Brick Recreation Center ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Streets ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Transportation ............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Parking ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Water ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Wheeler Opera House .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey Page 2 of 6
4. Please rate the following categories of Aspen City government performance:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know
The job the City does informing residents .................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
The quality of the information the City provides to residents ........................................... 1 2 3 4 5
The job the City does listening to residents ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
The value of City services for the taxes you pay............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
The job the City does communicating to residents about major issues ................................. 1 2 3 4 5
The job the City does matching expenditures to community priorities ................................ 1 2 3 4 5
The job the City does responding to requests for public records and information ................... 1 2 3 4 5
5. With the exception of Main Street and Highway 82, which are maintained by the State of Colorado, do you agree or
disagree with the following statements concerning City streets?
Strongly Strongly Don’t
agree Agree Disagree disagree know
City streets are in good repair .................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
The street surfaces are smooth ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Potholes are repaired in a timely manner .................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Last winter’s snow removal in the Commercial Core was timely ........................ 1 2 3 4 5
Last winter’s snow removal in the Commercial Core was thorough .................... 1 2 3 4 5
Last winter’s snow removal in my residential area was timely ........................... 1 2 3 4 5
Last winter’s snow removal in my residential area was thorough ........................ 1 2 3 4 5
6. Do you agree or disagree that the ARC (Aspen Recreation Center) does a good job communicating program
information?
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know Not applicable
7. Please rate each of the following as they relate to The Red Brick Center for the Arts:
Don’t Not
Excellent Good Fair Poor know applicable
Diversity of classes, workshops, and events ...................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Accessibility of classes, workshops, and events .................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Gallery and Gallery openings ....................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Shared spaces, conference room, and dance studios ............................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Website (www.redbrickaspen.com) .............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Social media pages such as Facebook .............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Printed materials ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ads (radio, TV, newspaper) ........................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
8. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about The Red Brick Center for the Arts?
Strongly Strongly Don’t Not
agree Agree Disagree disagree know applicable
The Red Brick Center is a valuable community asset ....................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Center is a creative center in the heart of Aspen .......................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Center focuses on discovery and promotion of the arts .................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Center provides a variety of affordable, valuable benefits for local
artists (such as affordable studios, workshops, classes and exhibit opportunities) .. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Center allows locals and visitors the opportunity to explore,
connect and inspire ............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey Page 3 of 6
9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the Red Brick Recreation Center?
Strongly Strongly Don’t Not
agree Agree Disagree disagree know applicable
The service provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center staff was accurate .......... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The service provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center staff was accessible ......... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was helpful .......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Recreation Center staff was knowledgeable ................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Red Brick Recreation Center does a good job of communicating program
information ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The quality of the program(s) provided by the Red Brick Recreation Center
was very good ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The condition of the gym at the Red Brick Recreation Center was very good .......... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The scheduling of events conducted by staff at the Red Brick Recreation
Center was very good .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The cleanliness of the Red Brick Recreation Center gym and locker rooms
was very good ................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The enthusiasm of the Red Brick Recreation Center staff and coaches was very good ... 1 2 3 4 5 6
10. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the condition of City parks, fields and trails?
Strongly Strongly Don’t Not
agree Agree Disagree disagree know applicable
The condition of the parks allowed me to have a safe and enjoyable experience ........ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The parks were free of litter ..................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The condition of the athletic fields allowed me to have a safe and enjoyable experience ... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The athletic fields were free of litter ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were free of debris/litter .............................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The pedestrian/bike trail surfaces were smooth enough for the intended purpose .... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The pedestrian/bike trail could be used safely ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The pedestrian/bike trail signage was very good ............................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Nordic Trail System trail grooming was very good .................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Nordic Trail System trails could be used for the purpose intended ................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Nordic Trail System trail signage was very good ....................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
11. Please rate each of the following characteristics related to City parks, open space and trails.
Don’t Not
Excellent Good Fair Poor know applicable
Ability to find trail heads and open space properties ........................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Availability of parking at trail heads and open spaces ........................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Adequacy of enforcement of regulations ......................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Adequacy of signage on trails ....................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Adequacy of signage in open spaces ............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Availability of open space events and programs ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Quality of open space events and programs ...................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
12. Please rate the current level of enforcement for dogs (e.g., clean up, leash laws).
Too strict About right Not strict enough Don’t know
13. What other specific concerns, if any, do you have with City parks, fields, open space and trails?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Do you agree or disagree with the following:
Strongly Strongly Don’t
agree Agree Disagree disagree know
I feel safe in my neighborhood after dark ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
I feel safe in my neighborhood during the day ........................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
I feel safe in the Commercial Core after dark ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
I feel safe in the Commercial Core during the day ...................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
I feel safe in Aspen as a whole .............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey Page 4 of 6
15. Which of the following entities provides your electrical service?
The City of Aspen Holy Cross Electric Other Don’t know
16. Please rate the quality of your utility services:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know
Drinking water taste ............................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
Water pressure ................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Water reliability ................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Water services overall .......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Overall customer service provided by the Water department staff ..................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Electrical service reliability .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Safety of electric service ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
Overall customer service provided by the Electric department staff ................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Electric services overall. ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
17. Please rate each of the following as they relate to the Wheeler Opera House:
Excellent Good Fair Poor Don’t know Not applicable
Diversity of programs ....................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Accessibility of programs ................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
E-newsletters ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Printed materials ............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Website ........................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Social media .................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Newspaper ads ............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Overall value of the Wheeler Opera House to the community ..... 1 2 3 4 5 6
18. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the information you receive about the City from each of the following:
Very Somewhat Somewhat Not at all Don’t Not
satisfied satisfied not satisfied satisfied know applicable
City meetings and open houses .................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
City streaming webcasts ............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Emails (electronic newsletters, email updates) ................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) ................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Online feedback site (www.aspencommunityvoice.com) .................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
The City’s main website (www.cityofaspen.com) ............................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Other City websites (APCHA, ARC, Golf, Wheeler, etc.) ................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
CGTV - Channel 11 ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Radio ads .............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Radio news ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Newspaper ads ....................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Newspaper stories ................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6
Mailed materials (brochures, bill inserts) ........................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Contacting the Community Relations Department ............................ 1 2 3 4 5 6
19. Considering that the City provides information via all of the sources mentioned above, what improvements, if any,
can we make with our communications?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
20. Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with services provided by the City of Aspen?
Satisfied Somewhat satisfied Somewhat not satisfied Not at all satisfied Don’t know
21. Please provide any other feedback you may have on any City of Aspen services:
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey Page 5 of 6
22. How likely or unlikely would you be to use each of the following, if they were available:
Very likely Somewhat likely Not at all likely Don’t know
Use reservation-based shuttles that take you directly to your
end destination upon request .................................................... 1 2 3 4
Use an electric bike (E-bike) as part of a bike-share system .................... 1 2 3 4
Log your travel modes on a mobile app to earn points redeemable,
for instance, at merchants ....................................................... 1 2 3 4
Use mini buses or vans that allow dogs, bikes or tools .......................... 1 2 3 4
Use Downtowner-like services in an expanded service area ................... 1 2 3 4
23. How interested, if at all, are you in purchasing an electric vehicle?
Very interested Somewhat interested Not at all interested Already own one
24. In which of the following topics are you most interested in receiving information or assistance from the City:
Outdoor air quality (e.g., vehicle idling, quality monitoring)
Indoor air quality (e.g., radon, lead)
Climate actions (e.g., greenhouse gas reduction, renewables)
Mobility options (e.g., bikeshare, Downtowner, buses)
Consumer protection (e.g., food safety)
Energy efficiency (e.g., home energy assessments)
Public health protection (e.g., sun safety, vaccines)
Noise (e.g., leaf blower ban)
Water conservation (e.g., water use, river health)
Waste reduction (e.g., reusable items)
Waste diversion (e.g., composting, recycling)
Something else: ____________________________
None of these
25. How important, if at all, is it to be able to complete the following types of activities or transactions on the City website:
Very Somewhat Not at all Don’t
Essential important important important know
Apply for city jobs ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Apply for permits and licenses ........................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
Pay bills, fees and fines ................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Request information about city services ............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Report concerns/problems ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
Apply for APCHA housing ............................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Reserve buildings, parks or other facilities .......................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Access city council agendas and videos............................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Access and analyze city data ............................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
26. How important, if at all, is it for the City government to take action on each of the following:
Very Somewhat Not at all Don’t
Essential important important important know
Economic development without the development (without new physical development) ........ 1 2 3 4 5
Ensuring the availability of adequate workforce housing at a reasonable cost to
rent/purchase ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5
Encouraging the development of additional lodging ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Improving pedestrian connectivity ................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Improving bike connectivity ........................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Increasing places for pedestrians to dwell or gather ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Providing new transportation options to reduce reliance on personal automobiles .......... 1 2 3 4 5
Increasing access to affordable locally grown food ................................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Protecting a minimum volume of water in Roaring Fork River ................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Improving and protecting the health of the Roaring Fork River ................................. 1 2 3 4 5
Finding ways to increase available child care spaces ............................................... 1 2 3 4 5
Reducing construction impacts (i.e. noise, traffic, runoff, dust, lane, and sidewalk closures) . 1 2 3 4 5
Improving the availability of affordable high-speed internet service ............................ 1 2 3 4 5
Encouraging the public to take part in water conservation programs .......................... 1 2 3 4 5
Encouraging the public to take part in energy conservation programs ......................... 1 2 3 4 5
The City of Aspen Citizen Survey Page 6 of 6
27. If you could “wave your magic wand” and make the Entrance to Aspen (Buttermilk through the S-curves) of your
dreams, which ONE of the following options would you choose:
Two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses/rail (one lane in each direction) across the Marolt Open Space in a cut-and-cover tunnel
(referred to by CDOT as the “Preferred Alternative”).
The “Split Shot” of two lanes for cars and two lanes for buses (one lane in each direction for each mode) using the existing S-Curve
alignment as the “downvalley” one-way couplet and another S-Curve created for an “upvalley” one-way couplet with a new bridge
across Castle Creek connecting to the end of Main Street.
A new bridge in the current alignment that accommodates a third lane that is “reversible” – creating two lanes for cars and buses at
different times of the day for either direction (e.g. two lanes inbound in the morning, two lanes outbound in the afternoon).
Leave the existing alignment as it is, but add a rail/monorail/gondola system to the existing roadway system.
Four lanes (two in each direction) with no restrictions on buses or cars in any lane across the Marolt Open Space (could use a cut-and-
cover tunnel).
Do nothing – it works just fine as it currently is.
28. About two-thirds of cars parking in the Downtown core are parked for a relatively short period and are registered in
the 81611 zip code. To encourage use of another choice other than a personal vehicle for trips outside of the
Downtowner’s service area, both positive incentives (“carrot”) and negative incentives (“stick”) could be used.
28a. If a “carrot” approach was used, which would you most prefer? (Check only one.)
A subsidized ride in a small van/taxi-like vehicle at $5 per vehicle per round trip door-to-door.
A subsidized ride in a small van/taxi-like vehicle at $5 per person per round trip door-to-door.
No subsidy – people can pay for the existing taxi service.
28b. If a “stick” approach was used, which would you most prefer? (Check only one.)
Increase the parking rates, including paying to park in the evening.
Increase the parking rates for daytime parking only, don’t charge in the evening.
Leave things like they are, don’t increase parking rates or times charged.
Our last questions are about you and your household, are anonymous and will be reported in group form only.
D1. How much do you anticipate your household’s total
income before taxes will be for the current year? (total
income from all sources for your household.)
Less than $25,000
$25,000 to under $50,000
$50,000 to under $75,000
$75,000 to under $100,000
$100,000 to under $150,000
$150,000 to under $200,000
$200,000 or more
D2. What is your gender?
Female
Male
D3. In which category is your age?
18-24 years
25-34 years
35-44 years
45-54 years
55-64 years
65-74 years
75-84 years
85 years or older
Thank you for completing this survey. Please return the
completed survey in the postage-paid envelope to:
National Research Center, Inc., PO Box 549, Belle Mead,
NJ 08502-0549
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jeff Pendarvis, Interim Facilities/Asset Manager
THROUGH: Scott Miller, Public Works Director
MEETING DATE: Information Only
MEMO DATE: January 22, 2019
RE: Council Update on 2019 Asset Projects
REQUEST OF COUNCIL: This memo is for information purposes only to update
Council on the status of 2019 Asset Department projects that were approved in the
2019 budget process. At the January 14, 2019 meeting Council affirmed that capital
projects were a priority. This memo presents updates and next steps on four
appropriated projects: Wheeler Opera House and Freight Elevator, Aspen Pedestrian
Mall Redevelopment Design, Water Place Housing Phase II, and New City Offices.
SUMMARY:
Below you will find a summary of the status of the four ongoing projects.
Wheeler Opera House and Freight Elevator Projects
The City of Aspen along with the Wheeler Board has completed a series of renovations
on the interior and exterior of the Wheeler Opera House. Currently, the façade work is
underway. The upcoming Building and Site Improvements project, which includes
modernization of the freight elevator and loading dock bay space will be the final facility
renovation to complete the building and take it into the next century. Coming years will
continue to see updates and improvements in the stage technical space to stay up to
date with industry standards.
The design team for the completion of the preservation and repair of the exterior façade
of the building is being led by Rowland and Broughton. As part of this work, the
sidewalk will be regraded, and snowmelt will be added to the patron queue area for
safety reasons.
The freight elevator will be replaced with access being restructured on the west wall to
eliminate any staging in the alley and a more efficient and safe loading and unloading
process. The green space along the south side of the Wheeler will be redesigned into a
recognizable, landscaped area for the Wheeler. The parking lot will be regraded with
current stormwater mitigation and a backup generator will be added to protect the
building in case of power failure and phase loss on the grid. This project will require
relocation of several mechanical systems. The building systems will also be completely
recommissioned, so that upon completion, the mechanical systems perform as
designed throughout the building. The Asset Department will also examine the use of
small cell technology on the building during this phase of work.
The Asset Department is working closely with the Wheeler Executive Director on
scheduling. Design and permitting is expected to be completed in 2019 in preparation
for the major work to begin in spring 2020 during a scheduled closure of the
Wheeler. Rehab of the current freight elevator will occur in spring 2019 with the
expectation that the elevator will get the Wheeler through one more year.
The contract packages for the design process is expected to be on the consent
calendar on February 25.
Pedestrian Mall Redevelopment Design
The Aspen Pedestrian Mall design process is ongoing and is budgeted to continue with
final design phase over the next two years. The City has had much success with a
public outreach program which is being led by Darla Callaway of Design Workshop and
Kathleen Wanatowicz of PR Studio. They will continue to lead the outreach with a
communications plan as follows:
Public Involvement Strategy (Per PR Studio’s Scope)
The Aspen Pedestrian Mall team is grateful for the community’s and Council’s participation
and input in developing the conceptual master plan for the pedestrian mall. The next phase
of the project will focus on a more detailed analysis of the site plan, infrastructure design
and constructability. The next phase will require creating opportunities for businesses,
building owners and the general public to understand the site plan, construction impacts and
phasing schedule in more detail. At the same time, our team must find new ways to continue
public involvement in the project in a meaningful way.
Developing alignment for how the project team will address the details of design,
constructability, and Mall program elements will be extremely important to continue the
momentum. The central focus of Mall is unique in that stakeholders range from direct
businesses that will be affected to the local community and general public as well as
perception of visitors – all user groups must be considered when we plan Mall construction
impacts. The following public involvement objectives are desired in the next phase:
1) Business relations and owner inventory: Building, maintaining and ensuring project area
business tenants and building owner contacts are current and a personal contact has been
identified at each building. This includes management of main stakeholder list and all
associated Mall area project contacts such as key community organizations and
representatives.
2) Education and communications of approach to design details, constructability and
impacts. This includes creating awareness and understanding of the Mall project
construction timeline, impacts, access and mitigation.
3) Cost and Financing: The Mall improvement project will serve the public’s infrastructure
needs for the next 50 years. Any public project of this magnitude needs factual public
information about the cost of the project and how it will be financed as well as defining the
need and purpose throughout the communications effort.
The next phase of the project includes schematic design, design development and
construction documents. Diverse strategies for public information and engagement will
inform how the project progresses through each project milestone.
While this project is a long way from construction, having a comprehensive, completed
design is key to establishing and capitalizing on private development projects over the
coming years while also providing the City with the information needed to structure a
funding plan for the project. The Pedestrian Mall redevelopment team will have multiple
check-ins with Council and the public concurrent with design milestones.
The contract packages for this phase of design is expected to be presented for City
Council’s consideration at the regular Council meeting on March 25.
Water Place Housing Phase II
In 2018, The Asset Department performed a feasibility analysis for the site, which
identified viable concepts to construct up to 48 units for City employee housing. An
Architectural RFP will be published in late January to select a team to design and entitle
the project over the next two years. The selection process will last into early April, at
which time contract packages will be brought to Council. Conceptual design phase is
expected to be completed by late summer, at which time a Council work session will be
scheduled to discuss the alternatives.
The contract packages for the design process is expected to be presented for City
Council’s consideration at the regular Council meeting on April 22.
New City Office Project
In the November 2018 election, Aspen voters chose to locate new City Offices at the
Rio Grande site. Construction is set to begin in February with an anticipated completion
date in early 2021. Once the new offices are ready for occupancy and staff has moved
in, a complete renovation of the Armory will begin.
Work on the project will begin February 4, 2019 with site and utility work first, followed
closely by vertical construction, for an anticipated two-year build time. Design and
entitlements for the Armory renovation are ongoing so the renovation can begin in 2021.
Estimated project timeline is as follows:
Phase 1 – Site Preparation and Demolition – February 2019-April 2019
Phase 2 –Utilities and Foundation – April 2019 – June 10, 2019 with some minor follow-
up being done during the off-season in the fall
Phase 3 - Vertical Construction – June 2019 – early 2021
The project includes a sustainability team with members: CJ Oliver, Stephen Kanipe,
Jeff Pendarvis, Ashley Perl, Rob Schober, Tom Hootman, and Jack Wheeler. The
team’s goal is to optimize a reduction in the City’s carbon footprint and energy
consumption.
The programming of the building will be as per the verified program and will include
keeping a restaurant space in its current, but renovated location. ACRA is also included
in the programming, as well as replacement of the Rio Grande meeting room on the
Galena Plaza level, which will be available for public use. The Asset Department will
also examine the use of small cell technology on the building.
The financing for the project will include COP issuance as well as cash. Phase 1 is
being executed and paid for with cash based on the 2016 pre-construction contract.
The next round of contracts and contract amendments will be presented for City
Council’s consideration at the regular Council meeting on February 11. The Asset
Department will return to Council at a meeting in May with the final contracts for Phase
3.
Project partners include: Shaw Construction, Charles Cunniffe Architects, Concept One
Group, and PR Studio. PR Studio will be working under Shaw’s contract to provide
communication services and outreach throughout the project.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Information only. For any questions, please contact, Jeff
Pendarvis, Interim Facilities/Asset Manager or Public Works Director, Scott Miller.