Village residents apparently believe Downers Grove is a safe place to live, with access to excellent schools, but they worry about an increase in gang activity, according to survey results released last week.
Randomly sent to 1,600 households in the village this year, the survey asked questions about municipal services, quality of life and transportation and information resources in the village. Now in their sixth year, the surveys provide the village staff with feedback to improve service, said Jerry Sprecher, acting village manager.
Of the 508 responses returned to the village, residents gave the village an overall 87 percent approval rating, with 78 percent of the respondents awarding satisfactory marks to village administrative services. Residents said safety, good schools and the park system were the best things about living in Downers Grove, while taxes, heavy traffic and a lack of an outdoor public pool were the worst things about the village.
Residents said gangs, crime and traffic are the three biggest problems facing the village in the next five years.
This year’s survey response dropped to 32 percent from 43 percent last year, a decrease officials attributed to the larger 1994 survey. The current survey had only two more questions than last year’s 85, said administrative assistant Ellen Dean, but the questions were longer.