Editorial: Report shows residents want better transit

People love living in Johnson County. That’s the brief and positive takeaway from the new community survey released last week.

Some of the ratings aren’t exactly a surprise. Many county residents take great pride in their school districts and public services, including an extensive system of usually well-maintained roads.

These amenities aren’t surprising to find in a county that has the most affluent residents in Kansas and the metropolitan area.

Still, as county officials often note, those residents also expect to get a good return on the taxes they pay. That puts pressure on County Manager Hannes Zacharias as well as his staff to deliver high-quality services.

The 2015 survey provided encouraging feedback from residents on several fronts.

▪ 94 percent were satisfied with the quality of life in the county, 13 percentage points higher than the national average.

▪ 96 percent felt safe in their neighborhood during the day, compared with the national rate of 90 percent.

▪ 88 percent were satisfied with the county’s libraries and 87 percent with the parks and recreation system.

However, one of the biggest “needs improvement” areas concerned transportation: 69 percent of residents think the county should do more to coordinate routes and schedules with regional partners such as the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

And only 32 percent were satisfied with public transit.

The survey shows residents are generally pleased with most services they receive, but transit improvements remain a key goal for county officials.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Editorial: Report shows residents want better transit."