Soulard Safety Committee Survey — Executive Summary

· Survey was completed by 100 respondents between April and end of May. Sixty-two percent of respondents live South of Russell and 22% live North of Russell.

o Perception of crime in Soulard:

§ One-half (50%) agree that crime is a major issue, 28% are neutral, and 21% disagree.

§ One-half (52%) believe that crime in the past 3 years has stayed the same, 35% believe that is has increased, and 13% believe it has decreased.

§ Over two-thirds (70%) agree with the statement “I feel safe in our neighborhood.”

§ Almost one-half (48%) agree with the statement “I feel safe going out at night in our neighborhood,” while 23% disagree and 28% are neutral.

§ One-third (36%) of respondents indicated that they have personally experienced a crime in Soulard in the past 3 years, 50% did not and 14% left the question unanswered. (Note: This number may be skewed and not transfer to the general population due to interest in filling out the survey because of a personal experience with crime).

§ Crimes that need to be addressed:

· Traffic- related issues such as speeding and running signs and lights (28%)

· Car break ins (26%)

· Property theft/damage (18%)

· Car/vehicle/car jacking (15%)

o Crime prevention efforts:

§ Police patrols – Over one-half (59%) think there needs to be more police patrols and 41% think there needs to be about the same.

§ Lighting – Over one-half (60%) believe lighting varies from block to block

§ Neighborhood Watch – The majority (59% )are interested in reviving and participating in a Neighborhood Watch effort

§ To increase general safety, the following areas were mentioned the most:

· Increase policing/security (22)

· Taming neighborhood traffic and vehicle access (12)

· Better lighting (11)

· More cameras and communication among neighbors (11)

· Having a Neighborhood Watch and communicating among neighbors (8)

o Pedestrian and Intersection safety:

§ Almost one-half (48%) agree that pedestrians are safe on our sidewalks and intersections. One-quarter (28%) are neutral and one-quarter (23%) disagree.

§ Intersections that raise concern (* indicates that it is included in the CID study):

· Russell (23) *

· 12th Street (18) *

· 9th Street (10)*

· Barton (9) *

· 7th Street/Broadway (5)

· 13th Street (3)

· 8th Street (3)

· Overall, 61 intersections that were mentioned are included in the CID study and 14 are not included.

Top ways residents find out what’s happening in Soulard:

· Nextdoor (60%)

· SRG Blaster (58%)

· SRG General Meeting (44%)

· Renaissance (31%)

Other ways to find out information (open-ended question)

· 19 responses centered around neighborhood connections (talking with neighbors, word of mouth, etc)