Linda Zacher, city planner, said 151 citizens, or about 15 percent of those who received a survey, responded. Even though this number might seem low, Zacher was pleased, and said the average return for surveys usually runs about 10 percent.

The 26-question survey asked residents about their satisfaction with various aspects of the city, including traffic, sidewalks, environment, downtown, community involvement and friendliness.

Respondents were also invited to write specific comments, and many of them did. Traffic drew the most responses, but 55 percent of the survey participants answered that traffic is not a major problem in Tonganoxie.

For those who differed in opinion, suggestions ranged from where to add stoplights, where to lower speed limits and what highly traveled areas could use some kind of traffic management.

“Most of the respondents seemed to appreciate the diversity of housing,” Zacher said.

For instance, more than 50 percent disagreed with the statement, “I would prefer to live in an area like Tonganoxie’s new subdivisions rather than in some of the older neighborhoods in town.”

And 58 percent disagreed with this statement, “I would prefer to live in a neighborhood with people from my same economic level and age group rather than with people from a wide range of economic levels and age groups.”

Close to 60 percent of those who responded said that they thought most people in Tonganoxie have adequate access to recreational areas where they can walk or ride a bicycle.

A high number, or 90 percent, said it’s important to maintain the area’s natural terrain, including creeks and native vegetation.

And 70 percent said that it’s easy to interact with others in their neighborhood, and close to 50 percent noted that many Tonganoxie citizens appear to be community-minded.

One area where the city may be looking to improve in the future are sidewalks, especially as traffic increases.

“Sidewalks are a recurring theme,” Zacher said.

For example, about 87 percent said they’d like to be able to walk or ride a bicycle to shopping areas near their homes. Many of the surveys were turned in before downtown’s renovation was complete, which may account for a 12 percent response from residents who said they didn’t care for the appearance of downtown. More than 72 percent said they found the downtown area to be pleasant and inviting.

One area that perhaps was the most hardest hitting all around, was the issue of whether residents with a wide variety of skills and education can find good jobs in Tonganoxie. More than 80 percent of the respondents answered no.

Quite a few survey respondents indicated that citizens would like to have the city’s border be more well-defined, rather than choppy as it appears on a map of the city. In this category, about 70 percent said they’d like for the city to have a well-defined edge with farmland, woodland and wildlife areas permanently protected from development.

And finally, more than 70 percent of the respondents said they feel that the quality of life in Tonganoxie is improving.