Lower Merion Township Releases National Citizen Survey Results

Lower Merion resident seem quite happy with their lives in the township, as a recent resident survey showed an overwhelming majority of residents think their town is a great place to live.

The township contracted with a Colorado-based company to conduct The National Citizen Survey, and the results bode well for the township.

According to the result, 97 percent of the 1,802 respondents said the township is " an excellent or good place to live."

Sixty-six percent said the township was "excellent" to live in, while 32 percent said it was "good." Two percent responded with "fair" and no one reported living in the township as "poor."

The survey was sent out via mail this fall to 3,000 randomly selected households, distributed evenly throughout Lower Merion’s 14 wards, according to population, the township said.

“It is not at all surprising to me that our residents have generally rated Lower Merion Township as an excellent place to live, and rated the services provided by the Township very highly—in many cases higher that the average ratings of other communities across the country who have conducted the NCS,” Township Manager Ernie McNeely said in a statement. “But ratings of various services provide us with indicators for where we can work to improve service to our residents, which is really the underlying purpose for performing the survey.”

Not only did the survey ask residents whether Lower Merion was a good place to live, it also asked them with reviewing the offered municipal services.

Thirty-six percent said the services were "excellent," while 52 said they were "good" and 10 percent said the services were "fair." Two percent reported "poor" services provided.

Another area measured was residents' sense of community in the township.

Twenty-three percent reported they felt the sense of community is "excellent," 44 percent said it was "good," 27 percent said "fair," and 6 percent said it was "poor."

The only areas where Lower Merion ratings are lower than the average is in ease of bicycle travel and in those reporting having attended a township-sponsored event, the township said.

Conversely, ratings were higher than the benchmark averages for township services in general, police services and fire services, library services, public information services, healthcare services, and number of residents who vote. Benchmark ratings where Lower Merion was much higher included education and public transit.

The report has this to say in conclusion:

“Overall quality of community life represents the natural ambience, services and amenities that make for an attractive community. How residents rate their overall quality of life is an indicator of the overall health of a community.”

“On one level, given this is Lower Merion, the excellent results are not surprising but, nevertheless, remain gratifying," Dan Bernheim, President of the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners, said in a statement. "On another level, a deeper dive into the data points to areas where we can strive for improvement in our perpetual quest to maintain and enhance the Township as a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family.”

What do you think about these results? Do you like living in Lower Merion? What other categories should be examined?

Images via Lower Merion Township