SUNNYVALE RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO RANK THEIR CITY HIGH

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Eighty-five percent of Sunnyvale survey respondents ranked the City’s quality of life as good or excellent, and 93 percent favorably rated Sunnyvale as a good or excellent place to live.

The data comes from the City’s latest Resident Satisfaction Survey, a biennial, scientifically-based survey of residents that rates satisfaction with a broad range of City services. Sunnyvale residents have typically displayed a very high level of satisfaction with these services and their confidence in City Hall.

An important finding in this year’s survey is that 85 percent favorably cited the openness and acceptance of the community towards people of diverse backgrounds. Given Sunnyvale’s broad ethnic and cultural mix, the City has worked hard to include all community members in City programs and services, and through the use of multicultural working groups, has sought better ways to reach its residents.

When it comes to safety, only 7 percent of the respondents felt crime is a problem in Sunnyvale, which echoes the fact that the City’s already low crime rate continues to drop. The highest-rated potential problem in the City is traffic congestion, a problem facing the entire Bay Area. Twelve percent of respondents, double the number of previous years, expressed concerns about traffic congestion.

Because the City of Sunnyvale now uses a national polling firm that also conducts surveys of many other cities, comparative data is available, showing how Sunnyvale is doing compared to other cities.

Of 111 cities nationwide, Sunnyvale ranked as the ninth most desirable place to work, and placed seventh in its openness and acceptance towards people of diverse backgrounds. And while traffic congestion is a concern, the City placed sixth overall in the quality of its traffic signal timing.

Sunnyvale’s City Hall continued its record of high marks. The City earned good ratings for the value residents receive for their taxes and the degree that Sunnyvale welcomes community involvement. Reflecting on the safety of the City, police, fire and EMS services all received 90 percent or better favorable ratings, and City of Sunnyvale employees once again received good-to-excellent ratings in their knowledge, responsiveness and courtesy.