People who live and work in Howard County are satisfied with many things in their neighborhoods, but childcare and transportation are not high on the list.
A survey of nearly 700 people, conducted this spring by The Columbia Foundation, found that while more than 80 percent of respondents were satisfied with health care available and more than 90 percent satisfied with education, only 50 percent reported being satisfied with child-care programs in the county, and only 45 percent were satisfied with transportation.
Results of the survey, the first of its kind by the 42-year-old charitable foundation, were unveiled Monday, June 20, at St. John the Baptist Church in Columbia.
Nearly 700 people were interviewed for the "Listening Project," an attempt to assess community needs so that the foundation, which was set up to address community needs, could decide on what issues to focus. The survey was carried out with help from professors and students at Loyola University.
People who live or work in the county were asked to rank their satisfaction with a variety of public services, including health care, access to food, safety, security, education, arts, transportation and child care.
The low satisfaction with transportation prompted the authors of a report on the survey to pronounce transportation "the most important issue to Howard County residents," and to recommend to the foundation that "improvements need to be addressed in the areas of transportation and childcare/adolescent programs."
Specifically, the authors suggested efforts "to provide more frequent and less costly bus transportation and that transportation be made available to BWI airport, Baltimore and Washington, D.C."
As for the latter issue, the report suggested more "affordable daycare centers and more extracurricular activities for children."
Steve Girard, the member of the foundation's Strategic Initiatives Committee who presented the survey results Monday night, noted that poor public transportation from Columbia to Washington, D.C. or Baltimore rendered Howard County's proximity to both cities useless if residents didn't own a car.
"If a person can't get to Baltimore to work, the convenience becomes a moot point," Girard said.
Bus stop safety was also a reason cited for dissatisfaction with transportation, along with a lack of availability, Girard said.
But members of the audience Monday night pointed out that "transportation" could mean either public transit or the quality of the roads. The survey also did not specify whether it was transportation within the county that was unsatisfactory, or transportation to places outside the county.
Furthermore, while the survey asked whether a respondent lived or worked in Howard County, there was no option for "both," which could have affected how people view public transportation, said Alice Giles, co-president of the Howard County League of Women Voters.
Giles, a Savage resident, said she did not personally use Howard's mass transit, but she was aware of how many county residents were in need of the service, and were not sure how to use it.
County Council Chairman Calvin Ball, a Columbia Democrat, said the issue of transportation is multi-faceted, with conflicting goals and priorities.
"People oftentimes say they want a more bikeable, more pedestrian-friendly community, but then it has to be less car-friendly," he said. "People also don't usually use mass transit if it's easy and convenient to drive. There are several issues surrounding transportation that are conflicting and require a lot of investment."
Location, location
Besides rating their satisfaction with certain amenities, survey respondents were also asked what they enjoyed most about living in Howard County.
Topping that list was the county's location, proximity and convenience to major metropolitan areas, followed by education and a sense of community.
The three least mentioned aspects were arts and cultural events, recreation and activity opportunities, and civic engagement.
For Ball, the low ranking for civic engagement indicates a desire for more such engagement.
"There was a time when Howard County, particularly Columbia, was young and everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew what was going on," Ball said. "As we have matured, there's an inundation of information from the entire region, but people are trying to figure out what's going on on a local level."
Respondents also were asked to rate the safety of the county, and while most said the county is generally a safe place to live, results varied depending on the part of the county being addressed.
Ellicott City, North Laurel, Fulton and Clarksville were seen as the safest areas in the county, and Jessup, Elkridge and Columbia the least safe, Girard said. Respondents cited thefts on bike paths, unsafe mall conditions and unsafe bus stops as reasons.
The Columbia Foundation's board of trustees will use the results to choose two or three areas to support in the future.
The complete survey can be reviewed at ColumbiaFoundation.org.