Capitol Hill : 2005 Follow Up Survey

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The first ComNETsm surveys were conducted in the spring and summer of 2004 in four Seattle neighborhoods: Greenwood-Phinney Ridge, Capitol Hill, North Beacon Hill and the International District. There were a total of 1159 incidents recorded from these initial surveys. In May 2005, Sustainable Seattle conducted four “follow-up” surveys, in which volunteers surveyed the same routes as in the 2004 surveys, but rather than collect new conditions, this survey checked whether the original conditions still existed. If the surveyors did not find the original conditions, the incidents were recorded as “resolved.” Of the 1159 incidents recorded in 2004, 386 were found to be “resolved” by the time of the follow up survey.

Click on image for a larger view

This map shows where incidents were reported in 2004 (red dots), and where issues were still present in 2005. Thus, the more red you see, the more issues were resolved at that location. The 2005 Follow Up Surveys used the 2004 incident lists and reported whether each incident still existed in the exact spot it had been reported in 2004. Therefore, some incidents are not accurately tracked as "resolved" for a number of reasons. For example, it was raining the day the 2004 survey was done, and sunny the day the 2005 follow up was done. Therefore, the high instance of ponding having been resolved may be due merely to the lack of water on the streets in 2005, and not to any actual improvement to the site. Additionally, there were no specific locations on Capitol Hill where large amounts of issues were resolved. Improvement was consistently spread out over the entire neighborhood, with 36% of all issues identified in 2004 resolved by 2005.

Table 1: Most Frequently Collected Problems

Table 1 illustrates the most frequently collected problems by surveyors in 2004. These were: graffiti with 66 incidents collected, trip hazards with 31 incidents collected and fliers/stickers posted with 24 incidents collected. None of the top 3 most frequently collected problems had more than half resolved by 2005. Out of all of the top collected incidents only ponding had more than half of its incidents resolved. It is important to note that in the previous year the day that the community went out to collect data it was raining, thus they saw all the water built up. During the 2005 follow up survey it was not raining. As a result, the issue may not have been resolved, but instead water from the last rainfall had already evaporated, making it appear to be resolved.

By Agency

Each incident which is collected is tied to a specific city agency. There were 15 agencies with various jurisdictions throughout the neighborhood. 8 of the 15 agencies had resolved above 50% of the issues they were responsible for. The bar graph shows each of these 15 agencies and the percentage of incidents which were resolved under their jurisdiction. Click on image for larger view.

The Top Three Agencies:

137 of the incidents collected were under the jurisdiction of SDOT (Seattle Department of Transportation). 31% of the incidents affiliated with SDOT were resolved. SDOT is affiliated with problems relating to trees and tree pits, street and parking signs, roadways, parking meters and crosswalks. Additionally, SDOT is affiliated with trip hazards* on sidewalks.
SPU (Seattle Public Utilities) had 28 incidents collected under their jurisdiction. 64% of the incidents affiliated with SPU were resolved by 2005. SPU is affiliated with street lights and trash cans. Ponding on the sidewalks is also affiliated with SPU.
28 incidents collected fall under shared jurisdiction between property owners (PO) and SPU. 43% of the incidents collected which fall under joint SPU and property owners were resolved. Both SPU and property owners are affiliated with litter on the sidewalks, and graffiti on dumpsters or buildings.

^{*Since the 2004 Street Level Survey some language changes have been made. Trip hazards are now referred to as uneven pavement.}

Click here for an excel spreadhseet with the Capitol Hill Follow Up Survey Data.

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