By Jane Glenn Cannon
The Journal Record           

At least 85 percent of Norman residents are satisfied with the city's quality of life, according to the results of a recent random telephone survey.

Other results indicate most residents are happy with their neighborhoods, the city's appearance and public safety, said Mary Outwater of the University of Oklahoma Public Opinion Learning Laboratory, known as OU POLL.

Residents are not as satisfied with traffic flow or ease of getting around the city. Most indicate the city should have better public transportation, Outwater said.

OU POLL was hired by the city to do 800 telephone interviews using questions aimed at identifying key community issues and ways to address those issues. The surveys were conducted between Oct. 22 and Nov. 27.

Outwater talked about conclusions that could be drawn from the survey at a recent city council conference.

In the poll, residents were asked if they were "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to support the use of public money for certain community needs.

About 81 percent said they would support using public money to provide more green space, including parks and trails, Outwater said.

Seventy-eight percent said they favored using public money to pay for more firefighters. Seventy-four percent said they would support public money being used to hire more police officers and to build a senior citizens center.

About 72 percent favored using public money to build a new library; 68 percent favored public money to pay for a new animal shelter.

With a 3 percent margin of error, Outwater said, "I have a lot of confidence in the results of our poll."

More results of the poll are:

82 percent expressed satisfaction with the quality of city parks.

80 percent were happy with the city's police service.

67 percent approved of the city's growth pace.

83 percent strongly or somewhat agreed that new growth should be strategically regulated to manage development in environmentally sensitive areas.

49 percent strongly or somewhat agreed that Norman should adopt additional policies to promote mixed-use development.

76 percent strongly or somewhat agreed that Norman should promote housing types at varying income levels.

77 percent favored more conservation efforts to ensure an adequate water supply.

The survey's results are available at www.norman.ok.gov.