Posted: Oct. 12, 2009

Lack of money has halted plans for a villagewide survey about the ease of accessing Elm Grove's downtown.

"There's no money in the budget for (the survey) this year," Trustee Jan Schoenecker said at the Oct. 8 Safety Committee meeting.

At this point, the village may want to pursue donations from local organizations to help pay for the survey, which has been deemed a key component in determining whether changes are needed to make it safer and easier for people to move between Elm Grove's west side and downtown, Schoenecker said. The idea for the survey grew out of discussions originally focused on the safety of nonmotorized traffic along Juneau Boulevard.

Funding for the survey also could be added to the village's wish list for future years, she said.

Village Manager Dave De Angelis said the wish list is usually reserved for nonessential capital items such as picnic tables or benches. A request of this nature has never been included on the list before, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Scientific survey costly

The Safety Committee work group has said it believes more solid data about residents' use of village streets to reach Village Park and downtown, and information about what changes residents want, is necessary before the panel can recommend a course of action. It turned to the Survey Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for help in conducting a scientific survey.

The center recommended 1,065 surveys be sent out based on random sampling within certain geographic areas. They would aim for a response rate of 33 percent, or the return of 355 surveys.

The UW-River Falls staff would perform the statistical analysis of the data.

The minimum cost including a full report with the cross-tabulation of respondent's answers is estimated at $5,248.

There is the option to only receive a summary report for a minimum of $4,478, however committee members were against that.

"(The full report) would tell us what the demographics mean in those cross-tabulations," committee member Andy Vrakas said. "I don't see any point in doing this with a summary report. … If we are going to do it, we need the full report."

Questions not written

The group has yet to decide whether it will complete the survey questions now for use in the future.

"You don't know what you need until you do the survey, but if you don't think you are ever going to have the money, do you want to do it?" De Angelis asked.

Schoenecker said she hopes the village would find the money to make improvements if a survey showed a real need within the community.

"If there's a large outcry for change, it's going to behoove the village trustees to say, 'OK, we bit the bullet and spent the money,' " she said.