Newsletter Survey

In November 1999, a survey was issued with the first edition of Downtown Buffalo 2002! News. In that document, issues, action items, and projects contained within the Downtown Buffalo Strategic Plan were briefly described and summarized. Respondents were asked to rank issues and projects according to priority. Over 6,500 copies of the newsletter and survey were distributed at a local, regional (6,000 total), national and international level (500 total) with plan summary, questionnaire, and invitation to the Summit. 287 responses to the survey were returned, representing a 4.4% rate of return.

Issue Priority Ranking

Issue priorities identified in the survey were (1) Living Downtown, (2) Working Downtown, (3) Accessing Downtown, (4) Image of Downtown, (5) Having Fun Downtown, (6) Feeling Safe Downtown, (7) Meeting Downtown, (8) Shopping Downtown, and (9) Learning Downtown.

Figure 2 – Priority Issue Ranking

View Table 1

This ranking represents a shift in priority from 1994, when participants at the 1994 Downtown Summit ranked Living Downtown as #1 and ranked Feeling Safe Downtown a close #2. In 1999, Feeling Safe Downtown ranked #6, and at the December Summit, it was of such little concern that almost no attendees even wanted to discuss it. Another notable change is the increased importance of Working Downtown, which ranked #8 of 8 in 1994 and #2 of 9 in 1999. Figure 2 highlights the results of the priority issue ranking.

(back to the top)

Project priorities from the newsletter survey are as follows:

1. Develop the Inner Harbor
2. Business Growth Strategy
3. Reform NYS Building Code
4. Build a new Convention Center
5. Build 3000 housing units in 5 years
6. Revise Street Circulation
7. Parking Rates, New Ramps
8. Cars Sharing Main Street
9. MetroRail Extensions
10. Support New Hotel Development
11. Address Office Competitiveness
12. Complete Preservation Districts
13. Intermodal Transportation Center
14. Expand Buffalo Place
15. Increase Lighting Levels
16. Update Directional Signage
17. Support Not-For-Profit Housing Developer
18. Remove the Skyway
19. Prepare for Possible Gaming

Figure 3 highlights the project priority ranking results. Additional comments from the survey focused on improving and reforming government and placing a greater focus on urban design and amenities.

Figure 3 – Priority Project Ranking

View Table 2

(back to the top)

Survey Methodology

In the Issue ranking, respondents were asked to rank projects from 1-9 (1 highest, 9 lowest). The total of the ranking (1-9) equals 45. Thus, a valid survey would be worth 45 points. The base score of each project represents the average ranking across surveys. Since it is an average, no project received a perfect score. The lowest average equals the highest ranking. Therefore, Living Downtown ranked the highest with the lowest score (3.82) To plot this on a graph, the number would have to be reversed so that Living Downtown would have the longest bar. Therefore, the average was subtracted from the total number to get a weighted ranking, so Living Downtown is now worth 41.18 out of 45.00. The average and the total equal 45. The same formula applies to the Project ranking, except that in this case, the ranking was from 1-19, and the total number of points equals 190. Tables 3 and 4 below show the actual project ranking tabulations.

Table 3 – Priority Issue Ranking Results Form

Table 4 – Priority Project Ranking Result Form

(back to the top)