RICHARDSON HEIGHTSNeighborhood Survey 2018

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ABOUT THIS SURVEYThis year we had many new board members and thought it would be a good time to gather information about the neighborhood. We want our efforts to serve your needs, encourage your interests, and build a community that shares your values.

So we asked you some questions.

We ran the Richardson Heights Neighborhood Survey from July 28th - August 15th, 2018. To reach as many as possible, we advertised with flyers on every doorstep, email, local Facebook groups, NextDoor, Twitter, our website, and delivered two paper copies to neighbors who don’t use the internet.

The survey took 10-15 minutes to complete and answers were anonymous unless the responder chose to provide additional information. RHNA membership was not required to participate in this survey- we wanted to reach all neighbors- but the survey was intended only for Richardson Heights residents.

In all, we received 267 responses (including 11 people who didn’t realize they don’t live in Richardson Heights.) We got a ton of useful information that we are summarizing here.

What do you like most about Richardson Heights?Community, neighborhood character, and location.

What do you like least?Traffic, road conditions, concerns about home and yard upkeep, and crime.

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YOUR HOUSEHOLDWe asked demographic questions to get a sense of how the neighborhood is organized by ages and interests. We also used the street and general block number to weed out those who don’t actually live in Richardson Heights.

What street and block do you live on?

Bristol Court 5800

Belt Line 5600 800

Weatherred 23100 300 400 500 600 700

Downing 34600 700 800

Nottingham 21300 400 500 700

Gentle 2100

Palmer 2700

Scottsdale 33600 700 800

Sherwood 31600 700 800

Saint PaulCourt 3800

James 18700 800

Lindale 3100 300

Hyde Park 10100 200 300

500 600 700

Dumont 44600 700 800

Devonshire 18600 700

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What age range are you in?

How would you like to get information about the neighborhood?

18-24 Years 0%

60+ Years 28%

25-44 Years 44%

45-59 Years 28%

Email 71%

NextDoor 32%

Facebook 52%

Instagram 8%

Twitter 5%

PaperNewsletter 42%

Website 25%

Text Message 25%

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How long have you lived in Richardson Heights?

Do you have school-aged children?

Less Than1 Year 6%

11-20 Years 16%

More Than20 Years 29%

1-5 Years 29%

6-10 Years 20%

Yes 27%

No 73%

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What do you like most about Richardson Heights?

What do you like least?Quiet 8%

Restaurants 5%

Safety 9%

Schools 5%

Walkability 7%

Location 36%

Events 2%

LocalBusinesses 5%

Community 52%

NeighborhoodCharacter 37%

Parks 9%

CityGovernment 3%

NearbyApartments 2%

Lack ofStreet Lights 4%

Crime 8%

Tax & UtilityRates 6%

Traffic 22%

Home & YardUpkeep 15%

Rentals 3%

RoadConditions 17%

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SCHOOLSHealthy neighborhoods and healthy schools are closely connected. Heights Elementary is right around the corner and we want to support it. But we wanted to get a complete picture of how many families have school-aged children and what schools they attend.

What schools do your children attend?

ArapahoClassical Magnet 6 Responses

RichardsonHigh School 9 Responses

RichardsonHeights Elementary 29 Responses

Private School 12 Responses

STEM Academy atBerkner High School 0

Math, Science, LeadershipMagnet at Westwood Jr. High 1 Responses

Arts & Technology Magnetat Richardson West 0

Hamilton ParkPacesetter Magnet 0

Math/Science/Technology Magnet 4 Responses

Richardson WestJunior High 3 Responses

Christa McAuliffeLearning Center 0

Home School 1 Responses

RISD Academy 0

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YOUR INTERESTSLearning about our neighbors’ interests will help us when it comes time to plan future events. What can we do to appeal to the most number of people? How should we organize our priorities? But if your interests are low on the chart, don’t be disappointed... that’s still at least a room full of people in the neighborhood who might want to meet up.

Home InterestsHome

Improvement 69%

InteriorDecorating 39%

Do-It-YourselfRepair 53%

CarMaintenance 10%

EnergyEfficiency 50%

Small HouseLiving 36%

ToolSwap 14%

Other answers included: • Exterior decorating• Recycling barely dirty bath water

to French drains in back yard• Solar power options

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Lawn and Garden Interests

Gardening 57%

Xeriscaping 42%

Landscaping 65%

ProduceSwaps 21%

WaterEfficiency 49%

Native Plants 56%

Lawn &Garden Tours 27%

Composting 30%

RaisingChickens 18%

Beekeeping 14%

Other answers included:• Seed swaps• Lawn maintenance• Fish ponds• Bat houses• Outdoor living spaces, treehouses• Foraging, attracting butterflies• Neighborhood chicken coop tour• Rainwater barrels

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Indoor Hobbies

Reading 55%

Drawing 13%

Cooking 56%

MusicMaking 10%

Writing 11%

Book Swap 16%

Coloring 9%

Painting 17%

MusicListening 48%

Board Games 37%

Card Games 29%

Sewing 13%

Quilting 5%

Knitting &Crocheting 10%

Scrapbooking 6%

JewelryMaking 7%

Baking 34%

Other answers included: • Beer and wine making• Wine tasting• Happy Hour, Wine’d Downs• Food/recipe swaps• Cooking classes• Pottery making• Textile art/weaving• Babysitting and kid sharing• Neighborhood book club

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Outdoor Hobbies

Running 21%

Hiking 37%

Walking 71%

WatchingSports 28%

Biking 28%

GroupExercise 27%

PlayingSports 13%

Camping 25%

Photography 21%

Other answers included: • Community vegetable garden• Bird watching• Woodworking• Hinting/Fishing• Yoga• Basketball• Baseball• Softball• Kickball• Soccer• Tennis

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Civic Interests

Would you be interested in any of the following?

JoiningCrime Watch 50 People

AttendingTrash Bash 94 People

Serving On RHNABoard or Committee 40 People

Hosting NationalNight Out 45 People

Attending HelpYour Neighbor Day 125 People

NeighborhoodBeautification 60%

Infrastructure 42%

CityGovernment 21%

VoterParticipation 32%

Parks 59%

Volunteering 48%

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DURHAM PARKDurham Park was the result of hard work from the Neighborhood Association, dedicated neighbors, the city of Richardson, and more. Over the past five years, the park has become a highlight of the neighborhood, full of life and possibility. We wanted to see if there were issues we needed to address to keep the park at its best.

Do you visit Durham Park?

How satisfied are you with the upkeep of the park?

Yes 76%

No 24%

Very Dissatisfied 0%

Dissatisfied 0.5%

Very Satisfied 57%

Satisfied 42%

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How concerned are you with traffic around the park?

How concerned are you with the safety of visitors at the park?

NotConcerned 60%

VeryConcerned 9%

SomewhatConcerned 31%

NotConcerned 33%

VeryConcerned 24%

SomewhatConcerned 43%

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What do you like most about Durham Park?

Kid-Friendly 11%

Landscape 3%

Atmosphere 5%

Pavilion 8%

Field/Open Space 15%

Design 4%

Dog-Friendly 8%

Equipment 13%

Proximity 47%

Size 4%

Upkeep 8%

Community 14%

Non-ResidentUse 5%

Too Small 5%

Traffic 31%

Parking 4%

Too DarkAt Night 4%

Lack OfRestrooms 4%

Pet Waste 3%

Not EnoughEquipment 5%

No EquipmentFor Older Kids 8%

Child Safety 15%

PoorPlant Upkeep 6%

Not EnoughShade 18%

What do you like least?

Other answers included: • Would like equipment like exercise

stations for adults • Would like a water feature/spray pad• Would like a volleyball court

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THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONThe strength of a neighborhood association is in its membership. Our goal is to encourage more residents to join by proving the worth of Richardson Heights Neighborhood Association, but we would also like to understand why someone might not want to join.

Are you a member of RHNA?

What would keep you from joining or renewing your membership?

Never Been A Member 25%

I Don’t Know 9%

CurrentlyA Member 40%

Was In The PastBut Not Currently 26%

I Never KnewAbout It 6%

I Rent And Didn’tKnow I Could Join 5%

I Forgot 61%

I Just Moved ToThe Neighborhood 6%

Didn’t Know HowTo Join/Renew 15%

Not EnoughBenefits To Join 11%

I Disagree WithPositions of RHNA 4%

Other answers included: • Complications with paying• Don’t know what the benefits are• Don’t know what you do with the money• Uncertainty around auto-renewal• Check was never cashed

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What do you think is a reasonable membership feefor our neighborhood?The primary source of funding for operations- programs, publications, meetings, beautification, etc.- are the membership dues. Our membership fee of $15 has not changed in many years. For reference, Heights Park is $20 and Arapaho Heights is $25.

We wanted to see if people still think that $15 matches the value of membership. The responses were:

What kind of activities would you like to see the RHNA provide?The answers to this question we so unique that we’ll let them speak for themselves:

$25 26%

$30 4%

$15 27%

$20 43%

• Maybe a monthly get-together for special groups - like mothers and children and seniors over 55 years.

• Interest or age based casual park meet ups, classes or lectures led by residents, maybe a sing along or jam session, christmas caroling.

• It used to be more active in having the City get things done. Now it just seems like kids parties.

• More family picnics at the park. More “help the neighbors” events.

• Meet your neighbor type get-togethers.

• This is a low-key neighborhood, probably with less children, but perhaps more govern-ment-minded. Activities should be tailored as such.

• Not sure. Would like to see a plant or seed swap, or a loose coordination for a neighborhood ga-rage sale. Are these options?

• More spontaneous gatherings...folks knowing one another and saying, “Hey, we’re going to park in an hour...”

• More meet and greets.

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• Something for the older folks

• Think they do a good job with activities provided

• Something for the kids.

• Social calendar?

• Casual park meet ups. Partnerships with RHE for events. christmas caroling. Perhaps themed christmas decorations (see: spiral trees in heights park).

• Activities for older people

• I love everything that has been provided so far.

• Crime control

• Everything has been only for people with kids (which now we have a baby so we can finally join those events) so we have felt a bit excluded since we did not have kids. I know there are a lot of young couples without kids who would like to meet and have events too!!

• Same as in the past.

• More variation of sports/activities on the recre-ation centers and more for little ones

• More meetings on varying nights and not only on Thursdays.

• Movie night

• Help out the older folks in the community that don’t have the financial security that others have. There are a lot of old timers that have been around since this area was just being built.

• Family meet n greet

• I think it would be great to do block parties that are a pot luck every now and then, maybe meet at the park so people from different streets can meet one another. I think the neighborhood watch does a great job of patrolling the area.

• Block parties, park activities, dog days, neighbor-hood directory.

• Helping neighbor day and get to-know-you gather-ings at Durham Park

• Really enjoyed the Memorial Day cook out at Durham Park this year. Enjoy the Christmas dec-orating contest as well. I appreciate all the ideas, actions and activities the RHNA does, sorry I can’t think of anything to add at this time. Ya’ll are doing a great job in my opinion.

• Socials, volunteer events

• Neighborhood beautification efforts More social / evening gatherings. Organize home and garden tours.

• Kids activities

• Neighborhood Group negotiated pricing for upkeep such as tree trimming, gutter and roof repair, fence repairs and maintenance.

• Love it when we have music or movie night at the park

• Block Parties, Neighborhood Meet and Greets, Garden Plant Swap, Bake Sale

• Get to Know Your Neighbors Events

• More advanced information about city council action while we can have input. Updates on Main Street revitalization.

• Small group gatherings, like not the whole block, but 1/2 at a time

• Unsure at this time since most of the events pertain to children

• Right now, we are pretty happy with amount avail-able for families with littles to do.

• Block parties to get to know my neighbors

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• Home/garden tours, info sessions, meet and greets, DIY workshops/projects, info in getting more involved with the neighborhood and city

• Information about neighborhood news

• I think they do a great job right now! Love the meetings that happen...although go a bit long. Need more opportunities for neighbors to engage with one another other than outside speakers coming in.

• Designers in the neighborhood offering some fresh perspectives #1 curb appeal, #2 outdoor living and landscape, #3 interior design/remod-eling. Home tour, maybe a progressive snack/happy hour involved.

• Organized & well communicated Neighborhood Night Out, block parties

• I think current activities are great

• Neighborhood picnics and other activities

• Holiday decorating contests and activities such as picnics or block parties

• Provide a real estate agent to speak on home improvements that would increase the value of your home.

• Game night, movie night, but when it’s not so hot

• Bringing people together. Letting people find others to share their interests.

• Quarter annual socials at Durham park

• Advocacy for needs of neighborhood. i.e., street repairs, etc., that the city may not notice. Activi-ties for young families seem to already be strong. Accounting of what membership fees are used for. I’ve signed up before, but have no idea where the money goes.

• I like what the board is doing.

• A movie night in the park.

• More all-neighborhood events put on by folks who are interested and gifted in planning seasonal hangouts. Casual pot luck picnics or things that are simple opportunities to meet neighbors.

• Yoga in the park

• Leadership with the city for development of the shopping center and main st (ideally TX Dot & COR combine to create our version of Klyde Warren Park at Beltline and take 75 below grade between Arapaho and Spring Valley) - opportu-nities for neighbors to connect with each other - property tax best practices - and it’s not hard. We (RHNA) could easily provide the DCAD database results to show what everyone is paying and allow people to come to their own conclusions as to if their property is being valued correctly in terms of condition and also in comparison to unequal taxing compared to peers (two different and valid reasons for protesting.)

• Neighborhood projects. Recycling initiatives. Workshops (lawn care, plumbing, heating and cooling tips). Speakers on neighborhood topics. Outdoor movie night. Skill exchanges. Tree plant-ing. Cookouts. Parades!

• A movie night at the park again.

• More activities to get neighbors together

• Block parties. Maybe a singles group also

• Neighborhood bike rides, renting out Heights pool just for our neighborhood, meet up groups at Durham, library etc

• More holiday events for the kids!

• I’m not sure; maybe some kind of get together for adults? Like board games or painting night or something?

• More family gatherings.

• Group volunteer opportunities, helping the elder-ly/disabled

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• This isn’t an activity- but somehow have some influence with the city on how long a remodel can go on.

• A continued immediate communication network to all the Heights residents that include alerts, update city information, etc.

• Continue doing the same activities. Things to get to know your neighbors and build a community. Do we have any involvement in the apartment communities bordering heights?

• Kid friendly events

• Same as now

• Neighborhood meetings, block parties, bbqs, neighborhood volunteering projects.

• Pet friendly. Group exercise. Outdoor. Eco friendly. Charitable activities.

• Neighborhood kids activities to get kids to play outdoors

• Continue with activities for kids and families.

• Family get together

• More opportunities to meet neighbors

• Surprise me

• Although my kids are grown now I like things to engage young families and kids. Also I’d like to see them support Heights Elementary.

• A neighborhood garage sale push!

• Home Tour / Wine Tasting

• Not sure, good so far

• School support activities, picnics, ice cream socials

• Block parties

• Helping more of the elderly in our neighborhood and addressing the traffic issues.

• Activities for children, movie nights, sports watching

• Clean your yard of clutter days

• Easier Opportunities to block off streets for Hal-loween or other holidays

• I’ve enjoyed activities to both serve and engage amongst our neighbors.

• Opportunities to know about how to organize for neighborhood needs

• I like what they currently do but would like more kid and family friendly

• We don’t have kids so something more adult oriented

• Continue activities at park

• Activities which encourage “neighborliness” and those which encourage property upkeep and improvement.

• We enjoy the community events, like the flag day celebration at Durham park. A back to school kick off for school age children would be nice.

• Cowboys watch party. Weekly meet up

• Monthly activities at Durham. Ideally it would include things that would bring together the full spectrum of people, all ages, not just families with kids. As simple as a neighborhood bike ride or group walk around with maybe a couple of stops to talk about something significant about the history or something useful for that time of year.

• I think the activities for children are excellent, but I don’t have children. I would like to see things that benefit the neighborhood. Like beautification projects, volunteering to help neighbors, etc. I think those things are what make our neighbor-

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hood so wonderful. I’m not sure if this is feasible, but a program to help the elderly in our neighbor-hood. For instance, delivering groceries to their house or helping them with projects.

• Check on the elderly

• Not sure. Maybe occasionally send an update of what the RHNA has completed, working on and future plans. Things that have been successful, problem areas, area where improvement is need-ed. Please don’t sugar coat things.

• Not sure, maybe a block party or a group of neigh-bors that welcome new neighbors.

• Gardening swaps

• Easter egg hunt. Coordinate street block off for Halloween. Holiday glow. Ladies group w/ activity & service activity, every other month Men’s group w/ activity & service activity, every other month. Pi day at park, neighborhood day at Heights pool Area history tour? Creek, park, old farm facts, wildlife, flora,

• Community building activities- social gatherings. :)

• Neighborhood parties

• More neighborhood activities/gatherings at the park

• 1) Once a qtr host a charity for Park or RICHARD-SON departments ie Animal Shelton, Fire or Po-lice, Neighborhood vitality/restoration for elderly. Bring in local restaurant to host breakfast lunch or dinner for a $cost and proceeds can go to the charity. 2) Doggie Play Day -if Park was secure. 3) Art/craft day in the Park. Have professional lessons under Pavill

• More events for holidays at Durham park.

• Talks and seminars on Home and garden topics

• Landscape tours, home tours, more adult things.

• Family friendly activities

• Emergency preparedness.

• I think you’re doing a great job. Though I don’t attend them, I love all the things done for young parents.

• More holiday events, such as 4th of July or Christ-mas parades

• Neighborhood block party

• Notices to those houses with fence or lawn issues.

• Sponsor a coffee group meeting monthly at Durham Park.

• Not sure, but would be interested in whatever they plan

• More seasonal get togethers with adults

• Home tours. Wine or cocktail get together. Pro-gressive dinners, appetizers or drinks Garden/yard tours

• Social, as per questionnaire.

• Chicken coop tour, family events, maybe an an outing to a museum or ballgame.

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ANY FINAL COMMENTS FOR US?We want to keep Richardson Heights an amazing neighborhood and your feedback helps. So we opened it up for any comments. Here are the results:

• Have lived in Richardson for 55 years and have seen many changes. Am proud of our govern-ment, their city employees, and the residents.

• Thank you board for your work! This survey was very nicely done.

• Positive thoughts

• Listen to the older residents. They have enlight-ened me bunches. The group should not just be for parents with young kids.

• RHNA desperately needs new people involved with direction by members of the Association not just the ideals of certain indviduals. Some people have been involved for way too long!! The website and Facebook page is and has been censored joke for years! When you all decide to have an As-sociation that is of the people and by the people maybe I might come back?

• The entrance from Beltline Rd and Lindale need improvement.

• Thanks for all that y’all do for our neighborhood.

• Great job on this website. Easy to use and navi-gate.

• Thanks for this opportunity.

• Please let us know results!

• Thanks for everything you do!

• We need help with painting our garage and trim-ming our neighbor’s trees that refuses to do so.

• I love our neighborhood, we are even thinking when we outgrow our house we may just build a second story.

• Do not take sides on city matters. Give different viewpoints and let people decide on their own. People get used.

• Thanks for sending out a survey. Hopeful to see what opportunities may come from data collected

• This community is great. My wife grew up here as a child. We have been here 30years and have seen a lot of change and it has all been positive. We do need to help the older folks that can’t help themselves and this area can continue to be as it always has been.

• It would be very helpful if we made a current neighborhood directory.

• Thanks for the survey!

• So very appreciative of the vibrant active neigh-borhood group we have, thank you.

• Would like to see more updates on area real estate development (e.g. restaurant park; spring valley corridor; downtown Richardson)

• I don’t do Facebook but am interested in crime in the neighborhood. Any way I can get that info besides Facebook? Also, a buy and sell other than garage sales would be great.

• Love the neighborhood. Keep up the good work.

• Thank you for working so hard to help us come together as a community!!

• Nice job on the survey! When revisit the idea of pop-up events, I think again about the possibility of a calendar attached to the Facebook page and/or other means, listing all events, board spon-sored and neighbor sponsored.

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• Thanks for the survey.

• Glad to see some change :)

• Seems like small crimes have been up. Is there something we need to push the city on about getting more patrols?

• Thank you so much for this! :)

• Over the past few months we’ve seen wonderful improvements that make us even more excited to live here! Thanks for all you do for our neighbor-hood.

• Keep doing what you are doing...it’s a labor of love! Love to find ways to create some community groups based off of ages of kids or interests etc.

• Great job!

• I appreciate you.

• Thanks for all of the work you all do to make our neighborhood great!

• Please see what can be done to improve our streets, especially the 700 block of Scottsdale!

• I love being part of the Heights community! Thanks for all you do!

• Love our neighborhood!

• I feel very safe living in the Heights. I also feel my neighbors watch out for each other.

• Thanks for everything you do to keep our neigh-borhood great!

• Thank you for sending the survey! We are excited for the upcoming year.

• What’s the best way to address vehicles always parked on the street (mainly the cul de sac). I think it’s an eye sore in the neighborhood.

• You are awesome

• Trees for different home owners !!!

• I think it is crucial for the neighborhood to support the local school. Heights Elementary struggles to keep neighborhood families and get community support. If your neighborhood school struggles your neighborhood struggles.

• Love the neighborhood, would love the opportuni-ty to meet more neighbors with similar interests!

• I think it would be helpful if, at events, there’s some more formal introductions. We all come for the sense of community. As someone new to the neighborhood, I’ve attended 2 events and never left with that sense of community. It’s almost like I’ve had to force myself into conversations for people to break out of their own little groups.

• Do we have a group of volunteers who are willing to offer free consultations on how to improve the appearance of the exterior of your home (choos-ing right colors) and proper plants. People who have rent houses clearly are not concerned about neighborhood integrity.

• Thank you for sending along! Please let us know if we can help with anything.

• Thanks for putting this together, I hope we get a lot of good feedback that can be used to provide good vectors to further improve our community.

• Thank you for everything you do to make this neighborhood wonderful.

• Address potholes and streetlights, and encourage people to park in driveway and not block side-walks and streets...when possible.

• Thank you for all you do.

• Some e-blasts and a few more newsletters a year would be helpful.

• Glad to have such qualified people on the board!

• I love our neighborhood! Thanks for working to make it even better!