Sarah, a fictional character living in Eden Prairie, wakes with a start. It’s 6 a.m. on a way-too-cloudy Wednesday: “hump day” to Sarah, whose workweek is going depressingly slow. Husband Ben is already out the door and headed to his desk job in Bloomington.
Her Minneapolis workplace is a melting pot: coworkers of many different ages living in a wide range of Twin Cities municipalities. They kid Sarah about what it must be like living in upscale Eden Prairie and having “made it.” Sarah takes it all in stride and even teases in return. “You should give it a try,” she says.
In the city of Eden Prairie’s latest community survey – results of which were unveiled Tuesday evening – nine in 10 residents rated the overall quality of life in Eden Prairie as “excellent” or “good,” exceeding national and regional benchmarks for similar cities. Eight in 10 said they would recommend living or starting a business in Eden Prairie.
There’s just one thing that’s going to make Sarah’s workday bearable: dinner with Ben at a nice restaurant close to home. Unfortunately, Sarah feels like they’ve exhausted the list of new and interesting possibilities.
When asked what they like least about Eden Prairie – if anything – residents who responded to the city’s recent survey most often mentioned the need for more shopping and restaurant options. Traffic issues ranked second.
But there’s another option for Sarah and Ben: stopping for takeout and meeting at Staring Lake Park, where they can find a bench and eat from containers while recounting their workdays. Then, they melt away the day’s stress by walking the 2.3-mile trail around Staring Lake.
Eden Prairie survey respondents had a clear choice for their favorite things about living in Eden Prairie: parks, trails and recreation centers.
Work is the primary pain point discussed during Ben and Sarah’s evening walk, but it’s not the only one. They’re looking ahead to having children, but a bigger house will be needed. They really like the city services they’ve experienced in Eden Prairie – the great parks, the feeling of safety – but upgrading to a larger home in the city wouldn’t just mean a bigger house payment, it’d mean higher property taxes as well.
Ninety percent of residents surveyed rated city services as excellent or good. But, when asked to rate the value of city services considering the property taxes paid, the number saying excellent or good dropped to 64%.
It’s almost dark when Sarah and Ben – driving separately – get home from their after-supper walk. On the drive, Sarah briefly wonders if, in her Wednesday morning funk, she forgot to lock the patio door. But she knows Eden Prairie is a largely safe community with a highly regarded police department.
Survey results show 93% of responding residents have an overall feeling of safety in Eden Prairie, and 95% feel somewhat or very safe in their neighborhood. As for how residents feel about their police, 94% rated police services as good or excellent, higher than Minnesota, regional, and national benchmarks for similar cities.
Sarah has just enough time to catch a few headlines from the 10 p.m. TV newscasts before it’s time to turn in. Tomorrow, after all, is another day in Eden Prairie.
For more results from the “Quality of Life” survey conducted for the city by Polco in December and January, check out the city’s website.
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