Bethlehem residents love its downtown and parks, but they'd like to see improvements in street repairs and snow plowing. That's according to a citizen satisfaction survey of 1573 residents completed last year by Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion.

Quality of Life

Over 8 out of 10 residents rate the quality of life in Bethlehem positively, with 32 percent calling the Christmas City an "excellent" place to live; 3 out of 4 rate their own neighborhoods as either "excellent" or "good." Those living on the Southside were more likely to have negative appraisals of their own neighborhoods (46 percent), although 47 percent of Southsiders do think the city is better today than it was t10 years ago. Seventy-six percent of the surveyed residents would recommend Bethlehem as a place to live.

Mayor John Callahan said that, although the city may rate highly in different magazines as a place to live or visit, it's the opinion of its residents that matter most to him.

Infrastructure maintenance

Despite this generally positive view of quality life, residents are dissatisfied with city services like street repair, snow plowing and street cleaning. Two out of three residents rate street repairs as only "fair" or "poor." Only 33 percent are positive about snow-plowing efforts. Although snow-plowing gets a failing grade throughout the city, Southsiders have slightly more negative views.

Parking

On the Southside, 7 out of 10 residents give poor grades to parking. Downtown, West Bethlehem and Northeast Bethlehem have a slightly better experience, but overall, only 4 out of 10 Bethlehem residents rate parking as either "excellent" or "good."

Public Safety

Over 6 out of 10 residents feel safe, with nearly 3 out of 4 residents giving police services a positive rating, even on the city's Southside. But after snow plowing and street repairs, city residents would like to see more resources directed to crime prevention.

Recreation, arts and culture

Residents gave consistently high ratings to the city's recreational resources as well as its arts and cultural programs. Women, college-educated and white residents give higher ratings to the city's arts and culture programs than men, minority residents and those without college degrees.

Water and sewer

Over 8 out of 10 Bethlehem residents rated drinking water quality in Bethlehem positively, with 40 percent calling it excellent. Similarly, 3 out of 4 residents have favorable views of the city's sewer system.

Garbage collection

Although 58 percent of the city's residents have positive views of garbage collection, 30 percent rated garbage collection negatively. A majority of residents - 56 percent - believe the current trash collection system can be improved, and would support switching to a single hauler if it meant improved services and reduced cost. About 3 out of 10 residents would still oppose a switch.