Wow. Thank you.
We owe an expression of gratitude to the 320 readers who responded to the first poll question in the history of the Keene Star website.
As many regular readers of the Keene Star know, we have a newly designed website at www.keenestar.net. Compared to the former site, the new site contains better graphics, more photos, is easier to navigate and is updated daily.
A new feature on the site is the weekly poll, which first appeared Feb. 20 and will have a new question at 9 a.m. Monday. The first poll asked what area of the city should be first to receive street improvements when city administrator Bill Guinn and the City Council can afford to make them.
The question was a result of a presentation city strategic planner Harry McQueen made to the Feb. 9 City Council about improving the quality of life in Keene.
He asked the council for a “straw vote” on where each would like to see street improvements: the area around Keene Independent School District, or the area around Southwestern Adventist University.
The poll question said, “Harry McQueen, the city’s strategic planner, presented a summary of resident sub-committee recommendations to the City Council on Feb 9. One recommendation was to improve streets around Keene ISD. The other was to improve streets around Southwestern Adventist University. All improvements would include sidewalks, bicycle access and improved safety for pedestrians. Although work is still in the future, which is your priority area, KISD or Southwestern?
Of the 320 responses, 84 people (26 percent) chose the KISD area, while 236 people (74 percent) chose the Southwestern area.
If this were a race for an elected position, the results would be called a “landslide.” Guinn and the council would have a “mandate.”
In fact, if the poll results were an election, it would rank in the top 10 turnouts in city history.
So why the overwhelming vote in favor of the area around Southwestern Adventist University?
Some skeptics will suggest that Southwester’s administration, faculty and staff stuffed the ballot box, using interoffice technology to communicate campus wide to cast a favorable vote.
However, KISD is one of the best-wired school districts in the area, and its administration certainly has the capability of a similar ballot blitz, especially since the public school district is the city’s largest employer.
We don’t think that is the answer.
Cynics will suggest the vote is a backlash against the May 11, 2008, $15 million bond issue election that passed by one little vote, 96-95, on a Saturday that had some voters complaining about unsupervised voting areas and open ballot boxes.
School board elections have since been moved to Election Day Tuesday in November to coincide with the other general elections, but, still, the district’s tax rate of $1.49 per $100 valuation is far high than the city’s tax rate of 80 cents per $100 valuation.
But we don’t think that is the answer.
It’s been almost three years and 10 months since that election, and residents can now see for themselves the improved elementary and junior high campuses, the safer traffic-flow patterns and the ability of the district to accommodate its expanding enrollment.
We think the results reflect residents’  feelings that the area surrounding Southwestern Adventist University is the heart of the city and deserves the No. 1 priority ranking for a number of reasons. For example:
n Most non-resident motorists who have business in the city arrive via South College Drive or Old Betsy Road. Both lead to the university campus. Visitors bypass Keene ISD because it is not in the central part of town.
n With the exception of Fourth Street, streets that provide access to the east side of the city travel directly across — Hillcrest and Magnolia — or adjacent to — Oakdale — the Southwestern campus.
n The main artery for access to City Hall, the police station and the fire department is pot holed, uneven and inadequate Hillcrest.
n The first road used by Keene Fire-Rescue and Keene Ambulance Service for egress to the entire city is Hillcrest.
n The primary road for access to the Keene Adventist Church is Hillcrest, which becomes increasingly dangerous as parallel parking on both sides in front of Cyril Miller Mens’ Residence Hall reduces the width of the traffic lanes.
No disrespect to KISD, but the streets leading to Keene’s center of government, headquarters for its emergency first responders and center of higher education must be the priority.