| What
do you like about Greater Bakersfield?
What are our strengths? |
|
| Low cost of living;
economically feasible to live |
55 |
| Location: close to oceans, mountains, urban, easy access to world |
53 |
| Friendly, caring
people, community volunteers, easy to get involved in |
50 |
| World leader in agriculture
and oil-Greatest Ag area in world |
40 |
| Family oriented-Good place to
raise family |
27 |
| Parks & recreational
opportunities |
26 |
| Cultural diversity (including
religions) |
25 |
| Community minded
people-charitable giving (compassionate community) |
25 |
| Accessible public officials |
23 |
| Relatively light traffic,
uncongested -comparatively speaking, proximity to work |
23 |
| Affordable housing |
20 |
| Mild/good climate; conducive
to outdoor sports & other activities |
20 |
| Good educ. Programs (Elem.-CSUB) |
19 |
| Small city-small town
character/atmosphere with big city flavor |
17 |
|
CSUB-having a university |
16 |
| Business/community
partnerships; businesses community oriented |
16 |
| Good restaurants |
15 |
| Cultural activities –
theatre, performing arts |
13 |
| Some of the best medical
facilities in the state/easy access |
12 |
| Law enforcement agencies
strong and do an excellent job, safe streets, DARE,etc. |
12 |
| Neighborhood parks |
9 |
| Strong business community,
easy to do business here, trust |
9 |
| Bike and horse trails |
9 |
| Variety in the community
calendar; good affordable entertainment |
9 |
| Available land to build |
8 |
| Reliable source of water |
8 |
| Overall clean city |
8 |
| Bakersfield Business
Conference |
7 |
| Kern County Network for
children & Collaboratives |
7 |
| Consistent Economy/consistent
growth |
7 |
| Good transportation system -
roads |
7 |
| A responsible agricultural
community |
7 |
| Strong support for local
sports teams |
7 |
| Downtown
redevelopment/streetscape, revitalization |
6 |
|
Great community college: Bakersfield College |
6 |
| Youth Activities |
6 |
| Community pride |
6 |
| Educational opportunities:
CSUB and Bakersfield College |
5 |
| Good public transportation
– GET |
5 |
| Accessibility to fresh fruit
& vegts./Farmers Market |
5 |
| Employer's Training Resource
& other opportunities for employment training |
5 |
| Attempt to revitalize
depressed areas |
5 |
| Strong ties among religious
community |
5 |
| Good public services |
5 |
| Centennial Gardens |
4 |
| Crystal Palace, Buck Owens,
& “Bakersfield“sign |
4 |
| Beautiful city- rolling,
golden hills/diverse topography |
4 |
| Good affordable parking |
4 |
| Low-cost family activities
almost every weekend |
4 |
| Univ. of Calif., extension
colleges, day & night adult educ. |
4 |
| Focus on economic development |
4 |
| Family roots |
4 |
|
CALM |
3 |
| Kern River runs through
Greater Bakersfield |
3 |
| Famous people; Personalities
give back to community |
3 |
| Strong faith community;
"Christian Bible Belt" |
3 |
| Feels like home, has a heart |
3 |
| Efforts to improve air
quality |
3 |
| Street Fairs |
3 |
| Good emergency response |
3 |
| Volunteer activities &
recreation clubs |
3 |
|
Symphony |
2 |
| Community with a
history/historical heritage |
2 |
| Great affordable golf courses |
2 |
| Outside of area facilities
readily available (eg.medical) |
2 |
| Good teacher-student ratios |
2 |
| Strong work ethic |
2 |
| Opportunities for community
service |
2 |
| Good fundraisers |
2 |
| Cutting edge in social &
human services |
2 |
| Community Connection for
child care |
2 |
| Beautiful homes |
2 |
| Easy ticket access to
entertainment |
2 |
| Kern River Parkway |
1 |
| Conservative community |
1 |
| Broad sports community |
1 |
| New Soccer Park
complex/"soccer mania" |
1 |
| Not much crime |
1 |
| Great dairies |
1 |
| Progressive people |
1 |
| Film production $$$ |
1 |
| All America City |
1 |
| “Nashville West” |
0 |
| Great Mexican restaurants |
0 |
| Women's Business Conference |
0 |
| Good library system |
0 |
| Fiat mechanic |
0 |
|
|
| What are
Greater Bakersfield’s key weaknesses?
What don’t you like? |
|
|
|
| Poor air quality, air
pollution |
46 |
| Urban sprawl/uncontrolled
development/residential encroachment on ag land; |
37 |
| Poor image/Negative
perception by outsiders/"Hick" town, Truck stop |
37 |
| Number
of blighted neighborhoods/revitalization incomplete/
S.E.Bakersfield |
37 |
| Poor
planning-Hwy 58/Freeways to nowhere; Poor downtown (East-West)
freeway |
32 |
| City-county cooperation |
23 |
| Lack of P.M. activities/lack
of activities for adolescents |
21 |
| Potential for limited water
supply/water bank/lack of reliable water source |
19 |
| High unemployment rate |
18 |
| Poor public
transportation/not enough downtown; lack of rapid transit |
17 |
| Air Service |
16 |
| Some congested roads; traffic
flow; lack of freeway |
16 |
| Road maintenance-potholes |
16 |
| Unattractive roads and areas
to and from (entrances) Bakersfield |
16 |
| Vacant
buildings/vacant strip malls/illegal dumping |
16 |
| Need neighborhood
planning/failure to follow 2010/no long range plan |
16 |
| Farm land conversion |
14 |
| High rate teen pregnancy |
14 |
| Timing on
stoplight/regulation of street signals |
12 |
| Not enough grocery stores in
Central and S/E Bakersfield |
12 |
| Underperforming schools K-12;
educational achievement below state avg. |
10 |
| Too much new development |
10 |
| Areas of High poverty |
10 |
| Antiquated airport (small)
& air service |
9 |
| Graffiti |
9 |
| Some schools lack educational
quality/primary & secondary |
9 |
| Parking around Centennial
Garden/RR underpasses |
9 |
| Not enough trees |
9 |
| High drop out rate |
8 |
| Racial bias |
8 |
| Plans change due to
influence/elected officials show favoritism |
8 |
| Shopping is limited |
8 |
| Lack of affordable
senior/retirement communities |
8 |
| Parking downtown |
7 |
| Low cultural sensitivity |
7 |
| High infant mortality rate |
7 |
| Lack of more good restaurants |
6 |
| "Nimby" attitude
affecting progress |
6 |
| Unequal tax incentives for
new businesses |
6 |
| Two or more names for the
same street |
6 |
| Unsafe neighborhoods |
6 |
| Increasing gang activity |
5 |
| Not enough trade
school/vocational education opportunities |
5 |
| County “islands”/pockets
in city limits |
5 |
| Lack of positive attitude of
people who live here-poor self-image |
5 |
| No high speed rail |
5 |
| Owner irresponsibility for
vacant property |
5 |
| Poor street lighting |
5 |
| Lack of judicial
law enforcement, safety |
5 |
| Stereotyping & tracking
of certain groups of students |
5 |
| Lack of Northeast
development/plan/incentive to develop foothills |
4 |
| Uneven distribution of
resources ($ public/private investment) |
4 |
| Lack of Southeast and East
Bakersfield development |
4 |
| Crime |
4 |
| Non-pedestrian friendly |
4 |
| Youth leaving the valley |
4 |
| Lack of Preventative Services
-"Meth" capital |
4 |
| Lack of after school programs |
4 |
| Lack of support by Gov.
agencies of existing businesses |
4 |
| Lack of economic diversity |
3 |
| Limited hi-tech/professional
education opportunities |
3 |
| Drug traffic/ "Meth"
Capital |
3 |
| Lack of access to public
officials/poor communication |
3 |
| Lack of support for cultural activities |
3 |
| Too many fast food
restaurants |
3 |
| Obstacles to new industry |
3 |
| More services for small
children |
3 |
| Railroad crossing at
California Avenue |
3 |
| Homelessness |
3 |
| Public officials with big $$
interests |
3 |
| Lack of neighborhood
diversity |
3 |
| Lack of trees in parking
lots/shade |
2 |
| Lack of affordable housing |
2 |
| Insufficient encouragement
for new communities in the county |
2 |
| Foreign Films |
2 |
| Lack of health screening
& testing in schools |
2 |
| Panorama Bluff - needs grass
& trees |
2 |
| City closes up too early |
2 |
| Geographically isolated |
2 |
| Better scheduling of
community events |
2 |
| Lack of support for small
businesses |
2 |
| More entertainment in outer
areas |
2 |
| No charter schools |
2 |
| Entry level employment |
2 |
| Regional prejudice (sibling
rivalry SW, NE, NW) |
1 |
| Diverse medical |
1 |
| Duplicate street addresses |
1 |
| Too much trash |
1 |
| Tree trimming |
1 |
| Larger Farmers Market |
1 |
| Electricity outages; poor
drainage when it rains |
1 |
| City officials don't listen
to taxpayers with respect to expenditures |
1 |
| Limited parks and recreation
activities |
1 |
| Lack of skilled labor |
1 |
| Lack of pride |
1 |
| Lack of snow |
1 |
| Too many of same restaurants |
1 |
| Unsettled medical services
supply |
1 |
| Government use of resources |
1 |
| More senior access to
necessities |
1 |
| Poor signage to
facilities-freeway |
1 |
| More access for disabled |
1 |
| High suicide |
1 |
| Weather: Heat, Tule fog |
0 |
| No parking at the soccer
field |
0 |
| Dump too far out/fee is too
high |
0 |
| Lack of govt. support for
cultural |
0 |
|
Fragmented city jurisdictional boundaries |
|
