Thank you for your input!

From September through November, the City of Hood River hosted a survey to learn about the community’s priorities and help inform the Council Work Plan. The City received 238 responses. Of these, 69% came from people of the City of Hood River, 10% were from individuals who either worked in the City or lived elsewhere in the County or region, and 21% either did not live in the City or did not answer the question.

How will the City use the results?

On December 6th and 7th, the Hood River City Council and City leadership participated in a planning session for their 2025-2026 Work Plan. The survey responses and an analysis of the data were presented to the Council on December 6th to help guide the discussion.

What did the community say?

1. Housing/Affordability: 75 responses
   Not surprisingly, housing, especially affordable housing, was a top community concern. Many responses expressed a strong desire for more housing options for individuals with low incomes, as well as for workforce housing. 
2. Transportation Infrastructure and Maintenance: 64 responses
   Transportation also emerged as a top theme among responses. The topics ranged from increasing bike lanes and sidewalks, improving intersections, road and sidewalk maintenance, completing work in the Heights, parking, active transportation, rideshare availability, and public transportation. 
3. Parks, Recreation and Open Space: 35 Responses
   Many community members expressed a desire for more parks and recreational services. Responses highlighted the continued need for a new/improvements to the indoor pool, better park maintenance and replacement of aging playground equipment, more sports options for kids and people with low incomes, and the addition of a dog park. 
4. Public Safety: 27 responses
   Many responses expressed concern about personal safety and security of personal property, concerns about houselessness, and the risk of wildfires, especially along Indian Creek Trail. 
5. Sense of Community: 20 responses
   Several comments highlighted a need for additional educational resources, programming for children, and support for substance abuse and mental health, diversity, and support for community-based organizations. 
6. Environment and Sustainability: 13 responses
   Many responses addressed concerns about climate change, natural spaces and wildlife, pollution (especially of rivers and waterways), tree health, electrification and renewable energy, and sanitation/sewer expansion and improvements. 
7. Houselessness and Shelters: 6 responses
   Several comments acknowledged the need for a year-round shelter and raised concerns over houselessness.
8. Other: 19 responses
   The City received additional comments that didn’t fit clearly into any of the above categories or were more varied in focus but included the need for a balanced budget, more general infrastructure improvements, considerations for the Bridge and Port, specific commercial business requests, questions about development, and concerns over processes.

The 2025-2026 Council Work Plan is scheduled to be adopted in early 2025. Once it is adopted, it will be available online at https://cityofhoodriver.gov/thank-you-for-your-input-winter-2025

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