3.0. SR 01-21-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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college graduates. Fifty-eight percent of the married households reported both spouses working outside of the home. The average yearly household income in Elk River was projected to be $35,200.00, about $4,300.00 less than the Metropolitan Area suburban median. Elk River residents reported working across the Metropolitan Area and the central portion of the state. About forty percent of the sample reported either they or their spouse worked in the city. The western Hennepin County suburbs were a destination of seventeen percent of the households. Anoka County drew another twelve percent. Southern Hennepin County suburbs were the job sites of seven percent of the households. Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Dakota County, Sherburne County, and Wright County also drew smaller numbers. On average, the Elk River commuter takes twenty minutes to get to work; but, even so, almost one-third report drive times of over thirty minutes. Indicative of the distances, another one-third of the commuters would tak~ a ten percent pay cut to work at a similar job in Elk River. The city residents are clearly outdoors minded in their recreational pursuits. The most popular endeavor was hiking or walking, undertaken by forty-five percent of the households on at least a weekly basis. In fact, one-quarter of the households reported walking or hiking on an almost daily schedule. Bicycling was the second highest ranked leisure time pursuit. Forty-one percent of the households bike at least weekly, weather perTnitting. Nature walks scored third at twenty-seven percent. All three of these activities suggest a strong demand for trails as a key component of any park and recreation plan. ~' The next set of most popular recreational activities suggest other aspects of a comprehensive park system. Swimming was enjoyed at least weekly by twenty-nine percent of the city's households. Fishing attracted, during the appropriate season, twenty-eight percent of the households at least weekly. And, avid golfers -- at least weekly, weather permitting -- could be found in twenty-one percent of the households. Area pools, docks, and golf courses need to be reviewed for their adequacy.in meeting the needs of the citizenry both currently and in the future. The Park and Recreation system was examined in some detail. Overall, residents are much less satisfied than their peers in other communities. Only seventy percent of the sample rated the park and recreational facilities as "excellent" or "good." Twenty-four percent rated them as "only fair" or "poor." This approval rating is almost twenty percent less than the Metropolitan Area suburban norm. Certainly, current residents do not feel the park system is adequately meeting their needs. Even so, usage of the park and recreational facilities was extremely high, at ninety percent of the city's households. Orono Park attracted the largest number of residents last year: eighty-six percent of the households contain at least one member