The results of a survey of Olde Towne residents on what needs to be done to revitalize the area was presented to the Slidell City Council Tuesday night.

The survey, done by the Southeastern Social Science Research Center and the Southeast Louisiana Business Center at Southeastern Louisiana University, was an effort by the Olde Towne Slidell Association to see what can be done to revitalize the historic center of Slidell.

The study was broken into two parts. First, the Social Science Research Center conducted a questionnaire of Olde Towne’s residents and business owners on the area’s needs and problems. Then the Southeast Louisiana Business Center did a complete inventory of all the buildings in Olde Towne. Combining the two, the pollsters were able to come up with a record of Olde Towne and what can be done to kick start the district. Bonnie Lewis director of the SSSRC told the council she was able to get 44 percent of the district’s residents and business owners to respond to the survey. There are 381 addresses in Olde Towne, and Lewis said she got 166 responses.

Vacant and abandoned property topped the list of problems in Olde Towne with a response of 42 percent. Lack of economic development aid and lack of business came in as the second top problem at 35 percent.

Concern over blighted and vacant property is a problem, but according to John Dardis of Southeastern’s Planning Department, his building inventory only found 12 buildings, or 3.6 percent of the district’s 329 buildings to be in very poor condition.

“That’s a very low number for an area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina,” Dardis told the council.

He was also surprised by the low number of vacant buildings in Olde Towne, which was 18 percent, or 60 buildings.

“I was very surprised, 18 percent is not very much,” Dardis said.

In the residents’ survey, 91 percent of the responses said there was too little public transportation in Olde Towne, but on the question of what is important to revitalize the area, only 6 percent said getting more public transportation was important. What is important to residents and business owners for the revitalization of the area is cleanliness and safety. Having a clean Olde Towne in as the most important with a response of 85 percent. Safety from crime came in at 85 percent, safe street crossings had a response of 76 percent, safety for pedestrians was 73 percent, and bike safety at 61 percent were cited as also being important to attracting shoppers and tourists to the area. Survey respondents with 60 percent also deemed having good streets important.

The proliferation of bars in Olde Towne struck a chord with the area’s residents. It came in as the third biggest problem at 22 percent, and 80 percent of the respondents said there were too many bars in Olde Towne, and 6 percent said there were not enough bars.

Residents of Olde Towne also said putting in more benches, improving the sidewalks and lighting, more green space, art venues and restaurants were also needed to make the area more attractive.

Dardis said the survey would be a benchmark for city planners who are in the process of finishing up Slidell’s Master Plan, which will determine in what direction the city grows for the next 25 years.

Despite some setbacks, Dardis said he was optimistic with the way Olde Towne has recovered since Katrina.

“I am very impressed with the reinvestment in the area,” Dardis said.

The complete survey and results can be found on the Web at www/selu.edu/ sssrc, or by calling the Southeastern Social Sciences Research Center at 549-5120.

A list of all the vacant, and blighted property in Olde Towne can be obtained at the Slidell Department o Planning.