Grades Are In: Lafayette Gets a Solid "B."

School is out for summer but grades are in, and on average our readers gave the city of Lafayette a “B.”

Last month we asked our readers to grade Lafayette based on livability, government and any other vital roles of city government they found important.

In a , 49 percent of the people who voted gave Lafayette a “B” for “Pretty darn good. Needs a little work.”

Overall, the responses were more positive than negative, with only a few voters giving Lafayette a “D” or an “F.” Twenty five percent of the voters gave Lafayette an “A” and 17 percent graded Lafayette as average, with a “C.”

With the Lafayette Reservoir, Briones Regional Park and the (more commonly known as “the bike path”), many in the community seem to be fans of the different outdoor activity options that Lafayette offers.

Linda Moulton gave Lafayette an “A” rating, citing the trails and the convenience to San Francisco as positive aspects of life in Lafayette.

“There’s Briones park, there’s good shopping. You don’t have to go very far,” said Moulton.

Moulton added that the downtown shopping options were great, including La Fiesta Square and the Safeway shopping center.

So what needs work?

As far as city government goes, a reoccurring theme at City Council meetings seems to be preserving the hillsides of Lafayette and .

Moulton touched on some of the issues that Lafayette faces downtown.

“It’s too bad that they started as a city as just a single road, it would be nice if it was built differently with a square and all that,” she said.

Lafayette’s Blair Mercer said he would give Lafayette a “C+,” citing a lack of a sense of community as one of his reasons for the grade. Mercer suggested that the city needed more park space, and places where people would naturally go to congregate.

While Mercer finds some problems with parts of the city, he does appreciate the bike paths and cycling community that Lafayette provides.

“It’s lovely to be able to get out, you can go off in every direction and there seems to be a space on the roads made for cyclists,” said Mercer.

So while the city of Lafayette certainly has the potential for improvement, our poll garnered a generally positive community response, which Karen Maggio summed up nicely in her comment on the poll article.

“We love Lafayette, the people, [the] small town feel with a thriving downtown, excellent schools, beautiful hillsides and collaborative leadership,” wrote Maggio. 

What do you think? Is Lafayette a “B” city? Let us know in the comments.