In December 2020 and January 2021, we conducted civic engagement to help us in a strategic planning effort that we undertake every 5 years, to make sure we’re on track and looking forward to the next 5, 10, 20 years. Thank you to the ~6,200 people who gave us crucial input on our open public survey! We also conducted the same survey questions through a third party database of residents (that may or may not know us at all) to get a representative sample of the demographics of the region (437 people). In the summaries below, you’ll see references to both the public survey and the representative sample. We’re putting this information to work drafting the plan and we’ll seek your feedback again when we have a draft to share this summer! Thank you again for your time, energy and expertise on your community.
View the results of the two surveys by clicking on the image or link below, including charts. Key points also summarized below.
Strategic Plan Survey Dec 2020-Jan 2021
Want a refresher on the survey itself? Click here to view a PDF.
Key Takeaways:
- Connectivity:
- 27/28 categories are chosen as a priority by a majority of people responding
- Greenways 20+ miles long are least important type of connection
- Conservation:
- People are most interested in visiting greenways to learn more about conservation. Some want to also volunteer and/or donate.
- Ways to Care For Greenways:
- All ideas received majority support from audiences, that we should continue investigating.
- People shared concerns about making sure Adopt-A-Greenway programs had accountability and not too much corporate sign clutter.
- People shared their ideas for possible partners on Workforce Training Programs and Partner Coalitions.
- Safety:
- Most public survey respondents did not think Greenway Guides would change their sense of safety (possible explanation: they already use the greenways and feel comfortable). The majority of the representative sample respondents did think Guides would increase their sense of safety.
- Law enforcement, other people on the greenways and programs and events generally do make people feel safer – more than 60% of people said they would feel an increase in safety.
- The effectiveness of a law enforcement presence on feelings of safety trended alongside age – older respondents reported more of an increase in safety than younger respondents.
- In the public survey, Black or African-Americans felt the highest increase in safety with law enforcement present. In the representative sample, White or Caucasians felt the highest increase in safety with law enforcement present.
- Non-binary or third gender folks felt the greatest decrease in sense of safety with law enforcement presence (note: low number of people reporting).
- Well-maintained greenways and consistent lighting were the top two physical items that made the greatest impact on sense of safety.
- Communications:
- Social media, television and radio were the most popular ways to hear about things happening in our region.
- Other items shared in the last, open-ended question:
- 1 out of 3 comments was unsolicited positive feedback or gratitude for greenways
- Next highest comment theme was requests for more amenities like year-round restrooms, trash cans, etc.
- Next highest comment theme was requests for more connections and greenways.