Our team wanted to survey at least 60 community members and ended up collecting 67 responses. With 12 questions on the survey, we were able to identify a few overarching themes:
- People want to see more park services for children and teens.
- There is importance in connecting the community to nature.
- Most people do not currently face obstacles from using their local parks.
- People really want bathroom facilities.
- There are similar themes when looking at zip codes individually.
- There are some differences between the north end of Hartford and Wilson section of Windsor.
More Park Services for Children and Teens.
As you can see in the two graphs above, most people (46.3%) tend to visit the park with their children, and a majority of people (59.7%) also want to see playgrounds in a new park for children. These data emphasized that a majority of parks are used by people who have children, or want facilities for children to use. Playgrounds in particular, would most likely motivate kids to spend more time outdoors, and also offer parents, grandparents, and guardians to use parks as an alternative to indoor activities for their children.
Connecting the Community to Nature.
One of the most attractive features of the new park on Meadow Road, is the link to Riverfront Recapture’s existing parks and trails. As a result of this feature, it is clear that residents of the community believe that connecting surrounding areas to nature and the Connecticut River are highly valued. In the two graphs above, it is clear that people will enjoy walking and hiking (52.2%) in the area as well as nature trails that are along the river’s banks (53.7%).
Obstacles People Face in Current Parks.
It is clear that most residents (34.3%) do not face any obstacles from using local parks. Some residents, however, did express safety concerns. In response to what makes people feel safe and comfortable in a park, a majority of people (58.2%) feel that adequate lighting is a necessity.
In addition to providing facilities for children, connecting the community with nature, and making a safe environment with adequate lighting, a majority of participants also feel that bathrooms are extremely important.
Patterns in different zip codes.
- We collected surveys from people in 11 zip code areas. These include: 06002, 06052, 06095, 06096, 06102, 06105, 06106, 06108, 06109, 06112, and 06120.
- The most responses came from 3 zip code areas: 06095 (22 surveys), 06112 (18 surveys), and 06120 (9 surveys).
- Hartford zip codes 06112 and 06120 were combined to represent Hartford while 06095 represented Windsor.
Hartford vs Windsor Analysis
After analyzing our data, it was noted the neighborhoods bordering the park could have different needs. After distinguishing the Hartford and Windsor neighborhoods, we were able to identify similarities and differences between the two.
In the total collection of our data, we noticed most people go to the park with their children, however, when we look at Hartford and Windsor separately we can see that Hartford residents still tend to visit with children, but Windsor residents visit with friends.
Additionally, a majority of Hartford residents wish to see playgrounds, yet the most popular option for Windsor residents is picnic tables and grills.
Hartford residents also seem to face a large number of obstacles that prevent them from presently using their local parks. They seem to be especially concerned with poor maintenance and safety concerns.
One commonality between Hartford and Windsor is that a majority of people wish to see bathrooms at the new park.
