Creek Park Summer 2021 Community Survey (#2)
In Summer 2021, we launched another community survey and collected over 640 responses from a broad cross-section of our community. We once again leveraged multiple outreach methods to make sure we received a representative sample of the community on their current use of San Anselmo’s Creek Park.
The survey contained 8 questions & provided various opportunities for feedback, ranking and open-ended questions. We kept the survey open for over 60 days to give people ample time to participate.
We are overjoyed that this second survey generated so much interest. San Anselmo is more than ever invested in the vitality of our downtown
Highlights of the results include:
- 92% of respondents were from San Anselmo
- 75% of the respondents were over the age of 45 – with an even split of 25% for each decade (ie: 45-54, 55-64, 65+). Nearly 14% were between the age of 35-44.
- Nearly half of the respondents learned about the survey from the weekly, emailed Town newsletter.
- When asked to check-off what attracted them to visit the park, 80% said it was a place to visit with friends & family, over 77% enjoyed bringing food & drinks to enjoy in the park, 75% said it was the proximity to the downtown, 71% said it was also the picnic tables, nearly 60% responded that it was the music and entertainment, and 48% were attracted to the grassy areas, while 44% love the Creek.
- There was a pretty even split between daytime and evening visits.
- 25% of the respondents like to bring their dogs to the park
- When asked to rank the most important features, the variety of seating areas got the top response, followed by tables, benches the redwood grove and the grassy areas.
The last question was open-ended:
8. What additional features would you like to see in the redesigned space?
Respondents gave us pages of recommendations and diverse ideas and enthusiastic praise for the process and the opportunity to enjoy the current plaza and easy connection between the Avenue and the redwood grove and amphitheater. All of this information was supplied to our professional design partner, RHAA, to incorporate into the new conceptual designs to be shown to the public on September 10, 2021 at a Community Open House on San Anselmo Avenue adjacent to the park. They will also be posted online. All for community reaction and feedback to move us to the next design iterations.
Creek Park 2019 Community Survey (#1)
In the Winter of 2019 we launched a resident survey and collected over 500 responses from a broad cross-section of our community. We leveraged multiple outreach methods to make sure we received a representative sample of the community on their current use of San Anselmo’s Creek Park, downtown visits, & improvements they’d most like to see in a reimagined space.
The survey contained 22 questions & also provided various opportunities for open feedback or questions. The Town included multiple mentions in the Town Manager’s weekly newsletter to a large body of subscribers (2,700 residents), a separate email to newsletter subscribers highlighting the survey, and requests for feedback on Social Media. Press coverage of the project also included links to the survey which helped generate awareness of the Town’s desire for public input. Additionally, we kept the survey open for over 60 days to give residents ample time to participate.
We’re thrilled the survey generated so much interest and are grateful to the residents who took time to share their valuable opinions. San Anselmo residents are clearly invested in the vitality of our downtown and interest in providing feedback on this initiative was high: over 500 people completed the survey, which is the second highest response rate to a survey the town has ever recorded. The survey’s questions focused on residents’ leisure interests, current uses of Creek Park, desired attributes for the future Commons space, and which park amenities would compel them to spend more time downtown.
Highlights of the results include:
- 90% of respondents were from San Anselmo
- Excellent cross representation from all Neighborhoods
- 82% of respondents have lived in the town 15 plus or 5-15 years (53% and 29% respectively)
- Most respondents visit Downtown San Anselmo 4-7 or 2-3 times per week (37% and 32% respectively)
- Respondents are knowledgeable of Creek park: 99% have visited
- Walking is cool: 76% choose to walk there today
- Top activities for use of Creek Park currently: community events such as Beatles in the Park, use as a walking shortcut to the grocery store or Greenfield Avenue, meet with friends or family, read or relax, take public transport from the Hub,
- New amenities are desired: the top draws would be a walking path along the creek (62%), better aesthetic tie-in to downtown (48%), enhanced entertainment space (41%), more outdoor gathering space (39%), improved visibility of park from surrounding streets (37%), a new town center/destination (33%), (See graph here for complete results)
- Little desire to maintain the status quo: only 7% responded that no changes are needed
These resident-supplied insights played a critical role in informing the competition brief supplied to the 7 landscape design firms selected to move on in the Reimagine Creek Park competition. We are also surveyed downtown merchants and relayed their feedback & ideas to the design finalists too. We’re thankful so many residents and merchants offered their time and opinions to help inform this critical stage of the design process. Their participation ensures that the design of the new Commons space will reflect the diverse interests and needs of our community.