Laserfiche WebLink
17 City of Elk River - Parks and Recreation Master Plan Chapter 3: The System Today <br />Community Survey & Questionnaire <br />As part of the Parks and Recreation master planning process, the city conducted <br />the 2014 Parks and Recreation Survey to find how residents use park today <br />and gauge priorities for the future. The survey also included questions to gauge <br />attitudes towards providing tax money to support improvements to the parks <br />and recreation system. The highlights from the survey results are shown in the <br />sidebar to the left. <br />In addition, the planning process included an online questionnaire to help <br />determine priority direction for the future. Responses from over 300 participants <br />provided a snapshot of community interest, which is outlined in the accompanying <br />graphic. <br />Demographics <br />The demographics of Elk River continue to change, as noted in Chapter 2, and <br />as they change, the parks and recreation system must also change to ensure they <br />continue to meet the needs of residents. <br />The greatest future needs will be at opposite ends of the age spectrum. As Baby <br />Boomers age, a larger percentage of the community will look for senior recreation. <br />Despite the increase in an older segment of the population, however, Elk River <br />will continue to see growth in the number of families with children. This growth <br />will mean an increase in the number of residents looking for athletic facilities, <br />playgrounds, and youth-focused programming. <br />2014 Parks and <br />Recreation Survey- <br />Key Findings <br />Park System Usage <br />• Over 1/2 of respondents <br />use parks at least once <br />monthly <br />• Over 90% use parks <br />annually <br />• Playgrounds are highly <br />used <br />• Woodland Trails and <br />Orono Park are most <br />visited <br />High Satisfaction <br />Rate <br />• 80% of respondents <br />expressed satisfaction <br />with park and recreation <br />offerings as a whole <br />• 83% are satisfied with <br />overall maintenance and <br />it is a high priority for the <br />future <br />Strong Support for <br />Trails <br />Trail-based activities are <br />the are by far most popular <br />features of the park system <br />• Residents are satisfied <br />trails, they were also <br />identified as the highest <br />priorities for the future <br />• Trail improvements/ <br />additions had the highest <br />level of support of any <br />improvement with <br />58% answering “Great <br />Support”