Last summer and autumn we asked you for your views on two topics:
- What you thought of the Rec and how it could be improved
- Whether you liked the idea of a cafe at the Rec and whether you’d use it
We have had over 100 responses for the Rec survey and 178 responses for the Cafe survey – a really fantastic result – thank you all for taking the time to complete them. Below you’ll find links to the detailed data recorded but for those of you who want to cut to the chase here are the highlights:
Rec Survey Results Summary:
Of those surveyed online, around a fifth of you visit the park every day, around a third come 3-5 times a week, another third once a week and the rest less frequently. The most popular time to visit the park seems to be between 9am and noon, followed by 12-3pm and 3-5pm. Most frequently cited reasons for coming were walking to the station, playing with kids, walking the dog and getting fit.
People like the fact that the park has a community garden and plenty of space, and that it’s nearby and dog-friendly. What most people dislike about it is litter, vandalism and coming there after dark, with a quarter of respondents citing drug dealing/use as something they dislike about the park.
So what do people want more of in terms of facilities? Most popular suggested improvements were a cafe, better lighting and more seating, with green gym apparatus getting a good look in too.
And for nature? Overwhelmingly people want to see more flowers in the park, followed in popularity by more ‘wildness’, more trees, more winter interest and more fruit.
There were also some great suggestions like covered bins to restrict the crows chucking the litter around, a better path along the railway side of the park, a revamp of the play area and a woodland area for children. Better signage would also help new people find the Triangle Garden. We’ll be talking to North Herts Council about how many of these ideas we can take forward between us.
View the full survey data here
Cafe Survey Results Summary:
Firstly thank you to everyone who completed our survey – 178 responses is huge and will provide really useful data! The results show that over 95% of respondents like the idea of a cafe/coffee hatch in the park, with almost 90% of you saying they could see yourselves buying a hot drink there!
We asked you about your coffee habits and what sort of food you’d like to see served, and what days and times you’d like a coffee hatch to be open. 75% of you said you were happy to sit outdoors if there was no space available indoors – which is lucky as we’re unlikely to be able to have indoor seating!
And we were really heartened by the proportion of you (nearly 85%) who said you’d be happy for us not to offer disposable cups, but instead to offer a returnable cup for a £1 deposit, for those who had forgotten their own cup.
We’re currently working on a feasibility study, kindly funded with Herts locality funding from Cllrs Ian Albert and Keith Hoskins, to see if and how we could make this dream a reality! Watch this space!
View the full survey data here.