Eighty-five percent of respondents in a recent community survey indicated their household used parks or facilities offered by the City of Norman during the past year. This statistic was one of dozens presented by ETC Institute for the Parks Board at a Special Meeting on Sept. 29 at City Hall.
“The input and opinions of our community members are vital to everything we do in Parks & Recreation and throughout the City,” said Parks & Recreation Director Jason Olsen. “We were anxious to dig into these results so that we can align department priorities with the needs and wishes of our residents.”
ETC Institute reported 417 surveys were completed (95% level of confidence) to help identify opportunities for the City of Norman to better serve the leisure and recreation needs of the community. According to results, top priorities in recreation amenities included: Trails, steps, pathways; indoor swimming pools; and community gardens. Top priorities in recreation programs included: Adult fitness and wellness programs; community event programs; and nature/environmental education programs.
Norman Forward projects near completion will address the need for some of these identified priorities, – both the Young Family Athletic Center and the Senior Wellness Center will have indoor pools while also offering programming for younger and older age groups. Additionally, there are new opportunities to collaborate with other City divisions – such as Environmental Services – to build upon environmental education programs. Results of the survey, Olsen said, help complete a roadmap for the future of Parks & Recreation and will complement a Parks Master Plan on the horizon.
“We were happy to find that the City’s ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ ratings regarding the overall quality of our programs and events were much higher than the national average, but we are excited to continue growing and improving,” Olsen said.
Security of parks and raising awareness for programs offered through Parks & Recreation will be two areas of focus, in accordance with the survey results. View a copy of the ETC Institute presentation and breakdown of survey results here.
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