About the 2021 Survey
The City of Coronado's "Comment Coronado" website states:
Toward that goal, five Tasks were approved by the Council and spelled out in a contract with Van Dyke Landscape Architects. These tasks are essentially:
In view of the fact that the workshops and survey conducted as part of Task 1 did not seem to yield much in terms of "ideas or desires"--or address the fundamental questions of park function and space allocation--the specific purposes of the Cays Park Survey were (1) to do a better job of getting public input, specifically from Cays homeowners and residents this time and, (2) in the post-survey analysis, to translate that input into the quantifiable numbers and priorities that Van Dyke Landscape Architects will need to do a good job of producing the three schematics required in Task 2.
Question 1 - PRELIMINARIES
Question 2 - DOES ANYONE AT YOUR CAYS RESIDENCE...
Question 3 - PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE OBSERVED
Question 4 - PARK FUNCTION PLANNING: PLEASE RANK YOUR PRIORITIES
Question 5 - PARK SPACE ALLOCATION: HOW MUCH PROGRAMMED, HOW MUCH NON-PROGRAMMED
Question 6 - PARK DESIGN CONCEPTS
Question 7 - PARK DESIGN FEATURES ESPECIALLY WORTHY OF FURTHER CONSIDERATION
Question 8 - PASSIVE ACTIVITIES THE PARK SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE
Question 9 - WHAT WOULD CAUSE YOU PERSONALLY TO USE THE PARK (write in)
Question 10 - MAXIMIZING THE PUBLIC BENEFIT (write in)
Overall in the design of the survey you can see that the first few questions just gather information about respondents and current park usage. Then the "real" questions start at the broadest possible level, "drilling down" in detail thereafter question by question right down to the individual user before finishing up with the public benefit question.
At the very end the survey asks respondents which Cays Village they live in because it is important to have balanced participation throughout the Cays, gives them the opportunity to identify themselves if they want to, and finally gives them one last opportunity to write in anything at all that might be on their minds.
Good survey questions are only the first half. Post-survey analysis is just as important. This survey is designed to simplify analysis and make it straight forward. Among many other things this survey is designed to numerically quantify the key park design parameters supported by survey respondents for the landscape architect--specifically overall park functions and Programmed/Non-Programmed space allocation. It then delves into the details to provide clarity on the additional information the landscape architect will need to design an optimal park.
Thank you for your participation!
- the City is seeking public input for ideas and desires to enhance the Park’s design, layout and features to serve future generations of Coronado residents for the next 50 to 75 years
Toward that goal, five Tasks were approved by the Council and spelled out in a contract with Van Dyke Landscape Architects. These tasks are essentially:
- Task 1 - gather initial public input with two workshops and a survey
- Task 2 - develop three schematics for the park
- Task 3 - get public input on the three schematics with two more workshops and another survey
- Task 4 - develop one schematic based on the results from Task 3
- Task 5 - get final approval of the plan at public meetings
In view of the fact that the workshops and survey conducted as part of Task 1 did not seem to yield much in terms of "ideas or desires"--or address the fundamental questions of park function and space allocation--the specific purposes of the Cays Park Survey were (1) to do a better job of getting public input, specifically from Cays homeowners and residents this time and, (2) in the post-survey analysis, to translate that input into the quantifiable numbers and priorities that Van Dyke Landscape Architects will need to do a good job of producing the three schematics required in Task 2.
Question 1 - PRELIMINARIES
- Qualifies the respondents in just a few key areas like age and residence.
Question 2 - DOES ANYONE AT YOUR CAYS RESIDENCE...
- Identifies any particular orientation, bias or knowledge of park features respondents may have which may affect how they answer later questions as well as be useful later in the Park Master Plan development process.
Question 3 - PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE OBSERVED
- Takes the opportunity to get up-to-date information about the popularity of various activities that the park currently supports (tennis, basketball, etc)
Question 4 - PARK FUNCTION PLANNING: PLEASE RANK YOUR PRIORITIES
- Some people want a park for exercise, fitness and maybe games--like tennis. Some want a park for relaxation or maybe less intense exercise--like walking. Some want the park to be beautiful and perhaps provide a connection to nature in an otherwise urban environment--think landscaping and beauty. And for some the amenities a park offers--like picnic tables--are a key element. By asking respondents to rank these basic functions in priority order (Active Recreation, Passive Recreation, Connections to Nature/Aesthetics and Amenities), landscape architects can determine what the basic character of a park should be, as well as how best to balance these four functions in the overall design of the park.
Question 5 - PARK SPACE ALLOCATION: HOW MUCH PROGRAMMED, HOW MUCH NON-PROGRAMMED
- Once the basic functions of the park are determined, or weighted, the next step is to determine how much of the park should be for "Programmed Use" and how much should be for "Non-Programmed Use." This has to be decided because if a park is fully devoted to Programmed Use it is unlikely that there will be enough room for everything else (unless the park is enormous, like Balboa Park). For example, if 48% of respondents use the park with their dogs, and 51% of respondents use the park for tennis, should the park space be allocated between these two activities half and half? If so, that probably won't leave adequate space for all of the people who do not have a dog and who do not play tennis. In this simplified example, if respondents feel that half of the park should be for Programmed Use, and the only two Programmed Use activities that the public supported were dogs and tennis, the landscape architect might design a park that devoted 25% of the space to tennis, 25% to dogs (which are both "Programmed Uses") and 50% to Non-Programmed or general use. Obviously this decision is far more complex but must be made very very carefully if the maximum benefit from the park is to be realized.
Question 6 - PARK DESIGN CONCEPTS
- With the knowledge of how the park is used at present, what respondents priorities are in terms of the park's functions, and how the park space should be allocated, the next step is to develop some basic concepts that will help guide the design process. Question 6 asks respondents questions like whether or not the park should be an aesthetic centerpiece of the community, if drought-tolerant landscaping is a priority, and if the parking lot needs to be altered.
Question 7 - PARK DESIGN FEATURES ESPECIALLY WORTHY OF FURTHER CONSIDERATION
- The existing park's design features are well-known, and their usefulness and popularity has been evaluated in Questions 2 and 3. In considering any changes that might be made, Question 7 asks respondents to identify which features they feel are "especially worthy of further consideration" by, of course, the landscape architect who will ultimately develop the specific preliminary designs for further public evaluation. Importantly this question allows respondents to check as many features as they want to, or none at all. It also provides an "Other" write-in option if a respondent has a feature that they feel deserves further consideration but is not listed.
Question 8 - PASSIVE ACTIVITIES THE PARK SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE
- Under the assumption that the active park activities are well known, Question 8 seeks to provide the landscape architect with more information about how respondents want to use the park for passive activity. Would art shows be popular? What about band concerts? Obviously a park can be designed to accommodate these activities to greater or lesser extent, so understanding community interests is important. Like Question 7, respondents are given the option to choose any listed activities that might be of interest, or none at all, as well as to write in their own if the activity that they are interested in is not listed.
Question 9 - WHAT WOULD CAUSE YOU PERSONALLY TO USE THE PARK (write in)
- Often people take a community-wide interest and voice their opinions on what they think would be best for the community. Although no answer is required, Question 9 seeks to force respondents to think and speak just for themselves. At the end of the day a park must serve individuals as well as groups.
Question 10 - MAXIMIZING THE PUBLIC BENEFIT (write in)
- At the very end, having given respondents the opportunity to answer all of the preceding survey questions, and hopefully causing them to think in broad terms about the park as a result, Question 10 opens the aperture again with the hope of gathering any last-minute thoughts toward maximizing the overall public benefit of the park that might have been missed.
Overall in the design of the survey you can see that the first few questions just gather information about respondents and current park usage. Then the "real" questions start at the broadest possible level, "drilling down" in detail thereafter question by question right down to the individual user before finishing up with the public benefit question.
At the very end the survey asks respondents which Cays Village they live in because it is important to have balanced participation throughout the Cays, gives them the opportunity to identify themselves if they want to, and finally gives them one last opportunity to write in anything at all that might be on their minds.
Good survey questions are only the first half. Post-survey analysis is just as important. This survey is designed to simplify analysis and make it straight forward. Among many other things this survey is designed to numerically quantify the key park design parameters supported by survey respondents for the landscape architect--specifically overall park functions and Programmed/Non-Programmed space allocation. It then delves into the details to provide clarity on the additional information the landscape architect will need to design an optimal park.
Thank you for your participation!