A Community of Walkers & Readers

by Amy Kolb Noyes

MORRISTOWN - Morristown residents, for the most part, like to walk,
hike, garden and read. Many enjoy visiting the library, using
recreational trails and swimming indoors. Those are some of the
conclusions drawn from a Morristown recreation survey distributed this
spring to 1,000 town residents. Over 25% of those polled responded. A
total of 261 surveys were returned, according to Morristown Conservation
Commissioner Steve Rae.
Rae and Community Coordinator Heidi Krantz presented the survey results
to the Morristown Selectboard at its meeting Monday evening, August 30.
Krantz said they hope to have a final recreation report to the town by
Thanksgiving.
Rae said he was surprised to see most respondents did not list any
competitive sports as the recreational activities in which they have the
most interest. Krantz later echoed that sentiment, saying she was
surprised they didn't get more responses around team sports. She said
she hoped that segment of the population was not under represented in
the survey results. However, she noted the age demographics of the
respondents mirrored the town's demographics, according to the last Census.
Rae highlighted the survey for the board. He noted walking and hiking
"came out at the top no matter how you asked the question."
Eighty percent of respondents chose walking/hiking as one of their top
recreational activities. Other high-ranking responses were gardening
(54%), reading (53%), cross-country skiing (48%), snowshoeing (48%) and
indoor swimming (45%). When asked what recreational facilities were of
most interest, the library came out on top with 57%, followed by hiking
trails (51%), indoor swimming pool (49%) and paved bike/pedestrian paths
(48%).
When respondents were asked to rank their top three recreational
activities, 125 people listed walking/hiking, 57 indicated indoor
swimming, 36 picked reading, 30 stated cross-county skiing, 27 listed
dog walk and 23 picked golf.
A lack of time was listed as the number one obstacle to participation.
However, 30% of respondents indicated they had no obstacles. Nearly half
the respondents reported they learned of recreational opportunities
through newspapers. Word of mouth ranked second in that category.
Sixty-three percent of those surveyed indicated the town should increase
its support for recreation. The top three areas where respondents wanted
to see increased town support were paved bike/pedestrian paths, followed
in descending order by an indoor swimming pool, a teen center, a
concert/music hall, a bowling alley, hiking trails and the library.
Only two percent of respondents said a bond would be the best way to
fund recreational facilities. One-third said such monies should be
raised through grants and fundraising. Fifty-seven percent indicated a
combination of bonds and fundraising would be the best avenue, while
seven percent favored other options such as user fees.
Sixty-three percent responded they "strongly agree" with the statement,
"Recreation contributes to the quality of life and town's economic
health." Only three percent disagreed with that statement. Of the 206
people who answered the final question of whether the town should buy
more land for recreation, 62% responded in the affirmative.
Rae said one of the most pointed conclusions he drew from the survey was
that, by a two to one margin, residents are in favor of the town doing
more in terms of recreation.