By Dave Hill<br><a href="mailto:hilld@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dave</a>
The Tonawanda News
May 21, 2008 12:04 am
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Wheatfield residents provided some valuable feedback in a survey seeking their input on parks usage and amenities.
In all, 801 residents responded to the survey, which was mailed out to 5,800 residents. Town officials are using the survey information to apply for a grant through the New York State Parks Department.
“We learned a lot,” Recreation Director Ed Sturgeon said at Monday night’s Town Board meeting. While most of the responses were expected, “there were some surprises in here that we weren’t aware of,” Sturgeon said, adding that the feedback lends credence to the grants for which the town has been applying.
Residents said they use the town’s parks mostly for walking or picnicking and relaxing. Ferment is by far the most heavily visited park, with 600 of the respondents reporting that’s the one they use most.
More than half of the survey participants rated Wheatfield parks as “excellent” or “good,” but many said the town needs to upgrade Ferment Park, especially its restrooms.
The last recreation survey was conducted 12 years ago, and the town’s population has increased about 40 percent since then, said Bern Rotella, Wheatfield’s grants writer. In that survey, participants expressed a desire for an aquatic center. This time, walking and bike trails were rated as the most important uses for the town’s parks, which came as a surprise to town leaders. Residents also expressed an interest in a splash park for kids and winter activities such as cross country skiing.
The town is applying for a $700,000 state grant that would fund walking trails with exercise stations and a bike path in Fairmont Park. Wheatfield missed out on the grant by only two points last year, Rotella said. “To me, that was heartbreaking,” Sturgeon said. “That was like putting the cake in front of me and telling me I can’t eat it.”
The Parks Department informed town officials that it would behoove them to send out a survey to update residents’ recreation needs. Town leaders will use the survey results to create a recreation master plan, which will then be incorporated into the town-wide master plan.
Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.
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