I find the results of the Bloomingdale Farmers` Market survey in yesterday's Bloomingdale Email – that 84% of Bloomingdale Farmers` Market attendees surveyed walked and 9% biked -- very surprising. Do we know when other neighborhood establishments (churches, markets, liquor stores, etc.) will be performing the same survey among their patrons? It seems surprising there is talk about parking issues focused solely on the Farmers` market on Sundays - it would be nice to get to the bottom of this issue so the local residents can go to the ANC with specific statistics in order to come up with the appropriate solution to any parking issues there may be.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
resident encourages Bloomingdale retail businesses to peform patron surveys - "How did you get here today?"
From a resident on the unit block of R Street NW:
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9 comments:
I didn't find it surprising at all. Just looking around at the farmer's market, it's obvious that most people were walking in large groups, some were biking (and more probably would have, but bike storage is full) and very, very few were driving.
Complaints about "parking" are really just a euphemism for "outsiders." People complain that churches have outsiders from Maryland coming in on the weekend. People complain that the farmer's market isn't really for members of the "Bloomingdale community" but for people who don't "belong" in Bloomingdale. This isn't unique to DC-- I grew up in the NJ suburbs where the biggest criticism that your neighbors could make about an outdoor gathering that was bothering them was that the guests "weren't even from here!"
I think you just have to realize that complaints about "parking" don't actually refer to "parking."
UMM Do people not realize there are churches are everyone corner in DC and perhaps thats why parking may be a pain? its just one day a week, and it seems parking patrol lets ppl slide a bit on Sundays
What surprises me is how there appear to be so many complaints lodged against the farmer's market and Big Bear and how they may impact local parking. Do our neighbors really think Big Bear and the farmer's market are driving destinations for people??
Having said that, I think "Dean's" posting above hit the nail on the head.
It would be helpful to know how the survey was conducted; if it was tallied at the farmers market or at the meeting held this week. If it was the latter, that would explain a lot. Those who drive from other neighborhoods may not have attended this meeting unlike those in walking/biking distance.
The survey was done at the market. Maybe surveys should be done at the front doors of the churches. Think you would see just the opposite in results. I'm pretty sure that the majority of people drive to church. Or at least that's what I see on Sunday mornings when I walk to the market.
QFT Stan. To Veronica - they were walking around with clipboards to take a brief survey for (if memory serves) the last two farmer's markets this year. It was brief, so I'd imagine that most people completed it. Although there might have been a selection bias in completions by those too impatient to walk who drove in not completing, throwing a margin of error of even 10% would still show the same conclusions: most of the patrons were near/from the bloomingdale/eckington/ledroit park areas and walked.
There's no reason to drive to the market in Bloomingdale, which is one of the smallest farmers markets around. If anyone is up for driving to a farmers market, they would drive to a market like Dupont, which has at least three times as many vendors and a greater variety of offerings. The only reason why someone would come to Bloomingdale is if they live in Bdale, Eckington, or one of the proximal neighborhoods, like Shaw and Truxton Circle.
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