A community survey shows Marshfield residents want more places to dine, shop, and play.
During a 3-week period in May, 975 people who live in and around the city gave their opinion on the most important issues facing Marshfield and what should be prioritized. While not statistically valid, the survey will provide insight for the Economic Development Board’s strategic planning.
According to the results that were presented to Common Council on June 25, the top ways to get people to spend more time in Marshfield are to have more retail stores, restaurants, and outdoor events.
The top desired dining option is a steakhouse, followed by fast casual options, and almost half of survey respondents ate out once per week. The top desired retail option was for clothing.
“We’ve seen a few stores close in recent months. People are seeing that and that’s adding to the concern, but I think over and over again you see restaurant/retail,” said Josh Miller, Development Services Coordinator. “That’s what the folks want in the community, more options, more choices. Not necessarily brand names or chains is what they say, but they want to see more options.”
Respondents also wanted more options for entertainment such as a family center and outdoor events. An outdoor swimming pool/aquatic center identified as a top recreational need, followed by bike and walking trails.
“A little more surprisingly, we saw about 42 percent of people want an indoor pool,” said Miller.
The top issues Marshfield faces are maintaining existing infrastructure such as roads and municipal facilities, having a variety of choices when shopping, and attracting young people to live and work in the city. Also, 43 percent felt that taxes were too high for the services provided.
For housing, respondents wanted to see more single family homes.
Author: News Desk
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