GSPC LogoGreater Severna Park Council (GSPC) 2011 Survey of Residents

Instructions: Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey, which the GSPC shall use to plan its activities.

Please complete each section as thoroughly as possible.  While most questions involve simply choosing an answer category or writing in a short answer, there is a section at the end for you to add any comments about your experience in the greater Severna Park area and this survey.   Use the tab key or the mouse to move from question to question; using the return key will immediately submit the survey, no matter how much (or little) you have filled out.

If your community has a name, please write it in:: (e.g., Ben Oaks, Cape Arthur, Glen Oban)

What is your zip code?

Background information

1. What year did you first move into this area?   (enter year, e.g. 1994)

2. Did you grow up mostly in...

3. How many years have you been living in your current house?   years (use 1 even if less than one year)

4. How many houses have you owned or rented in the greater Severna Park area? (use numbers only)

5.  Do you own or rent your current home: 

6. Do you own a business within the greater Severna Park area?  

7.  What are the ages of the adults living in your household (excluding any adult children)?

         7.1 First adult        7.2 Second adult      7.3 Third adult       7.4 Fourth adult    

8.  What are the ages of any children living in your household (including any adult children)?

         8.1 First child        8.2 Second child      8.3 Third child       8.4 Fourth child

9.  What is your gender?  Female     Male    

10. What is your marital status?    

11. Which of the following best describes your employment situation?

 

11.1 Which of the following best describes your spouse's employment situation (if applicable)?  

12.  What is the highest level of your formal education?

           12.1  What is the highest level of your spouse's formal education (if applicable)?  

13.  What is your household income (before taxes)? 

Transportation and Commuting Information

14. If you commute to work, how far do you commute? miles and  minutes.   

    =>14.1 If your spouse commutes to work, how far does he/she commute?   miles    and minutes.

15.  In what town or city is your workplace located? 

   =>15.1 In what town or city is your spouse's workplace located? 

16.  What percentage of the time do your and/or your spouse use the following means of transportation for commuting to work?    
    (Columns should total 100%)

Modes of commuting Yourself % Spouse %
Your own car driving by yourself 
A carpool
Bus
MARC train
Light rail  
Bicycle   
Motorcycle
Walk 









 

 

Knowledge of and Participation in Various Groups and Activities

This section asks about your familiarity and involvement in local groups or activities. 

Name

 Familiarity Involvement (click all that apply)
Received info., read about… Attend(ed) meetings Donated money or time Have been or am a  active participant Other contact

Greater Severna Park Council
Local community association

Green Hornets of other athletic organization

 ASPIRE, Inc.

Greater Severna Park Chamber of Commerce

Religious institution
Which?

School-related committee (Which school(s)?)

Local civic group (Kiwanis, Rotary, etc)  Which? 

Small area plan for Severna Park

Anne Arundel County General Development Plan

Others 

Greater Severna Park Council

The following questions focus on the Greater Severna Park Council, the sponsor of this survey. The GSPC is an umbrella organization whose members are community associations in the Severna Park area. 

Its mission is to defend the interests of local residents, ensuring the quality of life in the greater Severna Park area.  Its activities consist of fact gathering, the distribution of information to the community, and working with elected and appointed officials on policies of concern.  Its activities are covered by the local media; minutes and other documents can be found at www.gspcouncil.org.

Here we are asking you to determine two things: (1) The importance of a function or activity pursued by the GSPC, and (2) if you feel sufficiently well informed to comment – your satisfaction with the way in which the GSPC performs that function or activity.  Note that there might be some functions or activities with which you are more familiar, so you are encouraged to look over each function/activity and indicate your satisfaction with some but perhaps not all.  We hope that you can at least provide us with a sense of the item’s importance in all cases.

Importance

Item

Satisfaction

  Low

Medium

High

Low

Medium

High

1. Keeping communities informed via email

2. Posting information on the Web site

3. Holding regular meetings

4. Gathering/presenting information

5. Lobbying local officials

6 Being open and transparent

7. Working with county officials on policies

8.  Ensuring funding for local schools

9.  Defending communities in zoning conflicts

10.  Keeping the community informed about crime

11.  Dealing with transportation/road issues

12.  Helping to publicize and protect the environment

13.  Protecting the Severna Park area’s share of the county budget overall

14.  Protecting the Severna Park area’s interests in the General Development Plan

15.  Protecting the Severna Park area’s interests in the Small Area Plans.

16.Other

General Attitudes towards the greater Severna Park Area

This section asks you to evaluate the importance of a characteristic to your decision to live in the greater Severna Park area.  The scale below allows you to indicate how important each item is...from "not important" to "very important." 

Towards Area as a Whole

 (1) Not
important		 (2) (3) (4) (5) Very
important

1. Proximity/time to workplace

2. Proximity/time to major cities

3. . Proximity/time to medical facilities

4. Proximity/time to trains/planes

5. Proximity/time to higher education
6. Good traffic/transportation conditions
7. Availability of public transport
8. Presence of local "park and ride" lots

9. Good variety of housing types

10. Good quality of housing
11. Availability of upscale housing

12. Low housing density (few or no apartments,
condos or townhouses)

13. Availability of affordable housing
14. Availability of housing with water privileges
15. Availability of senior housing
16.  Not incorporated into a municipality

17. Strong community associations

18. Good place to raise family
19. Plenty of activities for children
20. Strong sense of community among neighbors
21.  High educational levels of residents
22.  Many people think like I do about civic and national matters

23. Peace and quiet

24. Access to water/boating

25. Availability of recreational sites
26. Access to Kinder Park
27. Access to Baltimore-Annapolis Trail
28. Abundance of trees/vegetation

29. High quality of government services
30. Good quality of public schools
31. Availability of good quality private schools

32. Presence of public library

33. Low taxes

34. Low crime rates

35. Ample entertainment options in local area

36. Ample commercial services in local area

37. Other

20. Which TWO of these are the MOST important to you? (enter number, e.g., 3 or 34)  #1 #2

Problems facing the greater Severna Park Area

This section focuses on items that you might consider to be a ‘problem’ for residents of the greater Severna Park area.  The scale below allows you to indicate how serious each item is...from "not serious" to "very serious."

 

 (1)  Not
  serious		  (2)    (3)     (4) (5) Very
  serious

1. Presence of illegal drugs

2.   Underage drinking

3. Too much property crime (burglary, thefts)

4. Too much crime against individuals (assaults, robbery)

5. High cost of living

6. Quality of local schools

7. Too much environmental degradation of the rivers

8. Too many illegal signs

9. Too much noise pollution from aircraft

10. Too much noise pollution from cars or boats

11. Too much air pollution

12. Lack of open space

13. Lack public access to water

14. Lack of adequate town center

15. Lack of affordable elderly housing

16. Overall lack of affordable housing

17. Aging housing stock

18. Lack of multi-family housing

19. Lack of recreational areas

20. Lack access to B/A trail

21. Lack of places for activities for teen-agers

22. Quality of political leadership

23. Adequacy of government response to complaints

24. Inadequate snow removal services

25. Lack of effective public leaf removal system

26. Excessive property taxes

27. Efficiency of county govt. as a problem

28. Overall quality of government services

29. Impact of budget cuts on quality of government services

30. Traffic congestion on major streets

31. Traffic within neighborhood

32. Too much speeding on local roads

33. Lack sidewalks/trails on major streets.

34. Lack public transportation

35. Lack sidewalks/trails in neighborhood

36. Uncontrolled growth/development

37. Unsightly commercial development

38.  Other 

33. Which TWO of these are the MOST important to you? (enter number) #1    #2

Solutions for problems facing the Severna Park Area

Indicate how much do you favor each of the following "solutions."  The scale below allows you to indicate how much you favor each each suggestion...from "don't favor at all" to "favor completely."

 

 (1) Don't
favor at all		    (2)  (3)     (4) (5) Favor
completely

1. More restrictions on building in Critical Areas

2. Ensure that there are adequate public facilities prior to development

3. Apply stricter controls on residential development

4. Apply stricter controls on commercial development

5. Build multi-family apartments for those over 55

6. Permit multi-family apartments for all ages

7.  Build housing/health facilities for the elderly

8.  Allow higher building densities on available land near you

9.  Establish more activities for teenagers

10. Create cultural center

11. Create a more vibrant town center area

12. Bring a greater range of entertainment options to our local area (e.g., restaurants, cinemas, plays)

13.  Add buses to Baltimore, DC or other job centers

14. Add buses/shuttles/taxis within the local area

15. Add buses up and down Ritchie Highway

16. Build light rail to Annapolis

17. Build pedestrian overpass on Ritchie Highway

18. Add bike lanes

19. Build sidewalks in your neighborhood

20. Build sidewalks on major streets leading to commercial areas or schools

21. Beautify existing roadways

22. Enforce sign laws more fully

23. Improve school facilities

24.  Improve quality of instruction in public schools

25.  Have more police on patrol to enforce laws and respond to crimes

26. Stricter penalties for youths and parents for underage drinking

Which TWO of these solutions are the MOST important to you? (enter number) #1    #2

Suggestions and Comments

Use the section below to offer any suggestions or comments relevant to the topics and themes discussed in this survey.  Thanks again for your participation.

Thanks for participating in this survey of residents!