I am still wandering my way through all of the data that was used as the basis of citizen input for the Comprehensive Plan. While I am sure there are those who think I am being negative by even looking at this, let me acknowledge that I am sure the people involved in this process feel they did something very good. Unfortunately, they relied upon other 'professionals' to give them information about how the process should have been done. A comprehensive plan is a special document because it requires a view focused on the future rather than either the past or present. The past and the present are important from the stand point of identifying where the Comprehensive Plan process starts "Where are we today?" Citizen input, research, and the final written document (along with such ancillary supporting documents as the Comprehensive Plan Map) are meant to deal with the issues of "Where do we want to be?" (at some designated point in the future), and "How to we get there?
The existing Comprehensive Plan for the Town of Christiansburg falls far short of those goals. (A quick side comment: Although I haven't finished searching all of the minutes, I have found a tolat of 123 instances where the Comprehensive Plan Map rather than the Comprehensive Plan was used as the basis for Planning Commission and/or Town Council decisions. I still have a long way to go to pull all of those instances together and then compare them to the Comprehensive Plan, but I need some way to fill my spare time:)
In the data from the Citizen Satisfaction Survey of 1998, used as citizen input for the 2003 Comprehensive Plan, here are some of the facts I have found thus far from searching the open-ended responses to what citizens liked least about Christiansburg:
- 1 person mentioned an aquatic center was needed
- 5 people mentioned a swimming pool (preferrably indoor) was desired
- 18 people indicated that sidewalks were needed
- 225 people mentioned that traffic was a major problem
I really do think it is time for another citizen satisfaction survey. Also, I think it is time to take a long, hard look at the comprehensive plan to determine how effectively it represents a plan for the future of the Town of Christiansburg, and if that plan accurately reflects the wishes of the citizens.