The Martha’s Vineyard Commission regional planning agency wants seasonal and full-time Vineyarders to fill out a 12-question anonymous survey asking for people’s thoughts on a variety of issues, including real estate development, climate change, and elder services.
Dan Doyle, special projects planner at the commission, says the survey is intended to help officials and Islanders better understand public opinion on the Vineyard’s biggest issues.
One survey question Doyle is interested in asks respondents to rate the Island on a scale of ten from “rural” to “overdeveloped.”
“It’s obvious when everyone drives around the Island that they see how much development is taking place at every turn,” he told The Times. “We wanted to sort over this continuum of, ‘OK, how would you characterize our own Island at this snapshot in time?’
“Development is an important part of our economy, no doubt,” he added. “But it also comes with tradeoffs — we also have a lot of natural resources that we want to protect as well. It’s good to know where the general public stands on these issues.”
He said the survey’s questions about the cost of community services are also valuable. “[Costs] continue to escalate,” Doyle said.
Vineyarders can also answer questions about whether community services are adequately provided for, ways in which their towns can improve, and how housing issues are handled.
It’s available in English at this link and Portuguese at this link.
The survey will be open till July 30, and results will be posted on the commission website late this summer.
