What does the local community think about Bloomfield’s popular Little Italy Days festival? To find out, the Bloomfield Development Corporation (BDC) circulated a survey asking eleven questions, soliciting views about topics that included the event’s length, cleanliness, and size.
Of the 300 respondents, 64% of were residents, 11% businesses, and 19% visitors.
Conducted from mid October through December 31, the survey is the latest effort of the BDC to understand what the neighborhood wants and how best to advocate for it.
Preliminary observations from the survey data indicate that while a majority of business owners felt that detours were managed well, the majority of residents felt that there was significant room for improvement. And although most respondents agreed that there was enough police presence at the event, a significant number of residents would still like to see the number of officers increased in the future. In answer to their opinion about the scale of the event, it’s interesting to note that while the majority of residents feel the event is too big, the majority of businesses believe there is room for the event to grow, and that visitors’ responses were evenly split between the two.
Further results are being pulled from the survey. Those interested in the full report are encouraged to attend the Community Forum at 6:00 pm on Thursday, February 18, at Shepherd Wellness. The full results of the survey will be posted on the BDC website and social media after the meeting.