The Norwood Community Survey was launched with the goal of bringing more objectivity to our civic life. And while it’s certainly interesting to see the nine things Norwoodians agree about (city-wide), I think the most-interesting takeaways from the survey can be found at the ward level.
If there’s one thing that’s become glaringly obvious to me while analyzing the data from the survey, it’s that each ward of Norwood is its own animal. Sure, we all exist under the banner of Norwood, Ohio, but I think it’s unrealistic to assume that a one-size-fits-all approach is sufficient.
Think about it like this: the City of Cincinnati has 300,000 residents spread across 52 neighborhoods. On average, each neighborhood has about 6,000 residents. At least to me, it’s obvious that different neighborhoods have different needs, and that the city takes a different approach to different areas. They all need love, but that love takes different shapes from College Hill to Columbia-Tusculum to Lower Price Hill.
In Norwood, we’ve got about 20,000 residents spread across four wards, which means each ward has about 5,000 residents. Yes, we’re a smaller city, but that’s still a lot of people to try and paint with a broad brush. Maybe it’s time we layer in ward-level goals in addition to the city-wide initiatives that are already being worked on.
About the survey
To get a comprehensive overview of how the survey came to be, who participated, and what was asked, you are encouraged to review the detailed overview of the 2020 Norwood Community Survey. In short, it was a 51-question survey that asked about a wide variety of local topics, including: city services, schools, parks, and more.
For this article, the information below is based on the responses provided by 40 residents of Ward 3. Yes, I wish there were more, but even after email follow-up to all of the people who responded to the flyer, I still couldn’t dramatically increase the number of respondents. I acknowledge that these results aren’t perfect and that not everyone in the neighborhood participated, but I do think they are directionally valid. Read more about the confidence interval in the overview.
In case you need a refresher, here is the map of Norwood’s wards. Ward 3 is the east quadrant of the city and is highlighted in red below.
Now, without further adieu, let’s get to the summary of the data, which represent both numerical and open-ended responses.
Disclaimer: The administration of the City of Norwood had nothing to do with this effort.
Your Neighborhood
What could be done to help you feel more safe in your neighborhood?
- Being a pedestrian among vehicle traffic is the only time I feel unsafe in Norwood. Traffic calming improvements to streets would help, better crosswalks and stop lights, and better police enforcement of speed limits and traffic violations would all help. Anything to make our city more pedestrian friendly and walkable.
- We live pretty close to a busy intersection and hear sirens all the time. Also on the Ring app, I feel like we hear about a new shooting every day. I see Norwood PD patrolling on a daily basis, which is good, but I don’t necessarily know how close some of the crime is happening to me. I would love some more street lights at night.
- Continued good policing, and active residents out walking, running, working in our neighborhood and involved in betterment of our community and care of residents.
- Read all 23 comments submitted by respondents from Ward 3.
What do you like the most about living in your neighborhood?
- Nearby parks, redevelopment of homes and large projects (Playing Card Company), friendly neighbors, central location in the metro area, affordable, entrepreneurial community spirit (Gem of the Highlands 5k).
- Everyone looks out for each other. It’s a Norwood thing.
- How walkable the community is and how many parks Norwood has
- Central location at an affordable price.
- Friendly neighbors who are often out walking or on front porches, neighborhood schools, the bike trail, wide streets like floral, the potential of our parks and business district, access to interstates in central locality, old houses and buildings with character
- Location. Great people close by. Relatively walkable to food, groceries, schools etc.
- The quiet
- A great mix of ages, family situations, etc. Everyone is civil to each other. We have good friends here, too.
- Read all 34 comments submitted submitted by respondents from Ward 3.
What is your least favorite thing about your neighborhood?
- Systemic lack of investment in public infrastructure (streets, water towers and water mains, chronic flooding on Elm, persistent litter/trash on some streets, ugly/non-existent business district corridor along Montgomery Rd, empty pool in Burwood Park).
- 1) the sidewalks and roads need repair 2) the parks are not maintained and there are sooooo many with potential 3) vacant houses need to be addressed, maintained or removed 4) broken down cars need to be towed
- It is pretty dirty. I see a lot of people throwing dog waste bags into the street and see garbage flying about all the time. The roads are also pretty torn up.
- The divide between the new people and the people who have lived in Norwood forever. I’m close to a lot of “new” people. Not old school Norwood people. I’d like that not to be the case.
- Read all 38 comments.
Editor’s note: Ward 3 easily the most likely to still live here
If you were to move away from your current area of Norwood in the next five years, what would be the most likely reason(s) for your move?
- I definitely don’t plan on moving, but if I were it would be to an area with families more like ours.
- Job relocation.
- Streets, parks, racially insensitive action and words of leadership, poorly planned new developments and the impact of streets and traffic from such poorly planned developments, like the bicycle card factory development being placed at a dead end and diagonal from a park.
- Needing a larger house if our family grows, but we’d still look at other homes in our corner of Norwood.
- Age and decreased ability to care for big house
- It will greatly depend on how things go when our daughter starts elementary school. If it is a good fit, we will stay in Norwood at least until she finishes elementary. We may be looking for a bigger home but would stay in Norwood.
- Real all 35 comments.
What changes would most improve the neighborhood?
- Repair streets and limit government assistance housing and have city inspectors push property owners maintain their properties
- Improved roads and sidewalks. We especially need more ramps on sidewalks. Also revamping the community center.
- Investment in the parks, Investment in the Business Corridor, less GM Plant PTSD
- Clear, open opportunities to influence Norwood community decisions beyond the ballot box.
- I would love some more trash cans/community organizations focused on keeping it clean. I would also love some more local businesses.
- better communication — like Kate Hand has said, there is no unified great way of information getting dispersed — like the pool hours and policies, when the football games are, etc. The websites are SO out of date. I can’t believe I get most of my norwood news from a facebook group that started because of a flood.
- Read all 38 comments.
Community Involvement & Engagement
Editor’s note: Ward 3 has the highest levels of connectivity, but interestingly, below-average levels of community participation.
If you do not participate in community organizations or activities, why not? What would make you more likely to attend in the future?
- We are not aware of local events, organizations, and/or activities. We would engage more in the community if we were aware of activities. More advertisement/announcements to the public would be helpful.
- I have anxiety and have a hard time in unfamiliar situations.
- It’s as much my fault for not seeking them out but I don’t know where to find out about them.
- Read all 19 comments.
What types of community activities would you participate in, if they were available?
- Parks clean-ups, 5k charity runs, increasing voter engagement / participation in Norwood city elections (some of these already exist and we participate in some).
- I would participate in clean ups, helping put together parks/public spaces, gardening/community beautification, anything with pets (I volunteer at the SPCA). Really anything at all.
- block parties/holiday events
- Anything family friendly that is not religion based.
- Festival, Neighborhood walking club,
- Read all 29 comments.
Local Government & Services
Editor’s note: Overall, their trust of the city’s use of tax dollars is low, but Ward 3 shows the highest levels of any ward. Similarly, their understanding of tax dollar use is tied for the highest in the city.
What could the Norwood Police Department do to be seen as more favorable in your eyes?
- I feel that NPD does a good job and their community outreach is well communicated
- Be mindful of their social media postings. They are occasionally not professional or in poor taste
- Community policing.
- The police officers should sincerely do sensitivity training, not give canned responses. It shows that they didn’t learn anything or care to learn when you see them say questionable things on their private pages, not to mention their own page for the Norwood Police. It’s embarrassing and I don’t trust them.
- More patrols I never see them on our street. Literally.
- More enforcement for parking tickets surrounding the schools
- Read all 23 comments.
What could the Norwood Fire Department do to be seen as more favorable in your eyes?
- Not cost so much; they are a disproportionate amount of the city’s budget
- I feel like I don’t hear much about them. I do see them often doing wellness checks on one of our neighbors and as she’s still alive, I guess they’re doing a good job?
- The Norwood Fire Department is top notch!
- Do we really need that many firemen?
- Read all 18 comments.
Editor’s note: Although Ward 3’s overall sentiment about the Fire Department is positive, their ranking is easily the lowest of the four wards. On the flipside, they have the most favorable outlook regarding the Police.
Parks, Infrastructure, and Local Businesses
Editor’s note: Ward 3 reports both the highest usage rates of public parks and the highest levels of satisfaction (even if the sentiment is still relatively unfavorable).
What would make you more likely to use the Wasson Way trail? Any other ideas to improve it?
- Wasson Way Trail has been an excellent addition to Norwood. It would be nice to have more trash cans and lighting along the trail.
- More flowers and I hope businesses get inspired to open walking traffic friendly customers.
- We use it a couple times a week … maybe it could use additional signage on the street signs to help notify people where the trail is? Also, maybe additional benches would be helpful since they seem concentrated in two or three spots right now. The sign on the WW Trail for Floral also seems like it’s in the wrong spot? Always wondered about that.
- I feel like there is too much attention to Wasson Way Trail and as a result other areas of Norwood suffer. It is also telling because the houses sell more in south Norwood and that area is pretty much the only focus of Norwood Together. Tbh, a lot of people in Norwood find this focus inclusive, uppity, and annoying.
- Sorry- this is not about wasson way, but about playgrounds in Norwood- we have been to a couple (no idea what they are called) and they were in such bad shape- trash, equipment in terrible condition etc we do not take our daughter to the playgrounds in Norwood bc I am afraid of what she might pick up or be injured on the equipment, we do take her to Dorl field regularly to stretch her legs. There the benches need repaired but otherwise- it’s an open field so not much to complain about.
- Read all 25 comments.
Do you have other thoughts or comments to share about a possible tax levy for street repairs?
- People don’t trust that it would be used just for streets.
- I am not necessarily opposed to a levy for roads except for the fact that city funds could be managed better and the road conditions are a long term result of such neglect and mismanagement. So, if the city made a better effort at fiscal responsibility I would consider it.
- Where is the current tax money going?
- I’m strongly in favor of a tax levy specifically for street repairs. I’m afraid Norwood city government is otherwise too dysfunctional and resource limited to ever replace streets at the level that is needed. Despite many people’s anti-tax sentiments, I think a streets levy could get passed here due to universal complaints about streets.
- PLEASE GOD YES.
- Read all 19 comments.
Editor’s note: by a sizeable margin, Ward 3 shows the most satisfaction in both the quantity and quality of dining options available nearby. But, even still, the overall sentiment is only neutral — the rest of the city is pretty negative by comparison.
Editor’s note: Of the four wards, Ward 3 respondents show the least interest in having more businesses within walking distance, but that could be related to the fact that residents already feel that they already have plenty of nearby busineses.
Editor’s note: With only two modes of transportation being used by 20+ percent of respondents, Ward 3 shows the least-diverse mobility habits.
Other Comments
At the end of the survey, participants were given a blank slate to comment on whatever else was on their minds. Here’s what they had to say.
- I would really love to see Norwood’s water towers fixed and soon as they are in a really sad state
- I’m very happy to know someone cares enough about our city to do this survey. I think it’s a great idea.
- Thank you for taking an interest in Norwood and loving this community as much as we do!
- Thanks for organizing this. Too bad the city isn’t sponsoring such an endeavor.
- The Mayor is doing a great job. I hope he keeps it up.
- This city has so much potential if it could just stop tripping over it’s own feet. At least it’s forward momentum for the most part!
- I feel very encouraged with the many new residents of Norwood who are working hard to improve the quality of life here in Norwood and hope this wonderful energy, creativity, and commitment continue. I am really looking forward to new Playing Card development. My family loves Wasson Way.
- What is wrong with the Norwood Kroger?!?!?! I don’t get how it is possible that it is such an awful experience – I haven’t been inside in probably a year, but just being in the parking lot is terrible.
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Thanks for reading the Ward 3 summary. I’d love to read your thoughts on what was presented. Please feel free to leave a comment with your ideas for bettering the ward.
Also, if you found this interesting, be sure to check out the Ward 1 summary, the Ward 2 summary, and the Ward 4 summary, which have already been published.