Temporary Bridges Update #50

What We Think About the Temporary Bridges Project

Part 2: Those Daily Updates

Yesterday we began our review of how some 250 members of our community evaluated this summer’s temporary bridges construction project in a follow-up survey I conducted in late September via email. Today we’ll focus on how those responding to the survey got their information on the project and how useful they found it.

Nearly 80% of those responding to the survey said that they kept up to date on the construction downtown through my daily updates. That’s not surprising, given that the survey went out to the same group. But it also points to the value of regular daily updates in a complex construction project with many moving parts and a wide impact.

About 10% of survey respondents included The Addison Independent as a source of information on the project. An equal number said they got their updates from other sources. We didn’t ask them to specify which sources but I’m guessing word of mouth played a large part.

Interestingly, no one cited the project Information Booth in Cannon Park that was run by the Neighbors Together group throughout the July-August construction period, though I know for a fact that many visitors and locals stopped by to find out how to get around town.

One omission: I neglected to include 92.1 WVTK as a source of project information. They read portions of the updates every morning in their news segments and I was a guest on the show every Friday morning. Many thanks to Bruce Zeman and the WVTK gang!

Some 94% of those responding to the survey told us that they considered the timeliness and accuracy of the project information they received either excellent (73%) or good (21%). Of the 243 who responded to this question, only 3 felt that the information could have been better or was poor. I think this speaks not just to the quality of the daily updates but to Kubricky’s commitment to delivering what they promised. That’s what I was reporting on.

Question 5 also asked for comments, and we received 66 of these. At the end of the week I’ll release the entire survey so you can read through the comments on this question and others at your leisure if you’re so inclined. In the meantime, I’ve pulled some here to give you a sense of what we heard back.

“Emails were very informative and helped me plan my day.”

“I appreciated the updates. It made me feel that the employees and residents of Middlebury were being considered throughout the process.”

“I felt well informed via many routes, including 92.1 each morning reading those email updates. Never was surprised by what was happening.”

“Very helpful to know what is happening, to plan activities and to feel progress.”

“Not as accurate as I witnessed. Some businesses were covered in the emails while others were not. Jim always tried to paint a rosier picture than I witnessed.”

“. . . a must read before I left the house each day.”

“Timely, clear, personal, supportive of local businesses.”

Tomorrow we’ll look at what you think about the temporary bridges after living with them for a few weeks. You’ll find this one very interesting.

That’s all for today. See you downtown.

Please keep your comments and questions coming. Send me an email at jgish@townofmiddlebury.org and I’ll try to cover it in my next update.