SWANNANOA COMMUNITY SURVEY
2009 Mill Around the Village Festival
The
Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition (SPCC) surveyed the community
during the Mill Around the Village Festival on October 3, 2009. People
visiting or walking by the SPCC booth were given the opportunity to
respond to the following two questions: “What do you like about
Swannanoa?” and “What would you like to see changed or improved?”
Responses were written on post-it notes that were displayed on a large
easel board during the festival. Some people wrote “ditto” on a previously posted response, to indicate their agreement. Following are the survey responses:
Question 1: What do you like about Swannanoa?
Small town feeling
Keep Swannanoa as is as long as possible!
People & places & views
Everything
It’s a nice place – I love the views of Mt. Mitchell
The natural beauty! GORGEOUS!
The HISTORY (5th grader)
Gorgeous mountains; the square in Grovemont
Small town atmosphere; periodic cleanup of roadsides; Beacon community
Scenic views, mountains, trees – nice neighborhood; not crowded yet
Love the mountains, love the people, love the peace (ditto)
The river and mountains
I like the projects I get to do in school (4th grader)
Small town feel (ditto)
The mountains – don’t destroy them!
Not over-developed (two dittos)
W.D. Williams Elementary – Oh yeah!
Not a lot of people
This festival! (3 times)
Small town (ditto)
Not incorporated
Neighbors and community feeling
Great people
Groovin’ on Grovemont [summer concert series in Grovemont Square]
Small town atmosphere; nice people; beauty
Our beautiful mountains; the Swannanoa River
River trails
Love the small town atmosphere!
I love everything – people
Quiet
Quiet town (ditto); small town feel; friendly people
Small community with friendly people who remember the heritage of Western NC (ditto)
My mountain land and neighbors
Great neighbors
It’s not Black Mountain
Me & Robert at home with a toilet, shower, and hot and cold water
Community feeling; small town with rural spots; community gatherings that aren’t too commercial; funky downtown; the river!
Great mountains
The mix of neanderthal and cro magnon
Great place (ditto)
Everything – it wouldn’t be Swannanoa without everything
The mountains (ditto)
Small town “feel”; mountain views
Our history – American Indians, early settlers, Beacon mill
Owen Park
River and open spaces (ditto)
The people and beauty
Question 2: What would you like to see changed or improved?
Protect our mountains
Clean up along the Swannanoa River; better police protection (it takes 20 minutes for police to respond)
Walking trails; more sidewalks
When
incorporated, please paint war memorial [at Swannanoa Fire Station]
with flat black background with gold letters [so it can be read more
easily]
Need more clubs – Lions, etc.
More people at festival
No development
Welcome to Swannanoa sign; landscaping; trees on side of roads
Incorporation and our own Police Dept
Wendy’s
Walking paths
No golf course; trash pickup
Lowes – what else?
Dedicated police/sheriff
A downtown park
No golf course (3 times)
No more developments
Stop mountainside developments and shoot Tiger Woods golf course down
More local focus; no big business
Clean up the river
Road maintenance!!
Urgent care center (4 dittos)
Bus shelters
Incorporation (2 times)
Trash pick-up please
Bike trails/lanes (2 dittos)
Walking trails
More parks and playgrounds
More restaurants; no trees cut
More shops, things to do
Ace Hardware
Stop cutting trees on the mountain; more restaurants; NO for incorporation
Quit raping our mountains
Quit cutting down the trees
More parks
More good restaurants; a real deli
Less development on steep slopes and mountaintops
Cut ditches on roadsides to prevent flooding in summer and icing of the roads in winter
Restaurants with outdoor seating
Incorporation! Incorporation! Incorporation!!
More development
We need more places to eat
We need greenways!
Public playground
Recycling Program
Restaurants; sidewalks!!
Have mountain music (bluegrass) and singing every Friday night at a location here in Swannanoa that would be family oriented
More sidewalks; clean up undesirable places
Sidewalks and crosswalks in business area on US 70 – pedestrian safety!
More relevant stores (drug store, hardware, etc.)
River park
Become a real town – incorporate
Too much development
Continue cleaning
More quality restaurants; bike trail linked to Asheville bike trail; pro-incorporation; miss Ace Hardware
More restaurants – need variety
Protect our mountain views
Do not overdevelop; keep out or to a minimum – big box stores or chain stores
A restaurant open on Sunday!
Things to do in downtown Swannanoa – park, eat, play
Bring back the old downtown! – shops, historic buildings
We need to incorporate so we will draw more businesses to Swannanoa Valley
More restaurants
Restaurant and music/dance hall
Have places to shop for clothing, etc.
Revitalized downtown
Sidewalks
PLEASE mow and repair playground equipment on Dennis St. in Upper Beacon Village
More street signs and less junk cars!
Walkways and hiking trails on the river
Community garden in Upper Beacon Village!
Stop the growth of kudzu that’s killing our trees and chasing away our birds, bunnies, etc.
Bike and walking lane for Old 70
Incorporation; police protection; economic development; nice downtown
Baby carriage run
River park
Routine street dances
Quit raping our mountains!
Stop cutting trees
More trails and greenway
[Clean up] trash in river; dangerous walking on Old 70 and US 70 – big safety issue!; need more restaurants in Swannanoa
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