Traffic & Transit
New Survey Asks: Are These Goals For Worcester Right?
A new phase of the Worcester Now | Next launched recently, asking residents to give feedback on goals for the future of the city.
WORCESTER, MA — An ongoing process to put together a plan for Worcester's future entered a new phase recently, and local residents are being asked to provide feedback about goals the city should strive for.
The Worcester Now | Next citywide plan process launched early in 2022, asking residents to give ideas on what priorities the city should set around items like housing, transportation and economic development.
After a previous survey and public workshops, the Now | Next organizers created a set of draft goals and a vision statement for Worcester's fourth century. The Now | Next organizers launched a new survey in early November asking for feedback on those new developments.
According to Now | Next community organizer Guillermo Creamer, the new survey should take less than five minutes. About 500 people have answered so far, but the city wants much more feedback before moving on to finalizing the goals. The survey will be open through the end of 2022.
"The whole point is for this to be interactive," he said.
After the survey closes, Now | Next will hold a public workshop in February to get ideas on how to put the goals into action. The final master plan could be released by May, Creamer said.
Worcester hasn't mounted a long-range planning effort like Now | Next since 1987, although the city has published smaller plans on topics like climate change, improving public health and culture. The master plan aims to weave all of those topics into a larger guiding document.
"This is a critical moment for the city of Worcester — now is the time for our residents and community members to speak up and tell us what goals we should be working towards,” City Manager Eric Batista said in a news release. "These goals will serve as the City’s guide over the next ten years, ensuring that we are focusing on the issues that matter most to the vitality and wellbeing of our entire community."
Questions about the new questionnaire or the larger Now | Next process? Contact Creamer at nownext@utiledesign.org.
