In the city’s current budget environment, it’s unclear when any money will become available to help perk up lower Georgia Avenue—according to the final budget fiscal impact statement, $4.8 million for a Great Streets improvement project was trimmed from FY 2010, without replacement in FY 2011.

Nevertheless, for the last several months, the Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force has been toiling to set out priorities for what should happen when the money does come. This week, the task force released the full results of a survey of more than 600 nearby residents, providing some insight into what the area needs.

One big takeaway from sifting through the results: Most people go elsewhere for most everything they need. 61.8 percent of respondents said they never shop on Georgia Avenue, and 69.4 percent said they never stay on the street for cultural and recreational activities. A full 80.3 percent said the biggest existing asset that makes them want to shop, eat, and hang out on Georgia Avenue now is proximity.

As for needs, there are a lot: Grocery stores and quality restaurants ranked high, as did streetscape improvements like bike lanes, trees, and buses. Bookstores and libraries also topped the list of amenities that residents want nearby. And, naturally, safety was a huge issue across every demographic.

To continue filling out their community input, the task force is holding a community review on Saturday, August 7th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Howard University School of Architecture at 6th and Howard Place NW. Meanwhile, they’ve got a new website, and even a Twitter.