Post by John Zeger on Sept 20, 2006 18:46:40 GMT -5
Concerns with growth, its impacts, and the way the latter are being handled by the city administration have clearly showed up on the latest Citizen Survey.
The increased volume of cars on the roads due to the city's increased population is showing adverse effects. Forty-seven percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the road network or traffic congestion as satisfaction with road safety, accident risk and pedestrian safety has declined overall since 2003. The City's "smart growth" and "smart transit" policies which promote densification in order to encourage residents to switch to public transit do not appear to be working as only 2% report using transit everyday, the same as in 2001. In the meanwhile a large share of transit riders seem disgruntled with 34% reporting dissatisfaction with public transit services which is up from 24% in 2002.
The contribution of growth to increased crime is also showing up in the survey. Twenty-eight percent of respondents (more than one in every four) report that they felt unsafe, up from 12% in 2003. (The percentage that reported feeling unsafe has steadily risen since 2003 along with the population.) Fifty-five percent feel that Kelowna's policing is inadequate. Satisfaction with policing has declined steadily since 2002 when 80% reported feeling satisfied to 63% in 2005 followed by a significant drop to 45% in 2006. Ninety-one percent reported support for increased funding for crime prevention, up from 69% in 2002.
In regards to urban planning only 63% of respondents expressed satisfaction with planning services while 37% expressed dissatisfaction. This compares to high levels of satisfaction reported for other city services such as recreation, parks and cultural services (94%), protective services (93%) and environmental services (93%). Fifty-six percent felt that recent amendments to city plans have provided too much flexibility and not enough certainty. Eighty-two percent felt highrises are inappropriate along Okanagan Lake (goodbye Lawson Landing?) and 69% felt it "very important" to provide affordable housing to all citizens.
In terms of public participation, 27% (more than one in four) felt dissatisfied with opportunities for citizen input and 30% reported dissatisfaction with the accessibility of city councillors.
Regarding the future, respondents indicated that the most important issue that the City will have to deal with over the next five years is roadways and transportation (51%) followed by growth, planning and development (27%).
The City of Kelowna 2006 Citizen Survey is clearly an indictment of the uncontrolled growth policies of Kelowna city council and the planning department while showing that they are unable to deal with the negative impacts of that growth.
The increased volume of cars on the roads due to the city's increased population is showing adverse effects. Forty-seven percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the road network or traffic congestion as satisfaction with road safety, accident risk and pedestrian safety has declined overall since 2003. The City's "smart growth" and "smart transit" policies which promote densification in order to encourage residents to switch to public transit do not appear to be working as only 2% report using transit everyday, the same as in 2001. In the meanwhile a large share of transit riders seem disgruntled with 34% reporting dissatisfaction with public transit services which is up from 24% in 2002.
The contribution of growth to increased crime is also showing up in the survey. Twenty-eight percent of respondents (more than one in every four) report that they felt unsafe, up from 12% in 2003. (The percentage that reported feeling unsafe has steadily risen since 2003 along with the population.) Fifty-five percent feel that Kelowna's policing is inadequate. Satisfaction with policing has declined steadily since 2002 when 80% reported feeling satisfied to 63% in 2005 followed by a significant drop to 45% in 2006. Ninety-one percent reported support for increased funding for crime prevention, up from 69% in 2002.
In regards to urban planning only 63% of respondents expressed satisfaction with planning services while 37% expressed dissatisfaction. This compares to high levels of satisfaction reported for other city services such as recreation, parks and cultural services (94%), protective services (93%) and environmental services (93%). Fifty-six percent felt that recent amendments to city plans have provided too much flexibility and not enough certainty. Eighty-two percent felt highrises are inappropriate along Okanagan Lake (goodbye Lawson Landing?) and 69% felt it "very important" to provide affordable housing to all citizens.
In terms of public participation, 27% (more than one in four) felt dissatisfied with opportunities for citizen input and 30% reported dissatisfaction with the accessibility of city councillors.
Regarding the future, respondents indicated that the most important issue that the City will have to deal with over the next five years is roadways and transportation (51%) followed by growth, planning and development (27%).
The City of Kelowna 2006 Citizen Survey is clearly an indictment of the uncontrolled growth policies of Kelowna city council and the planning department while showing that they are unable to deal with the negative impacts of that growth.