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Kelowna  

Kelowna residents seem more content, or accepting of transportation issues

Transportation resolved?

Have city officials fixed what ails the driving public in Kelowna?

Are residents just used to traffic and congestion? Or, are there more pressing issues to deal with?

Whatever the reason, the latest citizen survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs indicates residents are less concerned about issues around transportation than they have been in the past.

Ipsos official Catherine Knaus told council Monday that, while transportation is still the second biggest issue among residents (22 per cent), that figure is significantly lower than in previous surveys.

Knaus says that's down 21 points from the same survey two years ago.

"We are seeing that echoed throughout the survey. When I mentioned satisfaction with traffic flow management, it's up this year and mentions of transportation are down," she told council.

"When we asked why residents think quality of life is worse, we used to see traffic congestion as the number one issue. That's not even in the top five.

"Whether that has to do with improvements or heightened awareness of social issues or a combination of the two is hard to say."

Of the 13 services provided by the city surveyed, Knaus says nine received a satisfaction score of 80 per cent or better.

At the bottom of the list was traffic flow management with a 52 per cent satisfactory score, however, she said that was 16 points higher than in 2018, the only service to show significant improvement.

Overall, she said the survey, which reached 300 people during the first half of September, showed overall satisfaction with the city across the board.

But, while 92 per cent rated quality of life as good, or very good, more than a third said that quality of life has worsened.

"Residents see quality of life heading in the wrong direction. This is consistent with what we saw in 2018.

"When we asked why, the top mentions are around social issues, whether it's poverty and homelessness, the cost of living or drugs, as well as safety concerns."

The number one issue among residents are social issues, as they were in 2018, identified by 44 per cent of respondents.

"This includes poverty and homelessness, housing affordability, drugs, mental health, affordability," she said.

More than three-quarters (79 per cent), also believed investment to address social issues should be as top priority.

"People's quality of life, the perception of it is changing a bit, which is concerning," said Coun. Brad Sieben.

"I also appreciate in priorities for investment that 79 per cent were asking for investment in areas that, from a city perspective, are probably areas we don't have control of. A lot of it is health care, a lot of it is crime reduction. It's going to have to happen at a federal or provincial level."

Coun. Mohini Singh added that while the numbers don't necessarily reflect what the city is responsible for, the results will help when the city negotiates with senior levels of government.

"This is what the survey suggests, we need financial help from you, or we need supports from you," she said.



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