And survey says…
Most people are happy living in Kamloops.
That’s according to survey results from Forum Research Inc. Representatives presented results from the 2019 Citizen Satisfaction Survey to Kamloops council yesterday (Feb. 12) and most categories were positives.
“Almost everyone we spoke to provided a positive score for quality of life in Kamloops,” Forum Research’s Gary Milkaovic told council.
In fact, 95 per cent gave a positive score (good or very good), almost 20 points above the average of comparable cities (made up of Kelowna, Prince George, Nanaimo and Langley). However, nearly a quarter of respondents said their quality of life had decreased while one-fifth thought it had improved (notably, younger survey participants were more positive, while middle-aged respondents were the most negative).
The survey wasn’t just a test of how happy people were; the data shows citizens believe alternative transportation options, municipal engagement and bylaw enforcement should be priorities, with infrastructure around roads and sidewalks was just below.
Areas of that the city did well in were sports programs, city esthetic, severe weather planning and green spaces.
Topics people shared concerns in weren’t a large surprise: traffic and congestion, road conditions, crime, homelessness, drugs and cost of living. All are topics often discussed in public and council chambers.
“All in all, this survey suggests Kamloops is on the right track,” Milkaovic says.
Mayor Ken Christian noted that as mayor he hears plenty about what people are unhappy about, so the survey is an opportunity to hear a more balanced view.
“It’s rare that you get a snapshot of people’s overall impression of all of the complexities of running a city,” he tells KamloopsMatters.
He says the survey showed people are aware of the city’s efforts around homelessness. He also points to a part of the survey that shows citizens noticed the lack of an arts and culture centre.
“I think probably the best thing that I noted that we’re going in a positive trend over previous surveys that we’ve done,” he says. “And we’re ahead of the normative communities they’ve compared us to.”
Coun. Mike O’Reilly says the survey shows the city is heading in the right direction, and helps council and administration focus on areas that need improvement.
“Congestion and roads were brought up, it was one of the lowest points,” he says. “I’d be interested to hear again a year from now.”
He notes the Victoria Street West project took place last year and affected a lot of commuters, which might have impacted those results. He’d also like to see roads and sidewalk split up, to see which needs more focus.
“To me, those are two completely different things,” he says. “Is it the roads that are the problem or is it the sidewalks that are the problem.”
While both are transportation infrastructure, O’Reilly notes one is more related to alternative and active transportation, and the other is roads.
The survey was run in early November last year. Forum Research spoke to 400 people by phone; all were 18 years old or older and were not employees of the City of Kamloops. For the final report, click HERE.
Council also received a report on how the city was doing compared to Kamplan, the city’s official community plan. As it was the first year since the revamped plan, staff commented it’s too early for the indicators to be used to show trends. Community planning manager Jason Locke noted two areas appear to need improvement: household energy usage and traffic safety.
“The overall results are positive with the exception of (those) two indicators,” Locke told council.
