Kelowna citizens love their city less than they used to

KELOWNA – When asked by a pollster, 94 per cent of Kelowna residents say their overall quality of life is good or very good, according to the 2018 Citizen Survey.

That’s only down by one per cent from the last time the people of Kelowna were surveyed by the city in 2015. But when broken down only 36 per cent feel their quality of life is very good. That’s a four per cent drop from 2015.

The survey results will be presented to Kelowna city council on Monday, Jan. 14.

This year's survey also shows only 21 per cent believed the quality of life improved over the past three years while 36 per cent said it got worse due to things like traffic congestion (21 per cent) and increased poverty/homelessness (16 per cent). Safety concerns and rising costs of living each garnered 14 per cent.

When it comes to safety, the survey shows 87 per cent rank Kelowna as safe, down form 93 per cent in 2015. But that breaks down to only 24 per cent ranking the city as very safe and 62 per cent as “somewhat safe.” Eleven per cent say it’s “not very safe” and two per cent “not at all safe.”

In terms of change, only 11 per cent say community safety has improved in the last three years versus 48 per cent who say it has worsened. One-third of respondents cite homelessness/poverty as the key reason safety has worsened. Drugs account for 16 per cent.

Social issues continue to be a growing concern for citizens. In 2018, 51 per cent felt those were the top community issues. Social issues garnered 16 per cent of the votes for top concern in 2015.

Transportation was the top concern for 43 per cent of respondents, followed by crime at 11 per cent with growth and development at 10 per cent. These percentages are based on the total mentions of a particular category and total more than 100 per cent.

Satisfaction with city services has declined seven per cent form 2015. While 87 per cent are ranked as satisfied, that includes 64 per cent who are only “somewhat satisfied.”

The study was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. It was run last fall by phoning 300 residents, balanced by age and location, on both land lines and cell phones with 62 per cent of calls to cell phones.

It’s considered accurate to +/- 5.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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