News Release
HRM Reveals Citizen Survey Results
(Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010) - Results of a recent Citizen Survey were presented to HRM Council at a Regional Council session earlier today by Thinkwell Research, an independent research company, that administered the survey.
The survey which was conducted over a six week period ending on February 5th, 2010, covered 23,400 households within HRM. Overall, a completion rate of 10.3%, or 2420 completed surveys were received during this time, resulting in a sample size large enough to identify key issues and trends.
“Response to the survey has been encouraging and shows us that Council Focus Areas and HRM’s strategic priorities are in line with citizens’ concerns,” said Mayor Peter Kelly.
According to the survey, almost 80% of residents are satisfied with the quality of life in HRM, and believe that it is a good place to live. A slightly smaller percentage, between 65% to 70%, noted that HRM was a good place to raise a family, work or retire, and nearly half of those surveyed, felt that the quality of life had stayed the same or improved. Factors that contributed towards a better quality of life include improved public transportation, an increase in amenities, shops and restaurants, as well as access to healthcare and doctors. Increase in crime, higher taxes, and traffic congestion were the primary concerns amongst the 25% of residents that believe the quality of life has worsened over the past five years.
Findings also revealed that about 44% of residents are satisfied with the overall direction of Municipal government but almost half, or 45%, feel that their voices are not heard or reflected in Councils decision-making. A significant number of residents expressed that it is important for councillors to work together to resolve issues that face the entire region, to deal with local issues, and to assist them in dealing with issues that they have with HRM services.
With regard to improving the economic prosperity for the region, 51% of citizens would like to see an improvement in road conditions, and between 30% to 40% expressed the need for greater investments in the transit system, change in the tax structure, increased public safety, and an increase in efforts to attract as well as retain young professionals to the region.
“I would like to thank everyone that participated for taking the time to complete the survey. This information is extremely valuable and will help us address some of the issues that citizens identified as important to the quality of life in HRM,” said Mayor Peter Kelly. “The results will be incorporated into our future business plans and will help shape the future of HRM.”
Detailed results of the survey along with tabular data are available to the public on HRM’s website: http://halifax.ca/CitizenSurvey/
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Contact:
Mayor Peter Kelly
490-4010
