94 per cent of Vaughan residents satisfied with city services, survey says

An Ipsos telephone survey of 800 people also found only 25 per cent of residents were satisfied with traffic flow

Yorkregion.com
March 7, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Folks in Vaughan feel pretty happy about the quality of life they enjoy and the services they get from the city, but they’re not to pleased with the community’s crippling traffic congestion, a new survey has found.

Ninety-seven per cent of residents feel the quality of life in Vaughan is very good or good, according to the 2016 Citizen Satisfaction Survey conducted in November by Ipsos, on behalf of the municipality.

That’s up 4 per cent from the last survey in 2014, and puts the city above the national norm of 91 per cent.

The survey also found 94 per cent of residents are satisfied or very satisfied with the delivery of all services provided by the municipality.

“It just reinforces that Vaughan is a city of choice and one of the best places to live and do business in the country,” Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua said. “It’s not just this survey that said it, but it’s also MoneySense Magazine (and) PROFIT Magazine. They all confirm that, in fact, our standing in the country, in the last four years, has improved dramatically.”

Respondents were asked about their satisfaction levels for 24 services provided by city.

Two-thirds of residents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with 23 out of 24 services.

The highest satisfaction levels were with fire services (99 per cent), libraries (97 per cent), online services (93 per cent), arts and culture (92 per cent) and trails (92 per cent).

The survey also revealed that, after dropping to 72 per cent in 2014, the proportion of people who believe they receive good value for their tax dollars has climbed to its highest level in years, with 85 per cent saying they receive at least fairly good value for their tax dollars.

But the picture painted by the new survey is not all rosy.

Only 25 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with traffic flow and congestion, down from 39 per cent in 2014.

That’s well below the national average of 65 per cent.

And 62 per cent of those surveyed identified transportation as the issue they felt should get the greatest attention from city council.

“This is a challenge for many municipalities, but look what we’re doing - we’re bringing in a subway, we’re in investing in (bus) rapidways, opening up the (Hwy.) 427 extension,” Bevilacqua said. “We’re taking measures to alleviate traffic in this city.”

Satisfaction with land use and community planning was another area where the city came up a bit short, slipping to 67 per cent from 70 per cent in 2014. That puts Vaughan below the national average of 71 per cent.

While satisfaction with the maintenance of parks and green spaces is high, at 90 per cent, it’s below the national norm of 94 per cent.

Ipsos conducted the telephone survey of 800 people between Nov. 1 and 13, 2016. Results are considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.