Poll shows city residents split on key civic issues

Whoever sits on Edmonton’s next city council will have a tough job since a new poll released Friday suggests public opinion is split on key civic issues.

In a new Mainstreet/Postmedia poll surveying a random sampling of 800 Edmontonians on Tuesday and Wednesday — with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points — respondents were split on key themes that have been hotly debated in council chambers.

When it comes to affordable housing, most respondents — 48 per cent — support the idea of each neighbourhood having 10 per cent of all housing be made up of social or affordable options.

But when those same respondents were asked if they supported having that 10 per cent goal in their own neighbourhood, support dropped, with the greatest difference showing up among male respondents whose opposition to the idea climbed to 47 per cent from 38 per cent when it came to putting it in their own community.

“There is more opposition the second that you say it’s going to be right around the corner from you,” said David Valentin, executive vice-president of Mainstreet Research.

“You are still seeing more people admitting they don’t want it in their own neighbourhoods, and fundamentally that is an issue of affordable housing and social housing; it has to go somewhere,” Valentin said. “The question becomes, how do you sell communities on having this be part of their neighbourhood, a part of their everyday life?”

Respondents were more evenly split when it comes to light rail transit, with 38 per cent saying they are satisfied with the new LRT lines to NAIT and the plan underway to extend a line to Mill Woods.

One-third of respondents said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 27 per cent declared they were unsatisfied and five per cent weren’t sure how they felt.

However, there is greater disparity in opinions of these new LRT projects between age demographics, with the majority of respondents, 51 per cent, between the ages of 18 and 34 reporting they are satisfied with these projects compared to only 29 per cent of those polled above the age of 50.

This age split is highlighted again when respondents are asked whether they support further LRT development or would rather see the city invest in bus rapid transit.

Overall, 37 per cent surveyed said they wanted new LRT lines while 36 per cent wanted more bus rapid transit, leaving 27 per cent unsure.

Of those polled between the ages 18 and 34 — who Valentin said are more likely to actually use public transit — 45 per cent wanted to see more LRT expansion, while 41 per cent above the age of 50, who are more likely to be property taxpayers, wanted more bus rapid transit.

“People know that bus rapid transit costs less than light rail transit, and as a result what the impact will be on their property tax bill from building one over the other,” said Valentin, who added it will be tough for civic politicians to balance the fiscal restraint called for by older voters with the needs of younger transit users.