Homelessness, crime, drugs more of a concern for Kelowna residents

Annual citizen survey finds twice as many people think social issues are Kelowna’s most pressing problem

Public concern about social issues is higher in Kelowna than in other B.C. municipalities, city council heard Monday.

Topics such as homelessness, drug use and crime are uppermost in the minds of 40 per cent of city residents, a survey has found.

“It is normal for social issues to be rising up in prominence, but Kelowna is still on the high end,” Catherine Knaus of pollster IpsosReid said.

The number of Kelowna residents who cited social issues as the city’s most pressing concern was more than double those who identified it as such two years ago.

“That’s been a dramatic change. It sort of stands out in this report,” Coun. Luke Stack said. “I’m not trying to discount that it’s an issue here, but it seems to be an issue everywhere.”

The quality of life is deteriorating in Kelowna, according to 33 per cent of residents, compared to just 18 per cent who say it’s improving.

While 90 per cent feel Kelowna is a safe city overall, 20 per cent feel downtown is not safe, the survey found. It was the first time a question specific to downtown security had been asked in a city survey.

“Our public is expecting us to deal with that,” said Coun. Brad Sieben, who had pushed for a question on downtown safety to be added to the survey.

The city recently started a task force to address homelessness, increased the police budget and has worked to create more partnerships with agencies like the Gospel Mission.

“We’re trying to address some of these issues. We’ve got some more work to do but we’re laying the groundwork,” Coun. Tracy Gray said.

“We’re trying to make progress where we can,” Mayor Colin Basran said, cautioning, however, that there are no “quick or easy fixes” to social problems.

As with previous city surveys, the current one also found high levels of public satisfaction with municipal services, the efficiency and friendliness of City Hall employees, and a general satisfaction with how tax dollars are spent.

“It’s easy to focus on the negative things, but let’s not lose sight of the really good things coming out of this survey,” Basran said.