Councillor voices doubts about survey but others like what it says

Do two-thirds of Kelowna residents really support a tax hike to fund transportation improvements?

Coun. Mohini Singh doubts it. “I was really quite surprised when I saw 64 per cent agreed to raising taxes,” Singh said Monday.

She was commenting on a cityconducted survey that showed strong support for higher taxes to pay for more road-building, public transit and multi-purpose paths.

Survey respondents said they’d support a tax hike to increase the city’s current $48 million transportation budget by 17 per cent.

The online survey is not statistically accurate as people could choose to participate, rather than being selected at random.

Nevertheless, Mayor Colin Basran praised it as a “very comprehensive public engagement process”.

The survey, and its results, was also praised by councillors Loyal Wooldridge and Gail Given.

Given said she was particularly taken by a comment from one survey participant that the future eastward extension of Clement Avenue, from its current end-point of Spall Road, might be reserved for public transit with private vehicles banned from the new road.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, bingo. That would be interesting,” Given said.

“But I know there would be lots of cars that would be annoyed that they couldn’t drive on Clement.”

Although the survey is not statistically valid, planner Mariah Van Zerr told council it represented “best practices” in municipal planning circles.