Survey drives at solutions to traffic woes
Kelowna residents aren’t completely hostile to the idea of paying extra to reduce traffic congestion, city council heard last week.
Congestion was one of the major concerns cited by city residents in a transportation survey conducted for the city by Ipsos.
People cited various reasons for congestion. Cars and trucks passing through the city were blamed by 65 per cent of respondents. Lack of alternatives to driving was the No. 2 reason. Traffic lights and rush-hour traffic also ranked high on the blame list.
Fifty-seven per cent of respondents were concerned about the impact of congestion on the economy and 56 per cent complained about the time it takes to get to their destinations.
“Residents are warming up to the idea of paying for traffic congestion solutions,” Catherine Knaus of Ipsos said in a presentation to council last week. “We have 54 per cent of residents saying they would be willing to pay more taxes to improve transportation in Kelowna. That’s up for 44 per cent in 2019. And we have around a quarter saying they’d be willing to pay a new fee to drive more easily during rush hour and that’s up from 17 per cent in 2019,” she said.
Asked by Coun. Maxine DeHart how a rush-hour fee might work, Knaus said the survey didn’t delve into that kind of detail.
Traffic lights have come up as an issue at council before, noted DeHart, who also took notice of the low number of citizens participating in car sharing.
Solutions offered by respondents included reducing dependence on cars and building more roads.
But people might be wrong about thru traffic causing problems. Recent data shows only one to two per cent of trucks and four per cent of traffic overall is just passing through, council heard from City Hall staff.
The survey also found:
• 94 per cent of residents said they use their own car, truck or motorcycle to get around at least some of the time.
• 81 per cent of residents supported promoting driving alternatives, such as walking, biking and transit.
• 24 per cent said they used transit at least once in the previous year.
• 30 per cent of respondents said they would like to drive less than they do now.
• 67 per cent would like to ride their own bike, scooter, or skateboard (48 per cent reported actually doing so in the previous year.)
• 66 per cent want to carpool or get a ride with someone while 57 per cent actually did.
• 45 per cent of respondents were concerned about walkability in urban centres.
• Missing sidewalks and trees getting in the way on neighbourhood streets were a concern of 45 per cent of respondents.
Sixty-nine per cent of respondents agreed that helping people of all ages and abilities get around was important, making it the top transportation issue. Congestion, time spent in traffic and travel costs were next in the ranking of important issues.
“People are upset with traffic in general and want action, Coun. Gord Lovegrove said. “People are telling us they want real solutions.”
The scientific survey was conducted in November 2022. Three hundred people were surveyed.