DECISION 2013
HERALD POLLS GAUGE VOTER REACTION ON TRUSTEES, TRANSIT
As members of the Tsuu T’ina Nation vote next week on a proposal to let Calgary’s southwest ring road be built on band land, a new poll shows two-thirds of city residents back the deal.
The survey by polling firm Leger for the Herald also finds Calgarians are split over which LRT line should be built next by the city, with the proposed southeast line running neck and neck with the idea of extending rapid transit to the airport.
In the online poll of 526 Calgarians conducted last weekend, 61 per cent of respondents support the province making a deal with the Tsuu T’ina to build the southwest portion of the road through the nation’s territory.
Another 22 per cent oppose the idea, while the rest are unsure.
Calgarians “clearly want the ring road and see the benefit of having the ring road finished,” Leger pollster Ian Large said Thursday.
“Traffic congestion is always an issue in the city and having the road going around the city — Calgarians certainly want to see it go. And they like the idea of a deal.”
Last month, the province confirmed a tentative agreement had been reached with the band over the project. Details haven’t been made public and Tsuu T’ina members are expected to vote on it in a referendum on Oct. 24.
Provincial officials have characterized the agreement as similar to the 2009 offer rejected by Tsuu T’ina members, a deal that would have seen the band sell 400 hectares of land in exchange for $275 million and potentially 2,000 hectares of property on the reserve’s west side.
Large noted support among voters for the southwest ring road has improved in the past 18 months.
In March 2012, Calgarians were almost evenly split over the idea of negotiating with the Tsuu T’ina on the road compared to residents who wanted the province to look for another solution to traffic congestion in the area.
Despite enthusiasm for a deal, however, many Calgarians remain skeptical the long-awaited project — first touted in the 1950s — will be built.
Only 38 per cent of respondents believe the southwest portion of the road will be constructed within the next decade, while 40 per cent disagreed and the rest were unsure.
“We’re kind of tapping into the urban joke that is surrounding it here,” Large said. “There really is a sense that so many people have tried this for so long, why will this time be any different?”
Yet, if the project is approved by Tsuu T’ina members and proceeds, 72 per cent of Calgarians believe it will improve traffic flow in the city, while only 16 per cent think it won’t and 13 per cent don’t know.
Naheed Nenshi, Calgary’s incumbent mayor who is running for reelection, said he believes a southwest ring road would be good news for motorists, the province and the First Nation.
“For too long we’ve had really difficult traffic in southwest Calgary because we’ve always had the promise of the ring road,” Nenshi said at the Herald editorial board on Wednesday.
“I think building that road through the Tsuu T’ina land is really the only solution.”
The survey also asked Calgarians which LRT project should be built next by the city and 34 per cent picked a southeast line, running from the downtown to the South Health Campus. Almost an equal number — 33 per cent — selected an extension to the airport in northeast Calgary.
Another 23 per cent selected a north-central line, running from the downtown to the northern reaches of Calgary on Harvest Hills Boulevard.
Six per cent said they didn’t know what line should proceed next, while three per cent said some other route should go first. Another three per cent said there should be no more LRT development.
Large said it appears Calgarians want all of the CTrain lines, as no one option was a runaway winner and only a few people were undecided.
“I think there really isn’t a bad choice there,” he said.
The survey, conducted Oct. 11 to Oct. 14, has a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.