Whitehorse Daily Star

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THE DATA TELL THE STORY – Policy analyst Edward Duru (left) and Bishnu Saha, the director of the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, appeared before city council Monday evening to discuss the results of the citizens’ survey.

Mayor content with citizens’ survey results

Mayor Dan Curtis says he’s pleased with the results of the most recent citizens’ survey, though he recognizes there’s room for improvement.

By Stephanie Waddell on July 19, 2017

Mayor Dan Curtis says he’s pleased with the results of the most recent citizens’ survey, though he recognizes there’s room for improvement.

The results of the survey, which is done every two years, were released at Monday evening’s city council meeting .

They were presented by policy analyst Edward Duru and Bishnu Saha, the Yukon Bureau of Statistics’ director.

This marked the first time the burueau conducted the survey, after Duru proposed working with the bureau on it.

Curtis praised Duru’s suggestion that the city go to the bureau, which was able to provide more statistical expertise on it than the city has had in past surveys.

As Curtis emphasized, the bureau was better able to collect and break down the survey data.

He’d like to see the city continue to work with the bureau on future citizens’ surveys.

“The 2017 questionnaire was shorter than previous citizens’ surveys,” it was highlighted in the report on the survey that came forward to council Monday night.

“It used a mixed methodological approach (i.e. both telephone and electronic formats), and included a larger sample of Whitehorse residents. It provided the perspectives of citizens on city programs and services.”

The survey was conducted between April 19 and May 19, with 1,000 households randomly selected throughout the city.

“We gave residents the chance to be completely frank with us, and we are grateful for their feedback,” Curtis said.

“I’m pleased to say that while there are areas for improvement, citizens have again let the City know they feel Whitehorse is a good place to live and do business.”

The results show:

• 94 per cent of respondents said Whitehorse is a great place to live;

• 82 per cent rated Whitehorse as open and welcoming to newcomers;

• 74 per cent rated Whitehorse as a great place for entertainment, arts, events and fun;

• 89 per cent said the capital has a great network of multi-use trails;

• 80 per cent rated Whitehorse as a great place for sports;

• 79 per cent said they receive at least fair value for city taxes;  

• 74 per cent agree that Whitehorse is a clean city; and

• 71 per cent of respondents own their home, while 27 per cent are renters.

“It’s kind of a report card for the city,” Curtis said.

The data provide a unique opportunity for the city to hear from a sampling of many residents compared to the more typical scenario where the city hears from individual residents on more specific concerns as they come up.

The survey, the mayor commented, helps provide good direction on where the city should head in its efforts to do the best it can for the vast majority of residents.

“I think the future’s looking very bright,” he said.

Curtis pointed to many positive results outlined in the city’s favour.

However, he also acknowledged there were views on some services that were not so positive.

On the statement that “Whitehorse has a great public transit system,” only 9.1 per cent said they “strongly agree.”

The survey had another 21.8 agreeing, another 22 per cent being neutral, 17.5 per cent disagreeing and 8.3 per cent strongly disagreeing. Another 21.3 per cent did not state their views.

As Curtis pointed out though, a number of residents that may not use the service and therefore couldn’t provide a view on it.

He pointed out the city saw more ridership, totalling 670,000 rides last year, rising from 630,000 in 2015 and reflecting a trend of higher ridership since the city started providing evening service in recent years.

It also entered into partnerships with the territorial Department of Education and Yukon College where secondary school and college students can obtain unlimited bus passes.

Despite the rising ridership numbers, Curtis said, there are no plans to add Sunday service to the bus schedule or send buses into country residential areas.

He pointed out the service is already subsidized by 50 per cent, and there would likely be a fairly limited amount of fares the city would collect on Sundays, which are generally less busy than other days of the week.

The city would likely have to raise fares, taxes or both substantially if it were to offer Sunday transit service, the mayor said.

He did note he does plan to work on improving availability and transparency.

The survey asked respondents their views on openness and transparency.

The results had 29.6 being neutral, 26.6 per cent agreeing, 8.9 disagreeing, 6.1 strongly agreeing and 5.1 per cent strongly disagreeing that council is “open and transparent.” A further 23.8 per cent did not state their view.

The city has worked to improve that, with events like the town hall meetings held throughout various neighbourhoods over the course of the year, Curtis said.

However, he would like to work on ensuring residents know they can call or email city hall about any issues or concerns.

The city continues working to improve its operations, he said, and tools like the citizens’ survey help the city do that.

The city has done the survey every two years since 1998.

See two letters on municipal issues.

Comments (9)

Up 16 Down 4

3rd Generation Yukoner on Jul 25, 2017 at 7:08 am

Lol. Everyone that said it's great is from the South recently. You don't know s**t. I'm a 3rd generation Yukoner. Whitehorse has gone to s**t. Facts, facts and more facts. The fake economy created here with 1000x more useless government jobs has brought the big city bs here. Look at Whistlebend. If it wasn't for all those fake government jobs, that place wouldn't exist. So, feel safe in your half million dollar kit home. Go mountain biking on your pristine $8000 Mountian bike, take a hike and tell all your southern friends that you are a real Yukoner now. puke

This will always be my home. It breaks my heart how much this place has changed. I'm tired of you southerners coming here and telling us real Yukoners how great everything is here. It used to be great. Keyword, used to.

Am I being harsh? Nope. I miss walking around and everyone would smile or wave. Or when you could leave your doors open. Those days are gone and they will never return.

And to clarify what I mean by fake Goverment jobs. What exactly are all these new jobs accomplishing? There is nothing new here to facilitate the amount of new jobs created. Mining is dead. There is absolutely nothing new here that would justify it. Oh, I'm sorry, all those new overpriced condos downtown that destroyed our skyline that just get bought up before they are even built, lol. Do you know why they never built buildings over a certain height limit? People from here would only know that answer. Because we are in an earthquake zone. People used to use their brains, but that got washed down the Yukon River years ago. I heard rumors you might be able to find remnants of it near Five Finger Rapids, but I don't know. So, I look forward to someone on here who can prove anything I've just said wrong and make me look stupid. $grabs popcorn$

Up 12 Down 1

stu nanson on Jul 24, 2017 at 6:14 pm

This survey has many deficiencies and it paints the rosy picture the city wants.
If there was a question on poverty and violence in the city I would guess the response would be concern for these issues.

Up 2 Down 9

woodcutter on Jul 24, 2017 at 2:59 pm

Interesting survey results, not alarming at all. Too bad one is not done on the city bylaw process.
All in all, change is a reality and it's nice to see.

I like the transit system, more then meets my needs and very reliable. I can set my clock by when the bus arrives next to my house.
Keep up the good work, the city is growing, we have great services and it's a great place to raise a family, Only a self righteous person would expect perfection. Perhaps in a town with no snowflakes it could happen, however we are north of 60, and snowflakes last longer then most others.

Up 18 Down 3

Just Say'in on Jul 22, 2017 at 4:49 pm

It is all about the the Questions that are asked and how they are asked. How many choices you have, changes it dramatically. Even the time of day you phone a home determine who you talk to. In my household if you phone before 10 PM you will get no one because we are working two jobs trying to pay our taxes.

Up 28 Down 2

Max Mack on Jul 20, 2017 at 5:56 pm

Is Curtis misinterpreting the results?
94% of respondents said Whitehorse is a great place to live. But, that overly positive assessment may be due to factors other than those related to the administration of the City of Whitehorse.

Wilderness comes to mind. The mighty Yukon River flowing through our city. Large lakes and other large rivers within easy driving distance. Hundreds of trails, many built by industry. Year-round highway access. More than ample air traffic for our remoteness and population size. Impressive territorial and federal government services relative to our size. One of the highest police-per-capita ratios in the country. No war on our soil. Relatively high incomes (thanks to YTG and the Feds) and low employment (again, government employment).

I could go on, but not one of the things I mentioned has much to do with the bureaucracy or the city council of Whitehorse.
This statement has me scratching my head and makes me wonder about the survey methodology: "79 per cent said they receive at least fair value for city taxes."

Up 31 Down 2

Who took this survey? on Jul 20, 2017 at 2:46 pm

I would like to know which elitist group was chosen to do this survey. Were they a bunch of people who moved here from the "big" cities and are used to the garbage, constant petty thefts, murders and high housing costs? I disagree with most of this and I was born here and have seen Whitehorse evolve. Whitehorse has changed a lot.

I remember when you used to be able to walk down the street and smile and say hi to everyone even if you didn't know them. You never see that anymore.
No one I know can afford a house these days and raising taxes constantly on everything doesn't help much.

The transit system is crap and always has been. I can walk to work faster or drive my car even faster than taking a bus. It shouldn't take an hour to get anywhere in Whitehorse. It's this way because the buses don't run on a more regular cycle. Every half hour or hour is not good enough if you want to encourage more people to take transit.

Open and transparent? Um, no.

Up 35 Down 8

Joe on Jul 19, 2017 at 11:20 pm

Who cares what Dan Curtis says, he has absolutely nothing to do with the survey. fyi most prople think the transit service is a big waste of money.

Up 28 Down 4

June Jackson on Jul 19, 2017 at 10:27 pm

I do not believe the City numbers on transit riders. Ridership? Is that even a word? The transit deduction will disappear in 2017. Trudeau said we're all about saving the environment, so we are eliminating the transit deduction. I don't believe that sold passes or income per bus will balance to 670,000 rides either. They could publish the numbers and if boarding sales match " ridership" I'll apologize for my lack of faith in the CoW ability to calculate accurately.

Up 25 Down 9

Josey Wales on Jul 19, 2017 at 3:21 pm

Gee a survey? Did you know 9% of Americans polled think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows? That wee tid bit was in a paper version of the star....nothing sneaky here snowflakes.
Too damn bad they never polled me.
Now the nobles will hold onto this with a death grip...feeding more arrogance most certainly.
Many polled also felt it was time to have a substitute part time drama teacher run our country....right onto the rocks. Gee that is going stellar eh..hosers?
Another few hundred polls also proclaimed with statistical certainty that Hillary that lying conniving hag...would be the first woman to run America.
So you hold onto this one CoW nobility, if it keeps you in a warm safe space....nnnnkay?

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