The latest Leger polling on how people feel about visiting downtown cores suggests more locals feel Victoria has “declined,” over the past year than several other cities in Western Canada.
According to the data, 73 per cent of survey-takers said this about Victoria, followed by Vancouver (61 per cent), Edmonton (53 per cent) and Calgary (45 per cent). Meanwhile, Surrey (44 per cent) and Kelowna (41 per cent) ranked last in perceived decline.
Leger executive vice president for Western Canada Steve Mossop described how he sees this data relating to questions about how Victoria is faring, relatively speaking.
“It’s all been anecdotal, there’s a feeling that things are worse. This is the first empirical sort of data that we’ve had that showcases that Victoria is in fact at the top of the list,” he said, adding that this could be a catalyst for elected officials to take the issue seriously.
The top reasons given by respondents for perceived decline of Victoria’s downtown core include homelessness (91 per cent), drug addiction (87 per cent) and mental health challenges for vulnerable populations (78 per cent).
Meanwhile, 44 per cent said they or a close friend or family member had been victim of a crime or dangerous experience within the past six months. The most commonly cited experiences included fearing for one’s safety (28 per cent), aggressive behavior (28 per cent), motor vehicle break in (9 per cent), petty theft (10 per cent), vandalism (8 per cent) and assault (5 per cent).
Mossop suggested these personal experiences were a telling element of the poll.
“Even though the state of deterioration perceptions are higher, the number who have experienced any one of those is actually about on par with the rest of the cities,” he said.
The top reasons survey-takers reported for not going downtown are not feeling safe there, the cost of parking, and simply not having a good reason to visit their city core.
However, the poll also suggests many people in the province are engaged in the cores. Most (84 per cent) of the British Columbian survey-takers have visited their closest downtown core within the past six months, with 92 per cent of Victoria locals saying they still go downtown at least monthly.
The poll surveyed 1500 people in B.C., collecting data from Feb. 7 to 10. For comparative purposes, Leger’s report said a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of +/-2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
Mossop was on CFAX 1070 with Adam Stirling today (Feb. 26):