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View Royal residents see traffic and policing as major concerns

Survey shows vast majority of View Royal residents rate quality of life as ‘good’ or ‘very good’
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(File photo)

View Royal residents rated traffic and policing as the key issues the Town faces today.

Those who responded to the community satisfaction and engagement survey, however, indicated their quality of life in town was either ‘good’ or ‘very good.’

The final survey report broke down data further from its March report and updated participation numbers. A breakdown of previous figures reveals police, public safety and crime was mentioned as the most important issue facing the community, at 12 per cent.

ALSO READ: Survey says 99 per cent of residents call life in View Royal ‘good’ or ‘very good’

Traffic congestion was still a major concern in the city, with 53 per cent of respondents mentioning it as an important issue for the Town to deal with.

Mayor David Screech said the finding would be addressed by council in future meetings. “We’re going to look for themes and put things together as we put together our strategic plan,” Screech said, adding he was glad to see a “vast majority” of residents are content.

Traffic congestion is a regional problem and would require surrounding communities to work collectively “to make changes happen,” he noted.

Traffic in View Royal comes “from all points west to us,” he said, admitting it gets very bad. Solutions would include adding the E&N Railway and reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles, he added.

The Town is looking at ways to ease congestion at the Six Mile Corridor leading to the TransCanada and Island Highway, Screech noted.

In an open house last week, the public provided comments to staff, who presented proposals to ease traffic in the area by adding a roundabout or three-way signals or a four-way stop along the busy corridors.

On the approach to funding large projects, 68 per cent said they would prefer the Town put aside funds each year over borrowing (17 per cent), raising taxes (nine per cent), or a combination (two per cent).

ALSO READ: Almost 25 per cent of Saanich residents identify housing as top issue

When residents consider current service levels and property taxes, most would prefer the Town increase taxes to maintain services at current levels, with half (52 per cent) selecting this as their most preferred option, according to the report.

Twenty-seven per cent said they would prefer to “cut services to maintain current tax levels.”

The survey was compiled by NRG Research, which says it conducted 401 surveys through calls. An online survey had 132 participants, they add.

swikar.oli@goldstreamgazette.com