The results of Burlington’s 2021 Community Survey were released last month, and results were presented to city council last Thursday. Here is what stood out.

Among the services that were identified as strengths were fire services, the city’s customer service, festivals and events, and the city’s COVID-19 response.

Some of the areas that were specified as needing improvement were parking management, bylaw enforcement, affordable housing/homelessness, and the amount of high-rise development happening in the downtown core.

The crucial information was gathered between September 13 and October 18, 2021, and resulted in 755 responses, which is on par for responses from past surveys dating back to 2008.

That’s obviously a very low number relative to the population of the city itself. But Chris Bandak of MDB Insight, the company in charge of collecting the data, explained during their presentation that talking to more people would not change the results.

The data were collected using Computer Aided Telephone Interviews (CATI). Participants were randomly selected through a database of phone numbers, both landline and cell numbers, from all over Burlington’s six wards.

Bandak said that the randomization of the people contacted gives everyone an equal chance to be contacted and that a smaller number of completed surveys is a better representation of the whole population.

The city conducted surveys every two to four years between 2008 and 2019. However, in 2019, it was decided that they would be done every two years.

Participants were asked questions on resident satisfaction and quality of life, as well as specific questions on relevant policies that are a priority for the city.

89% of those that were surveyed rated Burlington as an excellent or very good place to live, which was the highest recorded measurement of this metric since 2008 and sees a two-percentage point increase from the last survey in 2019.

The mostly encouraging results of this survey pleased the mayor and those on city council.

“The outcome is not surprising,” said Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman after the presentation, who credited his colleagues with doing great work.

An additional 95% of participants said that they were satisfied with the overall quality of services in Burlington, which is a two-percentage point increase from 2019.

“I’m just thrilled with these results,” said Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.

In order to keep the quality of services at the level that they have been accustomed to, 45% of those surveyed said that they would be open to a raise in taxes to make it happen. There were only 630 respondents for this topic, as 125 were “unsure.”

Of those that were surveyed, 525 rated a recent interaction they had with the city and 82% said that they were very or somewhat satisfied with said interaction, a three-percentage point decrease from 2019.

89% of total respondents also said that they were very or somewhat satisfied with the quality of information/communication that the city provides.

As mentioned above, not everything about the survey was so positive. Leading the way as the biggest issue among those that took part was the number of high-rises and overdevelopment happening downtown.

27% found that as the most pressing issue, followed by traffic congestion/traffic lights. Rounding out the top three was affordable housing and homelessness. Other concerns were city council itself (council decision-making, open, accountable, transparent local government), transit services, and snow removal on city sidewalks, walkways and roads.

You can find the full breakdown of results here.

Along with Councillor Sharman, Mayor Meed Ward made sure to congratulate those that she has been working closely with.

“I’m very proud of this team at city hall,” Meed Ward said. “It’s like a late Christmas present.”

Sources:

City of Burlington. Get Involved Burlington — The Results Are In! Url: https://www.getinvolvedburlington.ca/2021communitysurvey/news_feed/the-results-are-in (accessed Jan. 19, 2022).