An aerial view of the Town of View Royal, at centre, with Esquimalt (top-right) and Saanich (top-left). The town of nearly 11,000 residents cites affordable housing as a low priority among civic issues facing the municipality, bucking a regional trend that identifies access to affordable homes throughout Greater Victoria as a top issue. Citified.ca
Affordable housing a low priority in View Royal according to resident survey
CITIFIED.CA STAFF
Published May 7, 2019
Affordable housing in the Town of View Royal is one of the least pressing issues among the municipality’s residents, according to a newly released survey conducted by NRG Research Group.
The finding appears to contradict similar polls conducted by other municipalities within the Capital Region which found residents are more likely to be concerned about access to affordable homes and the overall cost of housing than other issues.
Among View Royal’s population just three percent of over 400 individuals polled identified affordable housing as the single most important issue facing their municipality. Meanwhile, traffic congestion, transportation infrastructure and public safety services rang in as the top three concerns with 41%, 15% and 13% of the vote, respectively.
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A subsequent question asking respondents to identify more than one important issue affecting the community also yielded a negligible concern over affordable housing with five percent identifying the issue as top-of-mind. Traffic congestion, infrastructure and community planning yielded 53%, 20% and 19% of the vote, respectively. Public safety services dropped to fourth place with 17% of the vote.
Overall, respondents identified the quality of life in View Royal as high and held positive sentiment towards their elected officials, municipal services and public realm upkeep.
On the development front, View Royal has not added to the Capital Region’s stock of affordable housing in several decades. Of the nearly 40 affordable and/or subsidized buildings currently being tracked by Citified (recently built, under construction, approved or proposed) none are situated within the town’s municipal borders. C
Below are the two survey questions cited in this article and their results.
In your view, as a resident of the Town of View Royal, what is the most important issue facing your community?
| Traffic Congestion/Traffic Flow/Safety | 41% |
| Transportation infrastructure/ Maintenance of roads/streets/sidwalks | 15% |
| Police/Fire/Public safety/Crime/Bylaw enforcement | 13% |
| Community planning, development and zoning/Density | 11% |
| Public Transit (Buses, LRT, Trains, Use E&N rail line) | 6% |
| Keep green space, trees and parks & keeping our character, quality of life | 5% |
| Government spending | 4% |
| Climate change and the environment | 3% |
| Affordable housing | 3% |
| Taxes | 2% |
| Community events, facilities/town square/services for families/seniors | 2% |
In your view, as a resident of the Town of View Royal, what is the most important issue facing your community? Are there any other important local issues?
| Traffic Congestion/Traffic Flow/Safety | 53% |
| Transportation infrastructure/ Maintenance of roads/streets/sidwalks | 20% |
| Community planning, development and zoning/Density | 19% |
| Police/Fire/Public safety/Crime/Bylaw enforcement | 17% |
| Public Transit (Buses, LRT, Trains, Use E&N rail line) | 8% |
| Taxes | 8% |
| Keep green space, trees and parks & keeping our character, quality of life | 7% |
| Community events, facilities/town square/services for families/seniors | 6% |
| Government spending | 5% |
| Affordable housing | 5% |
| Climate change and the environment | 3% |
| School/Education issues | 2% |
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Article resources
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