What We Heard released

At the Tuesday, June 25h, 2024 regular meeting of Council, staff shared What We Heard through the public engagement project.

Highlights of What We Heard include:

• Participants highly valued recreation services and expressed a desire for more neighbourhood-level facilities and services.

• Ensuring affordability should be a focus on future planning, along with enhancing accessibility and inclusive opportunities.

• The most popular indoor activities included swimming, walking, fitness training, and fitness classes.

• Outdoor activities favoured by participants included hiking/walking, gardening, and swimming.

• Participants believed working with community partners, including sport and recreation organizations, schools and educational institutions, and health and social organizations, was important.

• Inconvenient programming times, lack of information sharing and awareness, transportation and programs not being offered in desired neighborhoods were identified as barriers to participation.

Promotional efforts resulted in 1,670 visits to this project page. Participants could provide feedback and ask questions on the project page, participate in a meeting or pop-up event or take a survey. In total, over 1,700 people provided feedback through either surveys, the project page, email, phone, pop-up events or meetings. Representatives from community groups and City committees and working groups were also consulted.

The consultant will now draft the plan which will be brought to Council and shared with the public in the Fall.