96% of Residents Satisfied with Life in Richmond Hill

Contact: Tricia Myatt, Manager, Policy & Intergovernmental Affairs, 905-771-5463, tricia.myatt@richmondhill.ca

Residents feel their community is vibrant and welcoming

RICHMOND HILL – Richmond Hill residents have once again indicated a high level of satisfaction with Richmond Hill as a place to live. Ninety-six per cent of residents are satisfied or very satisfied, an increase from 94% in 2012 when the last survey was done. In addition, 83% of residents believe Richmond Hill is a vibrant community and 85% believe it is welcoming.

“It’s not surprising to see that people continue to believe Richmond Hill is a great place to live,” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “It’s also gratifying to see that residents continue to feel we are truly a welcoming community.”

The survey results show that 79% of respondents feel a strong sense of belonging to Richmond Hill while 78% feel diversity is one of the Town’s strengths. Residents also feel connected to their neighbours (69%).

Residents gave the services Richmond Hill provides a 94% satisfaction rating. They are particularly satisfied with fire protection services (99%), libraries (95%), garbage & recycling collection (93%), recreation facilities (91%), recreation and culture programs (91%) and parks, open spaces & pathways (89%). Eighty-three percent also believe Town infrastructure is well maintained and 71% feel Richmond Hill is environmentally responsible in its actions.

“It’s very important for us to measure how residents feel about what is happening in their community,” said Mayor Barrow. “We conduct this survey every few years and it’s just as important that we regularly engage residents on all of our big projects.”

The results of the survey also demonstrate the progress Richmond Hill is making in implementing its 2009 Strategic Plan and each of the Plan’s four goals – stronger connections, better choice, a more vibrant Richmond Hill and wise management of resources. The survey findings will be used to guide future actions and decisions of the Town.

The survey was conducted by Forum Research Inc. Forum presented the results to Committee of the Whole on May 16, 2016. The report will be considered by Council on May 24, 2016. Results of the Community Survey may be found at RichmondHill.ca/StrategicPlan.


Backgrounder

Conducting the Community Survey

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  • Forum Research conducted the telephone survey between February 5 and 29, 2016. A total of 809 randomly-selected Richmond Hill residents, 18 years of age or older, completed the survey.

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  • The survey respondents met quotas for adequate representation of people aged 18 to 35 years, a male/female mix and a minimum of 120 per ward to ensure each ward is represented within the data.

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  • Richmond Hill also conducted Community Surveys in the years 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2012.

Community Survey Results

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  • 96% of residents are satisfied with the Town as a place to live. This is a slight increase from 94% in the 2012 Community Survey results.

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  • People like living in Richmond Hill for these reasons: location and being close to amenities (46%), there are lots of parks and open spaces (20%), it is close knit with high community spirit (18%) and because it is safe (16%).

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  • 85% of respondents indicated that Richmond Hill is a welcoming community; 83% agree that Richmond Hill is a vibrant community; 79% feel a strong sense of belonging to the Town; 78% feel diversity is one of the Town’s strengths; 69% feel connected to their neighbours; and 65% feel there are meaningful opportunities to volunteer in Richmond Hill.

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  • 83% of respondents feel Town infrastructure is well maintained; 71% feel Richmond Hill is environmentally responsible; and 59% agree that their tax dollars are being used effectively.

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  • 94% of respondents have an overall satisfaction level for all Town services. Specific levels of satisfaction with 16 individual services provided by the Town were very positive, ranging from 99% for fire protection services to 61% for land use planning.

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  • 54% of residents asked, prefer maintaining or increasing services primarily through increasing user fees for those services, while 14% would do so through increasing property taxes. 20% prefer to reduce services to maintain or decrease property taxes.61% of residents are satisfied with the current opportunities to engage with or be consulted on important Town matters. A majority of respondents (64%) prefer to provide feedback in the form of a survey, with preference of survey type being email (25%); online (24%) and telephone (15%).

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  • Respondents indicated that they obtain information about community activities, events and programs through the Waste Management Calendar (74%); Community Recreation Guide (73%); stories or editorials in the Liberal newspaper (64%); the Bulletin Board pages in the Liberal (62%); Town newsletters and brochures (61%) and through the Town’s website (59%).

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  • 87% of respondents have visited a Richmond Hill park, trail or natural area at least once in the last year. 95% who had visited a park, trail or natural area indicated they felt safe; 94% said it was close to their home; 92% said it was clean and well-maintained; 84% felt connected to nature; and 75% said it had good connections to other parks, trails or natural areas.