Survey indicates Hamiltonians less satisfied with life in the city than previous years. Photo credit: Getty Images/Encyclopedia Britannica
The City of Hamilton released the results of their 2022 city-wide survey on May 3, 2023.
When respondents were asked how well they believe the City of Hamilton is working towards its slogan of being “the best place to raise a child and age successfully,” only 42 per cent agreed that Hamilton is on the right track.
That is down from 51 per cent in 2019 and 61 per cent in 2018.
The survey collected 1,052 responses from Hamiltonians using random sampling to call landline and cell phone numbers between November 1, 2022 and December 18, 2022. The City partnered with a third-party vendor Metroline Research Group.
Hamilton residents were also able to respond to the survey online via the City of Hamilton website. The city received 2,500 online responses which provided even more data for the city to examine.
However, only the phone survey is considered statistically reliable. As such, all results discussed in this article are from the phone survey.
The margin of error for the phone survey is +/-3.0 per cent, 19 out of 20 times.
This is the third time the city has conducted a survey of this nature. Similar surveys were conducted in 2018 and 2019.
To qualify to participate in the survey, participants had to be 18 years or over and reside in Hamilton.
The phone results are weighted by ward and age according to 2016 census data to be statistically representative and reflective of the whole city.
The City says that the survey allows them to understand the needs and perceptions of municipal services as well as quality of life and well-being of Hamiltonians.
While 78 per cent of respondents are satisfied with their life in Hamilton, that percentage is significantly down from 87 per cent in 2019 and 92 per cent of respondents in 2018.
Still, most respondents believe that Hamilton is a great place to learn (83 per cent), live (75 per cent), and work (70 per cent).
Some of the questions also allowed for open-ended comments to be made.
For open-ended responses, 33 per cent said Hamilton needs to work harder on social issues like housing and living affordability. The second most mentioned area of improvement was bettering parks and recreation, with 8 per cent of people raising the topic.
Six per cent spoke about improving safety and policing including increasing police services and community safety, and reducing crime. Safety was the fifth most mentioned top.
Only one per cent identified combatting climate change as the top area of improvement for the City. Climate change was the thirteenth most mentioned topic.
Respondents were also polled in regard to the city’s taxation levels. An overwhelming 87 per cent support lowering or maintaining taxes at the current level. Only 13 per cent want taxes to increase to improve services.
In terms of satisfaction with specific city services, the fire department, libraries, and paramedic services were the highest rated at 97 per cent, 92 per cent, and 88 per cent, respectively.
The worst-rated city services were traffic flow and roadway safety (30 per cent approval), social services (28 per cent) and wastewater management (28 per cent).
Police services received 79 per cent approval.
The largest service improvements between the 2019 and 2022 surveys were Hamilton’s HSR bus service (up from 66 per cent to 75 per cent) and snow plowing (up from 70 per cent to 78 per cent).
The final report noted that one of the biggest challenges in the future will be ensuring that results are an accurate portrayal of resident attitudes, particularly since people are becoming less and less willing to answer phone calls from unknown numbers.
As such, the methodology will be reviewed before the next survey.
Following 2019, the City decided that future surveys would be taken every three years. Thus, the next one is slated for 2025.
With the City having officially received the results, the findings will reportedly be “integrated with the City’s strategic planning, budgeting process, and continuous improvement efforts.”
Full findings are available at www.hamilton.ca/ourcitysurvey.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
