Battlefords residents overwhelmingly want the Battlefords Union Hospital parking lot expanded, and would like to see an increase in recreational development in the River Valley. But they generally don’t have much interest in a safe bike and pedestrian trail between Battleford and North Battleford, though younger people would be.
Those are the findings of an independent Insightrix Research poll of 352 residents in the Battlefords from May 19 to June 2.
Insightrix, a full-service market research firm, approached the News-Optimistwith the idea of doing a poll in collaboration with the newspaper, having already worked with various community newspapers across the province in coming up with specific poll questions on items of interest.
The News-Optimistcame up with questions for the poll based on issues of interest in the Battlefords. Insightrix then began collecting the data in mid-May. It was conducted using both landlines and mobile phones. Quotas were set by age and gender to match the population. Results are accurate within ± 5.18 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
The findings released by Insightrix are as follows:
According to the survey 81 per cent of residents would like to see Battlefords Union Hospital parking lot expanded to accommodate more parking.
Of those, women (86 per cent) are more interested than men (74 per cent) in expanding the lot.
The public and hospital staff currently share parking space at BUH. Insightrix asked residents if they would prefer a separate parking lot built for staff to make room for additional public parking spaces.
Seventy-eight per cent of residents favoured the building a separate lot for staff. Thirteen per cent disagreed, while the remaining nine per cent were not sure or had no opinion.
Residents were also asked about a safe trail. Currently, there is no safe route for cyclists and pedestrians travelling between North Battleford and Battleford. Residents were asked if a safe trail was established, would they use it?
Overall, 39 per cent indicated they would use the trail, but the remaining 61 per cent say they would not.
But younger respondents were more likely to respond in the affirmative. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of those aged 18-34 indicated they would use the trail. Fifty-two per cent of those aged 35-54 also said they would use it. But just 22 per cent of those aged 55 and older said they would use the trail.
Insightrix asked those who said they would use the trail how often they would use it. Five per cent say they would use the path every day, 46 per cent say they would use it between one and three times per week. Forty-five per cent say they would use the path once a month or less, while four per cent are not sure how often they would use it.
A final topic of interest is the North Saskatchewan River valley. Insightrix asked residents if they believe more recreational development should be done in the river valley to boost the economy.
Almost two thirds, 65 per cent, are in favour of increasing recreational development.
Again, residents in the younger age groups were more supportive of the idea. Eighty-three per cent of those aged 18-34 and 80 per cent of those aged 35-54 are more likely to support development, compared to 50 per cent for ages 55 and older.
Among supporters of increased recreational development, 43 per cent would like more hiking and cycling paths, 17 per cent would like construction of parks and playgrounds and 15 per cent would like additional sport facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.
