Seventy per cent of residents say there is a need for a transit system in Cochrane.
Eighty-six per cent say they are satisfied with the opportunities they have been provided to voice their opinion on transit.
Sixty per cent feel that an inter-city bus service is important, while 48 per cent believe a local service is vital.
Seventy-eight per cent of residents are concerned about the cost of transit on taxpayers.
And, another 78 per cent want more information on transit before they make up their minds.
These are the findings of Ipsos Reid, the polling outfit hired by the Town of Cochrane to determine the wants and needs of community residents when it comes to the hot-button issue of a transit system.
The town’s communications team, made up of Emily Cargan, Laurie Drukier and Emily Allert-House, has compiled a multi-page document they presented to council on Oct. 9.
According to the communications team, the report indicated five key findings that stood out from the transit public engagement, which launched December 2011.
Those findings included the need for clarity on the type of transit service, cost to taxpayers, the need for more information, satisfaction with opportunities to provide information and an overall agreement that a transit system is needed in Cochrane.
The report also says that there remains to be a strong desire to continue the transit discussion before any decisions are to be made.
Asked to comment on what he felt these statistics said about the need for a transit system in Cochrane, Mayor Truper McBride was clear, and somewhat surprised.
“It's clear from Ipsos Reid's work that a solid majority of people see a need for transit in Cochrane and that says to me that we need to move forward the conversation on this and begin looking at routing, costs and implementation alternatives,” said McBride. “I had expected Cochrane to be more split on the issue, but it certainly is pleasantly encouraging and reassuring to know the people of Cochrane agree with me that we need to continue to advance the conversation on public transportation.”
The mayor was, however, cautious to make any ultimate conclusions until following the full presentation to council by the town’s communications team and Ipsos.
The communications team outlined the process by which they gathered the data this new report reveals, starting with the creation of what they call the ‘visual identity’ of the public engagement, Let’s Talk Cochrane, with the transit arm being Let’s Talk Transit.
The goals of the initiative encompassed a six-pronged approach – gather feedback, acquire statistically valid data, help people feel their opinions were being heard, position the town as an objective facilitator and to contribute to both a positive relationship between the town and the community and a model for future public engagement.
Within this approach, the town employed three tactics to encourage the progression of a transit strategy, which included exploratory measures, such as social media, interactive events like the transit cafes and the still to come ‘deep dive,’ which is an assessment of alternatives, development of a business plan and phasing strategy.
The first two tactics are what made up the public engagement. When it came to social media, the town created a Facebook page (which has received 161 ‘likes’ and reached 46,099 Facebook users), a Twitter account (that now has 127 followers) and a YouTube video (787 total views).
A website, cochranetransit.ca, was also created, getting 9,269 total views.
The first public open house took place at the RancheHouse on March 14.
Over 200 attended the event.
To follow were multiple transit cafes, workshops, question and answer sessions and in-person engagements, running until the end of July.
The final stage of data gathering was an in-person survey at Calgary’s Crowfoot, Brentwood and Dalhousie LRT stations, and an online survey.
Depending on which initiative is looked at, the primary focus of concern can differ.
For example, Facebook themes tend to concentrate most on process of implementing a transit system. On the other hand, the sounding boards – which saw 124 total comments – focused most on what the fare cost would be.
What routes would look like dominated the workshops, and the March 14 launch event pinpointed several themes, a needs assessment, ridership, pilot programs, existing needs and cost being the top five.
During the course of the engagement, the town brought in several ‘transit experts’ from various regional locations, such as David Cooper, the senior transit planner for Calgary Transit, Chris MacIsaac, a transit coordinator for Airdrie Transit and Paul Siller, the general manager of the Rocky View Regional Handibus Society.
Cargan, the town’s manager of communications, said the Oct. 9th presentation to council would include an overview of the potential steps to come from John Steiner of Urban Systems, a strategic design and planning company out of Calgary that has worked with Town of Cochrane.
