While 61 per cent of Bramptonians rate quality of life in their city as excellent or good, 4 in 10 said things have gotten worse over the past three years.

Those stats came from a recent community satisfaction survey by Forum Research commissioned by the city last year and the results were revealed to city council during a budget committee meeting on Feb. 19.

“From the focus groups, participants mentioned that Brampton is expensive to live in, and crime in the city is negatively affecting quality of life,” wrote the research firm in its presentation to council. “Participants noted that they feel less safe in Brampton now than they did in previous years.”

The survey found that 12 per cent rated quality of life as “excellent”, 49 per cent called it “good”, while 28 per cent and 12 per cent rated it “fair” or “poor,” respectively.

When looking at how things have changed in the past three years, 14 per cent said quality of life had “become better”, 37 per cent said things have “stayed the same” and 42 per cent said things “have become worse.” Six per cent said they don’t know or preferred not to say.

“Participants mentioned that investments in commuting infrastructure has improved quality of life; however, traffic and congestion has gotten worse,” added the survey report.

Twenty-six per cent of survey participants rated crime as their top concern, followed by traffic congestion at 16 per cent and cost of living/housing and public transit both at six per cent.

Residents rated recreation facilities and investments in commuting infrastructure as areas where quality of life has improved. A large portion of respondents also identified the city’s parks and natural spaces, public transit and the quality of roads/street cleanliness as points of pride.

“Others mentioned positive experiences with recreation facilities, which is a benefit toward raising their children in Brampton," read the Forum report.

The survey with a sample size of 1,101 Brampton residents aged 18 or over was conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 21, 2019 and has a margin of error of (+/-) 2.95 per cent. The firm also hosted two focus groups in October 2019.

