Majority (63%) of Ottawa Residents Support
Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Project
Ottawa, ON - A majority (63%) of Ottawa residents `support' (34% strongly/29% somewhat) the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Ottawa Citizen. Conversely, one in three (32%) Ottawa residents `oppose' (19% strongly/13% somewhat) the proposal, which includes a refurbishment of Frank Clair Stadium and retail and residential development, while 5% are undecided on the matter.
A majority of residents in each quadrant of the city supports the project, including 51% of those who live in the central core, 63% of those in the south end of the city, 67% of those in the west, and 74% of those in the eastern section of the city.
While roughly twice as many support (63%) the redevelopment project than oppose it (32%), residents of Ottawa are more closely split on whether or not City Council should `vote on it on Monday', as they are widely expected to do, and `live with whatever the result is' (52%), or whether council should `not vote on it on Monday and it should be made an issue in the fall municipal election so people can express their views and votes for the candidates they choose' (46%). Just one percent (1%) is unsure of whether council should decide on Monday or wait until after the next municipal election campaign.
A majority (55%) of those living in the central core of Ottawa want council to wait on a vote until after an election, but fewer living in the west (49%), south (44%) or east (36%) desire a delay on the decision. Conversely, a majority of those living in the east (64%) and south (55%) want city council to make a decision on Monday, while fewer residents in the west (50%) or the central core (41%) want city council to press ahead on Monday.
Among the 63% of those who support the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project, the most common reason that they support the project, unaided, is the belief that it will revitalize the area (26%) and that it is a good development/good deal (23%). Others believe it would be good for a CFL team (5%), good for the city tax and revenue (4%), good for business (3%), or some other reason (38%).
Among the 32% who oppose the redevelopment project, the most common reasons for opposing the project include the belief that it is a bad financial agreement (12%), that it's bad for transit/traffic/transportation considerations (12%), that they don't trust the process/that decisions have been made behind closed doors/not enough information provided (11%), and that it's too commercial or will destroy businesses (11%). Others have concerns about heritage status (6%), bad site design (4%), bad impact on the local community (4%), that it will lead to higher property taxes (2%), that the city can't afford it (2%), that it doesn't include social housing (1%) or some other reason (35%).
These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of The Ottawa Citizen from June 22 to 24, 2010. For the survey, a representative randomly-selected sample of 500 adults living in Ottawa was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Ottawa been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's and age and sex composition reflects that of the actual Ottawa population according to Census data. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
