The results are in for the Grande Prairie Regional Recreation Committee’s summer survey, and the satisfaction level is music to officials’ ears.
Out of 700 households surveyed earlier this year, 97 per cent suggest that recreation is important to their quality of life. 94 per cent believe recreation brings the community together, and 78 per cent are either very or somewhat satisfied with recreation opportunities offered in the region.
Regional Recreation Coordinator Krista Schuett says one of the most interesting outcomes of the survey was the sheer number of residents across the county who believe teamwork provides the best path forward when it comes to recreation opportunities.
“It confirmed the need for the different municipalities working together… 97 per cent of households [surveyed] think that all the municipalities in the region should work together,” she says.
“It’s not just administration that works together,” Schuett adds, “we also have another level, of elected officials, which really makes it great, [that] perspective, the group of people are all in a position to implement the master plan.”
Schuett notes the results aren’t surprising, as, for the most part, they fall into user group-specific desires. However she says it’s good to gauge what sports are proving the most popular in that particular time frame.
“If you’re looking at hockey, they would think we need more ice sheets; if you look at pickleball, you would want more courts; but there wasn’t anything that came along in which a giant amount of people having a wish list.”
The survey was conducted in June 2020, and involved residents in the City and County of Grande Prairie, the MD of Greenview, the towns of Wembley, Beaverlodge, and Sexsmith, and the Village of Hythe.