Survey says a resounding “No” to beer at ‘Plex

The City of Prince George will begin a survey next month to gauge feelings on financial issues.
Following the presentation of a lengthy survey and consultation with focus groups last fall to council, the city’s communications and quality analyst said the April telephone survey of 300 people will be short - about 10 questions - and revolve around the city’s budget.
A second quality of life survey similar to the one conducted by UNBC professor Alex Michalos in the fall will be conducted between April and June this year, city manager George Paul said.
That will give city council more time to digest the results before it deliberates over next spring’s budget, he said.
The quality of life study, which saw UNBC’s Institute for Social Research and Evaluation mail out 2,500 surveys - and receive 386 back - didn’t hold too many surprises, city corporate services director Kathleen Soltis said.
“This year saw a bit more appetite for increased taxes and user fees,” she said.
Respondents, with an average age of almost 51, rated the Civic Centre, fire protection, aquatic centres, and arenas as the top five services with the highest level of satisfaction. Respondents were dissatisfied with potholes and general road conditions, weed control, transit buses being too slow, infrequent, or late, police protection, street cleaning and dust control, and snow removal.
When it came to the city’s alcohol policy at the Multiplex, 36.9 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the level of alcohol service during WHL hockey games, while 39.3 had no opinion.
When asked if they would like to see alcohol served to the public in designated non-seating area during games, 60.4 per cent of respondents said “No”, 19 per cent said “Yes”, and 20.6 per cent had no opinion.
Asked about alcohol being served in the stadium seating, the “No” answer was much higher, at 68.9 per cent. Almost 14 per cent said “Yes”, while 17.2 per cent had no opinion.
Focus groups consulted were the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Improvement Association, the Council of Seniors, Partners for a healthy Downtown, Youth Around Prince George, the Northern British Columbia Construction Association, the Community Arts Council, the Gateway Business Improvement Association, and community associations.
The results in the survey are considered to be accurate 95 per cent of the time within six percentage points.