While the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District seems to be OK for the most part, housing is less affordable, landfill waste is increasing and highway accidents are up, according to a report presented in the latest regional district board meeting.
The latest iteration of the SLRD Growth Strategy Monitoring Report has just been released, detailing where the regional district is in meeting its goals.
The board will be seeking recommendations from staff committees on how to address those issues, said Tony Rainbow, who represents the Squamish area in the regional district.
“Whistler’s leading a study of transit throughout the corridor. We’re waiting to hear something from the housing authority – we’re all interested in affordable housing,” he said.
Those leafing through the pages will find the study highlights regional district goals such as developing compact, sustainable communities and improving transportation.
The data was gathered during 2016, but since information on all measures isn’t always gathered every year, the numbers draw from studies dating as far back as 2011, while the most recent information is from 2014 to 2015.
Overall, the report says findings are varied, with a tilt to the positive.
“Progress toward the SLRD regional goals is mixed, though the majority (16 indicators) are either stable or improving,” reads the report’s summary.
But there are some areas of concern.
“Ten indicators are moving in an undesirable direction away from regional goals,” the summary adds.
For Squamish residents perhaps the most familiar problem listed on the report would be housing affordability.
The price of a single-family house in Squamish is about 14 times its median income, which is slightly more than Pemberton and double that of Lillooet. Whistler, however, remains the farthest out of reach at 44 times the median income in that municipality.
“All member municipalities except Lillooet experienced decreases in affordability from 2014-2015,” the report states.
Environmental measures were also a concern.
Landfill waste increased by nine per cent between 2014 and 2015, up about 32,300 tonnes from 29,600 tonnes.
The increase was mainly the result of construction and demolition waste being thrown into the Lillooet landfill. However, the two largest sources of waste were Whistler and Squamish throwing 14,800 tonnes and 13,000 tonnes into their respective dumps.
Greenhouse gas emissions increased by five per cent, up about 306,700 tonnes in 2012 from 293,000 tonnes in 2010. Transportation contributed about 58 per cent of the emissions, followed by buildings at 30 per cent and solid waste at 13 per cent.
Transportation measures were also a concern.
In 2015, there were around 680 accidents on Highways 99 and 12, up from about 580 the previous year.
About 180 of the incidents in 2015 resulted in injury, while eight of them lead to death.
The roads are also getting five per cent more crowded, as about 33,800 vehicles are registered in the area, up from about 33,000 the previous year.
Regarding positives, there were two particular highlights that were outlined to the regional district board.
As population density increased from 2.9 to 3.4 people per hectare in Squamish, no new settlement areas were created in the regional district between 2014 to 2015. This would suggest planners have efficiently planned new developments, stifling needless urban sprawl.
Similar population density increases were reported for Whistler and Pemberton.
Secondly, median incomes for most communities in the regional district grew faster than inflation from 2006 to 2014.
The highest rollers in 2014 were Brackendale and Garibaldi Highlands, which had residents making about $39,000 a year, on average.
Squamish as a whole rang in at about $36,000. Whistler was in the lower-middle at about $30,000.
Lillooet and D’arcy trailed at last at about $22,400 and $22,000, respectively.
In the socioeconomic index, there wasn’t enough data to indicate if things were getting better or worse.
However it was found that in 2012, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District ranked eighth best out of the 26 B.C. regional districts surveyed, according to an overall score that looked at health, crime and education, among other things.
At that time, another measure looking at economic hardship ranked the regional district as 4th most livable.
