Spring, 2025

The FCA board of directors (board) sent out a community survey to residents in April 2025.The board has previously completed community surveys in 2021 and 2022. The purpose was to provide the board with a sense of residents’ views on issues or concerns and to solicit ideas for improving the quality of life in the community.

The survey was e-mailed out to all FCA members (residents) on the FCA e-mail list. Residents without an e-mail address did not receive the survey. Residents were invited to respond to 14 questions and to provide any additional comments related to each question. Topics covered included communication, social events, the road mural, traffic issues, Falaise Park, Little Free Library, bottle drive, multi-unit housing, and the highway barrier. A total of 86 responses were received, either fully or partially completed. Many respondents included detailed comments. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to respond, and the board will use the results to help guide its priorities.

What we heard:

Board performance: 70% of respondents consider the board is doing a good job in serving the community interest by informing of news pertinent to the community and of the affairs of Saanich Council.

Falaise Focus newsletter: 96% of respondents say the board does a good job of covering community news. 82% do not mind having advertisements included. There were two suggestions for future articles a) rules for dog owners using the park and b) the link of the Falaise neighbourhood names to WW2.

Social Events: 94% think the number of social events put on each year are positive. They are viewed as enjoyable family events. Some respondents noted that although they feel they are a good community activity that many are unable to attend on long weekends.

Road mural: 64% of respondents said they like like the road mural opposite the playground entrance on Falaise Cr. and 41% recommended that it be touched up. This is despite the general sense that it does not slow down traffic.

Little Free Library: 94% of respondents said they like having the Little Free library in the Park although many do not use it regularly. All the comments were positive. Even those who do not use it, recognize that it is a good addition to the community. The LFL is maintained and kept stocked by two residents with support from the board.

Falaise Park: 70% use the park. The benches and the picnic tables are a great asset.
A suggestion was made to have a fence around the boundary.

Playground: This is a favourite spot for young families; there were 31 comments regarding the playground. Some suggestions, such as a toy box and a self-closing gate are likely achievable. Others, such as a tennis court, are probably not. There is an interest in having apparatus for older kids. However, space for expansion is limited.

Community Bottle Drive: 67% of respondents would support periodic community bottle drives, as a fundraiser. Some respondents thought bottle drives should be left for school sports teams and youth groups.

Multi‐unit housing: 67% of respondents are opposed to multi‐unit housing (on a single-family dwelling lot zoned R1) in the community while 33% accept removal of R1 zoning by the provincial government. There were 18 comments covering a range of issues, such as a concern over extra street parking.

Highway barrier: There is general dismay that the highway barrier was not more substantial while 41% of respondents feel the barrier is better than nothing and 32% feel the barrier should have been extended up to the Adeline corner (as originally promised by MOTI). McCall’s objection to the barrier stalled the completion as designed and provincial government funding expired at the end of the year.

Traffic calming: 60% of respondents would like additional traffic calming such as more visible larger road signs. Opinions are split on the installation of speed bumps. Speeding down Falaise Drive beside the Royal Oak Burial Park and funeral parking remains a specific concern. More timely removal of winter snow fall accumulations is needed.

Spring, 2022

In June, the FCA board invited community members for whom we have email addresses to complete a short on-line survey to help the board assess how it is doing in serving the interests of the community and to solicit ideas on how it might continue to improve its work. The survey asked 19 questions encompassing current community issues and allowing for input into other areas that we should address.

The survey was sent to 182 community members from 148 of the roughly 180 households in the community. 101 people (55%) responded to at least some of the questions.

Very briefly, most respondents were satisfied with the work of the FCA board, a small number of people had suggestions for improvement but very few indicated a willingness to help with the work of the board.

More details from the survey are available in this report.

From the comments received, it is clear that road noise and traffic calming are two areas of concern for the board to continue working on. The board has already attempted to address some of the suggestions (e.g., playground safety, crosswalk at the bottom of Falaise Dr. hill) without results and will probably not try again in the immediate future. Of the new suggestions, the board will begin work on developing a policy for allowing advertising in Falaise Focus. Some suggestions, however, appear to be outside the mandate of the association (e.g., providing guidance about construction activities) and will not be addressed.

Spring, 2021

This spring, we carried out the first formal survey of our residents to better understand what they think about their community association. We began with a pdf version but recognized that it was not as easy to fill in and submit as the online surveys we are sometimes asked to complete. We then discovered that we could make use of the free, community edition, of LimeSurvey so we recast the survey using this software.

Of the 124 residents for whom we have email addresses, 45 people responded, for a response rate of 36%. In addition, several residents included interesting written comments. We have prepared a report that summarizes the main takeaways from the survey and translated them into action items for the Board to consider. If, on reading the report, you see anything you would like to comment on, please contact the FCA President or any other Board member.