71% of Calgarians believe the city is a safe place, the survey found

Compared to six months ago, Calgarians seem to feel safer in the city these days.

In a recent survey conducted by the City of Calgary, three-quarters of respondents said the city was a safe place overall.

The survey, conducted three times through July 2022, asked 500 randomly selected Calgarians how they felt about transit safety at different times of the day, as well as how they felt about safety in Calgary in general.

72% of those surveyed said they feel safe riding the CTrain during the day, up 5% from the last time the survey was conducted in May 2023.

The percentage of people surveyed who said they feel safe at a CTrain station during the day also increased, with 70% responding positively, compared to 64% in May.

“Calgarians want and deserve the best and safest experience using our transit system, whether on the LRT, buses or shuttles,” said Kay Choi, the City of Calgary's Chief of Public Safety and Wellbeing.

But despite the growing number of positive responses, concerns remain for people taking transit at night.

Only 39% of those surveyed said they felt safe on the CTrain after dark, while 34% said they felt safe while waiting for the CTrain at that time.

Previously, these numbers were 33% and 27%, respectively.

“I was encouraged to see that we were able to move the needle safely,” Choi said.

“And recognize that we still have a long way to go to help Calgarians feel safer on and around CTtrains.”

In addition to taking security steps in the right direction, the city said the number of reported incidents of social disorder, such as riots and open drug use, on CTrains has also decreased.

Between October 1 and December 15, 2023, a total of 3,450 incidents of social unrest were registered. A total of 4,146 incidents were registered during this period last year.

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Focusing on safety, the Perspectives on Calgary survey has been conducted three times in the past two years: July 19-28, 2022; May 16-26, 2023; and the latest, November 13-23, 2023.

The survey collects information from 500 randomly selected Calgarians and covers topics related to perceptions of safety in Calgary, including communities where citizens live, downtown and Calgary Transit.

As a random and representative survey, the city says it has a margin of error of ± 4.4% 19 times out of 20.

The next survey is scheduled for spring 2024.