In December, we asked Leaside a simple question: What should our neighbourhood be paying attention to as we look ahead?
We included a short pre-survey in these pages, almost as a test. No major promotion. No mail drop. Only a simple reference in an article and an embedded QR code with an invitation. More than 100 households responded! That alone tells us something important.
People are paying attention. Residents care about what’s happening around them. And if when invited to weigh in on the future of our neighbourhood, many are ready to do so. The pre-survey was never meant to settle anything but to give us direction. And the direction was clear.
Proud of where we live, concerned about where we’re going
Most respondents rated overall quality of life in Leaside as strong, very good, even excellent. That’s something worth recognizing. We live in a neighbourhood people are proud of. But when asked about the next decade, the tone shifted. Confidence was more mixed. People see the pace of change. They feel the pressures growing.
Traffic – a top priority
Traffic and congestion emerged as the clear top priority. Housing, density and development followed, with safety and crime prevention also ranking strongly. Neighbourhood character and community identity were not far behind, along with concerns about cleanliness, maintenance and infrastructure upkeep. The themes were consistent and unmistakable. Just as encouraging, many respondents said they want to stay involved as this initiative moves forward.
We’re listening, and now we want to listen more carefully and more broadly. The pre-survey gave us direction. But to truly understand where Leaside stands and where it wants to go, we need a larger, statistically reliable sample. We need to hear from more households. We need enough participation to be confident that what we see in the data reflects the neighbourhood as a whole.
That’s why Leaside Life, the Leaside Residents Association, and Leaside Memorial Community Gardens are working together to launch the 2026 Leaside Resident Survey (April 1-30). This will be a coordinated effort to reach every household. It will go a bit deeper into the themes that surfaced in the pre-survey by asking about traffic, development, safety, and community life. It will also begin to explore what residents believe should define Leaside over the next decade.
This isn’t about a single issue. And it isn’t about a single organization. It’s about shaping priorities for the next decade, together, as a neighbourhood. The next 10 years will matter. Transit is finally coming online. Development continues. Infrastructure decisions are being made. Demographics are evolving. The pace of change is accelerating.
At moments like this, clarity matters. If we want to influence outcomes, whether around traffic mitigation, responsible growth, community facilities, or safety, we need to understand where residents stand. We need credible data. We need broad participation. Direction is helpful, but confidence requires numbers.
Our goal is to gather at least 500 responses. That level of participation would allow us to analyze the results meaningfully and responsibly. It would give community organizations and volunteers something solid to work with. It would provide a clear snapshot of resident priorities for 2026 and beyond.
A community listening moment. You’re invited!
Something is happening in Leaside. A genuine, community-led effort to pause, listen, and set direction for the years ahead. Watch for an invite in your mailbox (yup, old school) and our website (www.leasidelife.com) for details on how you can participate. Also, be on the lookout for teams of canvassers asking questions live at various locations across the ’hood later in April – yes, this is important enough to have boots on the ground!
The survey will be open for several weeks to ensure everyone has an opportunity to respond. If the pre-survey showed us anything, it’s that residents care. Now is the time to show it at scale.
We can’t control everything happening beyond our neighbourhood, but we can work together to decide what matters here, to identify shared priorities, and we can work together to strengthen the things that make Leaside great with clarity instead of guesswork.
A neighbourhood does not grow by accident. It grows because people show up to listen, contribute, and care. The future of Leaside should not be determined by chance. It will be shaped by those who choose to make time to engage.
The results or this important neighbourhood survey will be presented at the Leaside Day event on Sat., May 23, 2026, in the William Lea Room, Leaside Memorial Community Gardens.
