Youth in Charlottetown want the municipal government to focus on employment, affordability, safety and transportation issues immediately.
The City of Charlottetown’s youth retention advisory board held a press conference at City Hall on Thursday where it released its report and recommendations.
The report contains 18 recommendations for city council to consider. The volunteer board was created by Mayor Clifford Lee and council to make Charlottetown a more attractive place for young people.
Alex Youland and Zac Murphy co-authored the report.
“Employment is a big one,’’ Murphy said. “The biggest concern was the inability to earn a living wage . . . increasing student debt . . . and lack of communication between employers and job applicants.’’
The board partnered with Fusion Charlottetown to survey people between the ages of 16 and 30. The survey, completed in February, received 800 responses over a four-week period.
Youland said 49 per cent of respondents are renting and were critical of the state of the units they are living in.
“A lot of youth feel they’re being pushed out of the city,’’ Youland said.
Under safety and security, the report suggests creating a well-lit safe zone in the city that is monitored around the clock. There was also talk about the need to review the taxi bylaw because the price for the exact same cab ride tends to fluctuate from one person to the next.
Lee said that may mean changing the bylaw by requiring cabs to operate with meters instead of the current zone system.
The report also says the transit schedule and route map is too difficult to find and should be made available on Google Transit.
Youth also want more outdoor activities in the city, similar to Diverscity and Art in the Open.
The report suggests creating a central space downtown for local musicians to gather and rent instruments and bringing the farmers market downtown, suggesting the now vacant Founders’ Hall would be the perfect spot.
Lee noted that as the advisory board began to process survey responses, three members resigned because they had to move away and look for employment.
However, Lee said it’s not something the city can solve on its own.
“I think the city corporation is in a really good spot to move forward with these recommendations (but) the city can’t, in isolation, deal with this problem,’’ the mayor said, explaining that the province has to be on board, too.
“It’s time to listen to the youth tell us what they need from their community so they can stay.’’
Youth in Charlottetown want the municipal government to focus on employment, affordability, safety and transportation issues immediately.
The City of Charlottetown’s youth retention advisory board held a press conference at City Hall on Thursday where it released its report and recommendations.
The report contains 18 recommendations for city council to consider. The volunteer board was created by Mayor Clifford Lee and council to make Charlottetown a more attractive place for young people.
Alex Youland and Zac Murphy co-authored the report.
“Employment is a big one,’’ Murphy said. “The biggest concern was the inability to earn a living wage . . . increasing student debt . . . and lack of communication between employers and job applicants.’’
The board partnered with Fusion Charlottetown to survey people between the ages of 16 and 30. The survey, completed in February, received 800 responses over a four-week period.
Youland said 49 per cent of respondents are renting and were critical of the state of the units they are living in.
“A lot of youth feel they’re being pushed out of the city,’’ Youland said.
Under safety and security, the report suggests creating a well-lit safe zone in the city that is monitored around the clock. There was also talk about the need to review the taxi bylaw because the price for the exact same cab ride tends to fluctuate from one person to the next.
Lee said that may mean changing the bylaw by requiring cabs to operate with meters instead of the current zone system.
The report also says the transit schedule and route map is too difficult to find and should be made available on Google Transit.
Youth also want more outdoor activities in the city, similar to Diverscity and Art in the Open.
The report suggests creating a central space downtown for local musicians to gather and rent instruments and bringing the farmers market downtown, suggesting the now vacant Founders’ Hall would be the perfect spot.
Lee noted that as the advisory board began to process survey responses, three members resigned because they had to move away and look for employment.
However, Lee said it’s not something the city can solve on its own.
“I think the city corporation is in a really good spot to move forward with these recommendations (but) the city can’t, in isolation, deal with this problem,’’ the mayor said, explaining that the province has to be on board, too.
“It’s time to listen to the youth tell us what they need from their community so they can stay.’’
