More people are looking to Turner Valley as a place to call home.
The small Foothills community boasts a population of 2,511 people, according to the results of the 2015 municipal census taken last spring. The last count was taken during a federal census in 2011, which revealed 2,167 residents.
“We’ve been growing at about 4.5 per cent per year – that’s assuming a linear growth,” said Barry Williamson, Turner Valley chief administrative officer. “That’s pretty significant. It shows the town is attracting people.”
The results show the town has 1,155 residences with an average of 2.17 people per dwelling. The census also collected information on demographics, where residents moved from, mode of transportation to work or school, type of occupation, type of dwelling and number of years lived in town.
“We had a few things we wanted to look at,” he said. “We were trying to get a little bit more information without it getting too lengthy and too involved.”
Williamson said learning about the demographics in each neighbourhood assists the Town with such things as recreational planning.
“If it’s an area that’s got younger families maybe the playground there should have a lot more things you need for tots,” he said.
While having a tally of residents assists the Town in applying for grants, as some are based on population, the demographics information will help the town with future planning, Williamson said.
“It allows us to look at that data as part of an overall forward view of how the town is going and how you allow for the various pieces council is going to look at,” he said. “The more data we can have for our strategic planning session the better informed we are at making decisions around that.”
Williamson said the Town will begin discussing its strategic plan next week, exploring such issues as downtown revitalization, park improvement and future developments.
Results of the census are available at turnervalley.ca
