Doorstep Report Nr. 1

So I’ve been knocking on doors these past two weeks and it’s been both an enjoyable and illuminating experience.  So far I’ve knocked on 787 doors, done 63,331 steps over 35.56 km. across Parksville.

Everyone in Parksville has at least one dog … at least it seems that way !  Yes, there are cats too, but they are either stealthily observing the interaction at the door, planning their escape, or ignoring me completely. 

(First Mea Culpa – I’m a dog person).

Conversations usually turn quickly to either Water (not enough) or Development (too much).  There are opposite views of course, but they are clearly in the minority.  The most interesting aspect of these topics is how they are intertwined.  I have heard both: “There’s not enough water – so why are there so many developments?”  or   “There are too many developments, and we don’t have the water to serve them !”.  Please read my blog post from July 3 on the water situation and where I think we should be heading. 

On the pace of development, I am doing some research and will write a comprehensive blog post at a later date, but the most critical data point to me is the CMHC Rental Housing Market samples taken each October.  They show that Parksville’s vacancy rate was 2.0% in 2024 and 0.9% in 2025.  So it appears that demand continues to outpace supply, even with everything that has been built in the past few years.

Other issues that have come up are taxes getting too high (see my June 8 blog post), the lack of recreation facilities (whatever happened to the pool idea?) and the shortage of affordable housing options squeezing out young families.

I look forward to continue going out most afternoons to meet more of you ! If I missed you on my travels and you’d like to meet,  just reach out via the “Ask Ralph” section at the bottom of this page and we can set a date !