By Jorge Casuso
April 14 – Santa Monicans remain a generally contented bunch, with residents giving the City high marks for services, but less positive ratings for tackling the homeless and traffic problems that continue to plague the upscale beachside city, according to a survey that will be presented to the City Council Tuesday.
Two out of three residents gave the City a 4 or 5 rating – the two highest marks – for “the job Santa Monica is doing to provide City services,” such as the library, trash/recycling, tree trimming and fire services.
Only 12 percent of the 430 residents surveyed were dissatisfied with the services, and 20 percent gave the City a neutral rating, according to the survey conducted by Goodwin Simon Victoria Research.
Although traffic and homelessness continue to top the list of resident concerns, as they did in the most recent survey two years ago, “the proportion who mentioned the homeless population this year dropped considerably.”
Those who called homelessness a serious concern dropped from 76 percent in 2007 to 63 percent this year, the lowest level of concern since 2002, according to the report.
Still, the City continued to earn low marks when it came to enforcing laws against begging and panhandling, enforcing laws against overnight camping and dealing with homeless people. Building and zoning laws also earned low marks.
Of the residents surveyed, 71 percent rated traffic as a serious issue, up from 65 percent two years ago.
The current economic slump also registered in the survey, with those who volunteered (as opposed to ranked from a given list) such issues as “creating jobs” and “creating a better business climate” rising to 11 percent, from 1 percent in 2005.
“Given the recession and the state of the economy in California, it is not surprising to find concern over economic issues on the rise among Santa Monica residents,” according to the report.
Two other issues that continue to raise a “serious concern” are the lack of affordable housing and parking.
Affordable housing was called a serious problem by 68 percent of those surveyed, a proportion second only to traffic, a result similar to the findings two years ago.
“Lack of parking” was ranked as a serious problem by 58 percent of those surveyed, up from 48 percent in 2007; while crime was called a serious concern by 29 percent of those surveyed, up from 24 percent two years ago and 16 percent in 2002.
Still, most residents continue to feel safe in Santa Monica, with 68 percent saying crime has stayed the same or gotten better in the last few years. Fifty-eight percent said they are satisfied with the job the city is doing in reducing crime, with only 6 percent saying they are dissatisfied.
The highest average satisfaction ratings (3.9 or higher) were given to the public library, the fire department, emergency 911 services, trash and recycling collection, street tree trimming, senior services, sports and recreational programs, cultural and arts opportunities, and community environmental responsibility.
