70% of respondents say quality of life in San Francisco has declined

In an annual poll commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 70% of respondents said the quality of life in the city has declined.

The poll was based on comments from 520 San Francisco residents who are all registered to vote and was conducted via hybrid telephone, internet and text in both English and Chinese, according to the chamber.

The responses also revealed that crime and homelessness are the top concerns among those who responded, with 80% of people saying they think crime has increased and 88% saying homelessness has worsened in recent years. 

The Chamber of Commerce launched a new online dashboard pulling data from SF311, the city's customer service center, which fields thousands of requests from reports of graffiti to complaints of trash on sidewalks.

The dashboard is designed to capture information on eight key issues issues: graffiti, overflowing trash cans, human and animal waste, vandalism, street and sidewalk cleaning, homeless tent complaints, broken storefront windows and theft. The chamber noted that the number of reports of broken storefront windows is up 41% in 2021 compared with 2019.  

"This is a particularly concerning statistic, as broken windows are cited by small businesses as a major financial burden," the chamber said. 

A few other results in the poll, according to the chamber:

- 80% saw addressing the homelessness crisis as a high priority.
- 82% said they wanted to see more caseworkers on the streets to help individuals with mental illness and substance use problems.
- 74% supported providing more temporary shelter for homeless people.
- 80% supported expanding conservatorship for individuals experiencing severe mental illness.
- 76% said increasing the number of police officers in high-crime neighborhoods should be a priority. 

from Hacker News https://ift.tt/3xZpphG