It is difficult to afford to live or run a business in Seattle, and the city has lost the progress it made leading up to and during the World Cup last summer in terms of crime and public safety. Those are two of the major takeaways from a new survey from the Seattle Metro Chamber.
The Seattle Chamber’s latest quality-of-life index surveyed 700 Seattle voters between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1.
“There was really no sustained honeymoon after the World Cup,” Chamber President and CEO Joe Nguyen said Tuesday.
The survey found 65% believe Seattle is losing the positive momentum on public safety and quality of life associated with the World Cup.
“I think what’s interesting is when you saw the city working in coordination with one another, we can do tremendous things,” Nguyen said. “And when it came to public safety, I think people felt the safest during the World Cup. I think people had a vibrancy and energy, not just of downtown, but this entire region. So the biggest thing for me was that all of this is possible. None of this is hypothetical.”
More than three-quarters said they worried about downtown Seattle’s future. Respondents also reported feeling less safe visiting downtown, with a more pronounced decline in perceived safety at night.
The share of voters saying Seattle was on the wrong track rose nine percentage points from May.
Two-thirds said city leaders are not doing enough and that they do not trust the city to spend their tax dollars responsibly.
Of those surveyed, 77% said they are worried about the future of downtown.
Seattle voters remain hopeful despite safety, affordability concerns
Despite all that, 59% of those surveyed said they are optimistic about Seattle’s future, and 75% said they are proud to call themselves Seattleites.
“I think that there’s a deep attachment to this city, even despite certain frustrations that are happening right now,” Nguyen said. “So, with all the changes that are happening, with all that is happening, I think we have a core group of people that care about this region, that want to see it be successful and are proud to call themselves Seattleites and be home here.”
Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed list crime, drugs, and public safety as the city’s biggest problems, while 33% said it is homelessness and 27% said affordability.
“96% — and it really cuts across all subgroups — say it’s difficult for middle-class families to afford to live in Seattle,” said Andrew Thibault, Founding Partner at Fulcrum Strategy Group.
For small businesses, 95% said it is difficult to operate in Seattle.
Nearly eight in 10 want City Hall to prove existing spending works before they ask people and businesses to pay more taxes.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
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