More than three-quarters of San Francisco residents say their city is heading in the wrong direction, with crime and street cleanliness among the major concerns, according to a poll commissioned by the local chamber of commerce.
(Bloomberg) — More than three-quarters of San Francisco residents say their city is heading in the wrong direction, with crime and street cleanliness among the major concerns, according to a poll commissioned by the local chamber of commerce.
About 77% of those surveyed said the city is on the “wrong track,” little changed from a year ago but up 30 percentage points from before the pandemic in 2019. Less than a third of respondents to the April poll said they felt safe visiting San Francisco’s downtown at night and 75% believe “overall cleanliness” has gotten worse.
Residents are “more pessimistic about San Francisco than they’ve ever been,” Chamber President Rodney Fong said at an event on Tuesday attended by business and civic leaders. Still, he added, “there is a healthy dose of perseverance” among people who live and work in the city.
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The poll reflects the growing frustrations within San Francisco, which is suffering from a string of blows to its economy. A rapid tech downturn has led to tens of thousands of layoffs, and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has tightened funding options for the venture capital industry. The downtown is struggling with a nearly 30% office-vacancy rate, while overdose deaths and homelessness rates have increased.
At the meeting, Mayor London Breed said San Francisco is “bursting with possibility” and that the business environment is undergoing a transformation. She cited artificial-intelligence companies taking root in the city as a positive sign and said the media was driving a negative narrative.
“Let’s not let anyone else tell our story or tell us who we are,” she said.
Fong said San Francisco needs to recover and reimagine itself for residents and businesses, but also in time to host the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, which both will be coming to the area in 2026.
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The San Francisco chamber represents business interests in the city and has been outspoken on the need for a tougher stance on crime and public safety issues. Its latest annual survey, known as CityBeat, surveyed 500 people between April 18 to 23 and was conducted EMC Research.
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