SAN FRANCISCO: Residents think city's deteriorating, survey says

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 4/22/5 | Ilene Lelchuk, Charlie Goodyear and Rachel Gordon

[SmithL]

Infrastructure seen as worsening since Newsom took over.

San Francisco parks, recreation programs, streets, bus service and libraries are all in worse shape than they were before Mayor Gavin Newsom took office, according to a state of the city resident survey released Thursday.

It's the first comprehensive public measure of how the city is faring now that Newsom has spent a full year in office. The more than 3,700 residents polled gave San Francisco a C+ for how it provides basic services. And about the only positive note was that residents said they felt the city was safer.

Only 37 percent said the city was doing a good or very good job, according to the 10th annual survey by city Controller Ed Harrington's office. Parents, who might spend more time at playgrounds and recreation centers, had a worse opinion of life in the city.

On the southeast side of town, despite Newsom's efforts to address gang violence and decrepit conditions at aging public housing projects there, residents gave city services even worse ratings.

Some of the dissatisfaction can be attributed to the city's money troubles. To close budget gaps, Muni riders were hit with a 25 cent fare increase last year, grants for street resurfacing dropped sharply in the last three years, a hiring freeze has meant fewer gardeners at the parks, and recreation centers started closing one day a week in December.

[SmithL]

The streets are sewers, every neighborhood has a drug parlor, the Board of Supervisors POLITBURO keeps passing laws designed to chase businesses and taxpayers out of the city, and Gavin has other priorities.

[mnehring]

For a city full of leftie environmentalists, it is a very dirty and polluted city.. Of course, I've noticed the more 'blue' a city is, the dirtier it is...
Have you ever overlaid a US pollution/smog map over the county by county voting results map? It is funny how the blue matches almost perfectly with the amount of pollution...

[wideawake]

It's interesting that a city which, geographically, has more going for it than any other city in the world would have these problems.

Stupidity ruthlessly overcomes any natural advantage.

[discipler]

Geez, I wonder why. Degradation and license are corrosive to society and cannot last. Their only hope is to figure out some way to leach off of others by extending their influence.

[sarasotarepublican]

For a city full of leftie environmentalists, it is a very dirty and polluted city.. Of course, I've noticed the more 'blue' a city is, the dirtier it is... For a city full of leftie environmentalists, it is a very dirty and polluted city.. Of course, I've noticed the more 'blue' a city is, the dirtier it is...

You would think the Republicans would use this in all their campaign slogans. Republicans need to take away the enviromental issue from the dims.

[pabianice]

The country's largest open-air urinal gets poor marks? People are such snobs!

[CFC__VRWC]

And when elections roll around again, 90 percent of the people there will put Gavin Newsom back in the mayor's office.

[OldFriend]

NYC is trying it's best to emulate San Francisco.

[CFC__VRWC]

You would think the Republicans would use this in all their campaign slogans. Republicans need to take away the enviromental issue from the dims.

The Dims will just blame it on Republican budget cuts and economic policies, and the freaks in SF will swallow the Kool Aid willingly and beg for more.

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Gosh, PC rum amok has consequences. Who would have guessed it? Color this city BLUE!

[Mr. Jeeves]

My former boss described San Francisco as "The most beautful city in the world...from ten feet above the street on up."

Zero out the 200 million dollar annual "homeless services" budget and spend the money on street cleaning, policing, and park maintenance and most of the problems would go away...on the next Greyhound bus to Santa Monica. ;)

[scott says]

I live 12 miles north of SF and NEVER go into the CITY. It is dirty, way too many homeless people, traffic, urban plight, ect...I used to love going into the city and enjoying the restaurants, stores and stuff but I can't deal with it anymore. The board of "STUPIDVISORS" are more concerned with wacko political policies and not taking care of the basic services that would make the place livable.

[mnehring]

Republicans need to take away the enviromental issue from the dims.

Conservation movements have generally been Right movements as they promote individual responsibility. They've never been able to market as well as environmental movements..

Hell, the founder of Greenpeace is one of the biggest whistleblowers on the fakeness of the environmental movement, yet we never bring this up..

[ALPAPilot]

And when elections roll around again, 90 percent of the people there will put Gavin Newsom back in the mayor's office.

Hey, last time Newsome had a pretty tough fight in the campaign. The voters went with the more conservative candidate and the Green Party candidate was sent packing; but not by much.

[mnehring]

Have you noticed the cleanest parts of the city are the private parks that businesses own, such as the small park next to the TransAmerica building.. the only public park I would consider well kept is the one next to the Moscone center (behind the Meteron) and that is probably because the city knows it is where most business visitors gather..

[Michael.SF.]

I echo your comments. I am 30 miles north east. Napa is a 12 mile drive for me. When we go out for a special dinner, that is our destination. Ten years ago it was the City.

In all fairness though, they did do one thing right:That being the Embarcadero, from the stadium to the Ferry building is a noteworthy civic accomplishment.

[mnehring]

Of course.. we won't go into how dirty the streets and lots around the Moscone center are.. There is one empty lot that looks like a garbage dump right around the corner from Moscone West.. it is literally filled with trash bags.. I've been there twice in the past six months and it just keeps getting worse..

[Brilliant]

"Residents think city's deteriorating..."

They just noticed?

[Labyrinthos]

Have you ever overlaid a US pollution/smog map over the county by county voting results map? It is funny how the blue matches almost perfectly with the amount of pollution...

Perhaps, but Texas remains the dirtiest state that I have ever visited. Garbage and ltter everywhere.

[GWB00]

This is news? The city is a disaster just like NYC was before Rudy and Bloomberg. This is a glimpse of what liberalism on a national scale will do to the country. Meanwhile, all of those who are making these policies will be living in Atherton, the Oakland hills, and the posh sections of Manhattan.