Survey on downtown gets city’s attention

A recent survey shows more than half of Wilmington residents say they feel most unsafe in the downtown area.

City councilman Kevin O’Grady presented a report on downtown violent crime to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission last week calling the area tense and combative.

The survey from the city and the report from Councilman O’Grady support the fact that the problem downtown needs to be addressed, but some residents say they do feel safe.

“I’ve lived in Chicago. I’ve lived in New York. I lived in St. Louis. I lived in a lot of the bigger cities. Don’t know if that’s the case that I’d feel as comfortable there, and I guess that says a lot, because I’ve had that exposure,” Joy Gregory.

The city mailed out more than 2,000 surveys to random households. The feedback from Wilmington residents suggests the city focuses on three main issues. Those include controlling traffic flow, fixing streets and sidewalks and cleaning up the downtown scene.

The city last surveyed residents in 2007. Surveys are a popular tool cities use to find out how they are doing and what they need to improve.

City spokeswoman Malissa Talbert says many cities across the country used the same survey and saw decreases in residents’ level of satisfaction in many areas, which she said is probably because of the economic state. Wilmington not only held its own compared to other cities, but increased in many areas. Out of 82 different topics, the Port City increased in 50, including quality of life and city maintenance.