Residents happy with quality of life offered

North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
The survey, completed by True North Research of Encinitas, found
that 87 percent of residents polled have favorable opinions of the quality
of life offered in .

MURRIETA — Residents’ frustrations with traffic on the freeways and major thoroughfares apparently hasn’t deterred their quality of life, according to an independent survey commissioned by the city.

The survey, completed by True North Research of Encinitas, found that 87 percent of residents polled have favorable opinions of the quality of life offered in Murrieta.

Councilman Rick Gibbs wasn’t surprised by the results.

“I would think that the residents who have moved in in the last decade saw an enviable community with a pretty nice quality of life … with the exception of traffic, which comes with the growth,” he said. “People have issues (with the city), but more people accept traffic for what it is: A long-term, chronic problem that is not exclusive to Murrieta. The fixes are long-term fixes that will take many years to implement.”

The results were predictable to Mayor Kelly Seyarto, who has long contended that only a minority of the city’s residents are unhappy with Murrieta’s quality of life — albeit a vocal minority.

Seyarto cited another statistic from True North’s report as proof: despite the city’s population doubling in size in five years, to about 94,000, the percentage of content residents has barely declined.

In 2001, a survey of city residents found that about 86.3 percent of residents were either somewhat or very satisfied with the job the city is doing to provide city services, whereas in August, about 82.5 percent of residents were satisfied with the services provided.

Also, about 81 percent say they trust the city, while 61 percent believe officials listen to residents when making important decisions.

Of the 18 specific services provided by the city, the most important to residents is continuing to ensure that the crime rate remains low. Earlier this month, a national publisher, Morgan Quitno Press, determined that Murrieta is the 39th safest city in the United States.

Predictably, 98 percent of those polled indicated they feel safe when walking alone in their neighborhood during the day, and 88 percent say they feel safe when walking alone in residential areas at night.

Perhaps the most worrisome, yet expected, statistic is the percentage of residents commuting at least 90 minutes, round-trip, each day to and from work: 41 percent.

“That’s unequivocally troubling,” said Councilman Doug McAllister. “The job-to-housing ratio has got to improve. We have all these issues, and not have enough jobs for them.”

McAllister added that he and Gibbs are working on a plan whose objective is to improve that ratio.

There certainly is a desire among commuters to find similar — but more local — jobs: About 61 percent of those polled who indicated an interest in applying for a local job indicated that they would be willing to trade off 10 percent to 15 percent of their current salary to work locally at a comparable job.