Crime was a top concern of central Maryland residents in a new survey that sponsors hope will be the first of an annual assessment of voters’ concerns. Photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew Cortez/U.S. Marine Corps
Crime and drugs are the most important issues facing the region, according to 41% of central Maryland residents, while another 35% think the economy and the job market should be the top concern of state and local governments.
Those are among the findings of “The Pulse,” a wide-ranging survey of residents of Baltimore City and six surrounding counties, the first of what its sponsors hope will become an annual report gauging the attitude and perspectives in the region.
The first iteration, released Tuesday by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, gathered opinions on policy topics ranging from transportation and the economy to housing costs and grocery prices.
“In addition to seeing the changes in public policy, we’re going to start tracking how public perception lines up with … what census and on-the-ground data tells us and try to incorporate that into our planning,” said Michael Kelly, executive director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.
GQR, a polling and research group, surveyed 1,200 adults in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Harford, Howard, Carroll, Queen Anne’s and Baltimore counties from Sept. 3 through 9.
When asked to pick the two most important issues from a list, 41% of respondents said they were most concerned about “drugs and crime” in the region. The results found that 35% were concerned with “economy and jobs,” 26% were concerned about taxes and 25% were worried about housing costs.
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Not surprisingly, concerns varied across jurisdictions. Baltimore residents were the most concerned about crime and drugs, with 50% of city respondents saying that it was one of the most important issues. About 44% of Baltimore County residents agreed, as well as 41% of Harford County.
Drugs and crime was the top concern for only 28% of Queen Anne’s County resident and just 23% of those in Carroll County. Queen Anne’s and Carroll counties were more concerned with the state of the economy and the job market, with 39% and 41%, respectively, choosing that category as the top issue.
Some concerns were more widespread: When asked to cite the biggest inflationary impact on their family budgets, 70% of all respondents pointed to rising grocery costs.
A majority of respondents in every jurisdiction said that housing costs were a problem, according to the report. The highest percent came from Anne Arundel, where 81% of residents agreed that housing costs are a concern. The lowest concern came from Carroll County, with 60% of residents saying they were dissatisfied with the costs of housing.
The survey also asked questions on specific topics. According to the results, 63% of the Baltimore region believes that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge had an impact on traffic, with 38% saying the impact has been “major.”
That response also varied by location. While 70% of Baltimore County residents said that the collapse of Key Bridge had an impact on traffic — as did 67% of Baltimore City residents and Anne Arundel County residents — only 37% of Queen Anne’s County and 36% of Carroll County respondents agreed that traffic has been impacted by the bridges collapse.
Baltimore’s Red Line to be light rail – again
The survey shows that 54% respondents were optimistic that the Red Line, a proposed east-west light rail line in Baltimore, would improve traffic. The optimism increases with city residents, as 65% believed that the proposed line would improve traffic.
Three-fourths of Baltimore city and county residents also think that the efforts to revitalize the Inner Harbor are important to the “future economic vitality of the Baltimore region.”
There were some bright spots in the survey: 76% of residents said they are satisfied with the parks and trails in their communities, and 70% are satisfied with the various arts and cultural offerings. About 66% of respondents are satisfied with the bike trails and public recreation available in their communities.
How exactly the data will inform policy decisions is not yet clear, but the survey results will “track the shifting concerns” of residents in central Maryland, said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), who is also a board member of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.
“The Pulse gives us a detailed look at how communities across the Baltimore region feel about critical quality of life issues,” Ferguson said in a written statement Tuesday. ”This is just the inaugural release of this survey, and over time it will be incredibly helpful to track the shifting concerns and priorities of all our constituents.”