Monday, November 05, 2001

WILMINGTON -- A telephone survey conducted by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington found that a majority of respondents were satisfied with life in this area and favored city-county consolidation. The survey, which was conducted between Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, 2001, reported findings similar to 2000 surveys; however, the results indicate that aspects of life in the area have improved over the last year, according to Dr. Lloyd Jones, associate professor in UNCW’s Political Science Department.

In a broad measure of life quality in the area, 95 percent of the respondents reported that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with life in the area. This is relatively unchanged from the 1999 and 2000 surveys. Some evidence exists that there are changes in perceptions about the quality of life today compared to the past and residents’ expectations about life over the next five years. Respondents who had been in the area for at least five years were asked to reflect upon this time and assess how life had changed. Forty-one percent reported that life had become better compared to 30 percent who reported that life was worse; 29 percent reported life had remained the same. When looking ahead over the next five years, 45 percent reported that life would become better while 27 percent said life would become worse. For 28 percent, life had remained the same. These results are more positive than in previous surveys

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Most Important Problem



Traffic 44 percent

Development 19 percent

Crime 10 percent

Education 8 percent

Politics 6 percent

Environment 3 percent

Other 9 percent

Even though most of the respondents stated that they were satisfied with their lives in this area, traffic remains a problem. Residents were asked, “What do you think is the most important problem facing the area?” More than 44 percent of those surveyed named traffic as the most important problem with 74 percent calling it either a “critical” or “serious” problem. This is down from 84 percent in the 2000 survey.

UNCW Poll Finds Wilmington Area Residents are Ready for Election Day

When it comes to two critical issues of the day, Wilmington area residents were divided. For example, 74 percent of the residents would vote for city-county consolidation if the issue was on the ballot today. But when it comes to the annexation policy of the city, 38.4 percent favor the city’s past policies and 50.3 percent oppose those policies with the remaining 11.2 undecided. Voters may act upon their preferences at the polls, Tuesday, Nov. 6, where mayoral candidates have stated their positions on these issues.

With Election Day around the corner, Wilmington residents have definite opinions about city service and local politics. Forty percent of the residents who responded rated service quality as either fair or very poor suggesting moderate dissatisfaction with existing service. Another 31 percent have very little or no trust in Wilmington public officials implying that incumbents may have some trouble from challengers.

Respondents also had varying views on the media; 43.8 percent said they have a great deal of trust in WECT TV-6 as a source of information, while 38.6 percent have a great deal of trust in WWAY TV-3.Significantly less, 25.5 percent, trusted the Wilmington Star-News. Since people rely on these sources of information for local elections, the editorial policies of the media should be critical in a close election, said Jones.

The poll, which was conducted by Dr. Jones, contacted a random sample of 243 residents of the Cape Fear area. The sample error rate for the poll is 6.2 percent.

For more information on the poll, contact Dr. Jones at 910/962-3788 or Dr. Milan Dluhy 910/962-7686 (election day questions). Information is also on the UNCW Survey Research Laboratory’s Web site www.uncwil.edu/pls/srl/.