Survey: Lauderdale’s poor for raising kids

Family-friendliness ranks below state, U.S. averages

Fort Lauderdale’s a great place to live, but not if you’re raising children.

That’s what city residents said in the latest opinion survey, an annual litany of opinions that helps guide city leaders’ decision-making.

Fort Lauderdale rated higher in the 2017 survey than the state average as a place to visit, live, work and retire. But the number of people who thought the city was a good place to raise children has plunged and is below the state and national averages for citizen satisfaction in that category, survey firm ETC Institute found.

“As a place to visit, you’re off the charts,” Chris Tathum, CEO of ETC Institute, told city commissioners this week. “But we have seen over time that there are some concerns rising with regard [to] is this a place to raise children.”

Just 39 percent of those surveyed in late

2017 gave high marks to Fort Lauderdale as a place to raise children, a drop from 54 percent in 2016. The trend has been tracked since the city began the survey in 2012. That year, 49 percent gave the city passing marks as family friendly.

The results of the lengthy survey were publicly unveiled Tuesday, providing a report card to the city on issues from flood preparation to crime prevention.

Residents panned the quality of public schools and praised the quality of private school options. Tathum said more than half the parents surveyed had their children enrolled in private schools.

The poor family rating was one of the surprises in this year’s survey, which also highlighted the usual discontent with traffic congestion.

Tathum said he thought the dissatisfaction about family friendliness reflected a split between residents who have lived in the city for years and consider it a fitting place to raise a family, and those who are new and see it differently.

The latest census figures show that people 18 and younger make up 18.5 percent of Fort Lauderdale’s population. That’s more than the number of people 65 and older, at 16.7 percent, according to the 2016 population estimates.

Among the other findings in the survey:

Traffic congestion was a top complaint, with 66 percent dissatisfied. The level of unhappiness about traffic has increased over the six years of the survey. Other top complaints: the unresolved problem of homelessness, failing infrastructure, lack of affordable housing and quality of public schools.

The number of people satisfied with the quality of city services in general dropped significantly, from 61 percent to 55 percent.

Residents appear torn over whether the city is “moving in the right direction.” Forty-seven percent said yes, 26 percent said no, and 27 percent were neutral.

A large percentage, 38 percent, reported being dissatisfied with how well the city is preparing for the future. Thirty percent were satisfied and the remaining were neutral.

The survey of 744 people, conducted in November and December, is statistically valid and has an error margin of plus or minus 3.6 percent. Residents completed the survey by mail, telephone or Internet. Tathum said a tiny percentage of residents ever make it to City Hall. The survey allows elected officials to tap into the opinions of the average resident.

Armed with the information, city commissioners will have two days of priority-setting workshops Monday and Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. at the Fort Lauderdale Woman’s Club, 20 S. Andrews Ave.