By Ray King
More than 45 percent of Pine Bluff residents who took part in a community survey said they do not believe Pine Bluff offers a good quality of life while 70 percent said the city does not offer a clean and healthy environment.
The same survey showed that over 71 percent of respondents said Pine Bluff does not provide multiple activities for citizens of various ages and nearly 40 percent said city leadership is not a good reflection on the community.
Those results were a small part of the overall survey conducted by United Citizens of Pine Bluff in their efforts to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in the city. The effort began after a shooting incident at a convenience store on West 28th Avenue last year resulted in multiple injuries, according to Kamaya Seals, a spokesperson for the group.
According to the survey, gun violence, gang activity, and homicides are the three top issues in the city and more than 71 percent of the people responding to the survey said they had limited or changed their activities in Pine Bluff as a result of their concerns about crime.
Just over 54 percent of respondents said schools in the city are not improving while less than 16 percent said schools are improving. Only 40 percent of respondents said they are proud to live in Pine Bluff and another 34 percent were neutral on the issue.
