The perception gap: Don’t yuck my yum

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 21, 2026

SO WE’VE BEEN cursed to live in interesting times.

Who ticked off the witch? It wasn’t me.

Across the Strait, the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) conducts similar work to the Waterfront District here in Port Angeles.

The DVBA conducts an annual Vibrancy Survey taken by businesses and residents of downtown Victoria.

This survey tracks financial and social trends. In their most recent findings, just under 50 percent of the small business owners surveyed would close their business if they were not tied to a lease. Woof.

But what about here in the Waterfront District? Is the business climate similarly apocalyptic? Anecdotally, no.

Six businesses have already opened in the Waterfront District this year and another six are planning to launch this summer. But our community deserves better than anecdotes.

We want to hear directly from all users of the Waterfront District, so we are conducting our very own Vibrancy Survey from now until June 15.

The survey is open to everyone and can be found on our website: www.portangeles waterfront.com.

We intend to conduct this survey annually so we can track financial trends, capture vibes and identify issues with some basis in reality.

The reality part is important for us. There’s a lot of online chatter about the state of conditions in downtown Port Angeles these days. The chatter ranges from positive to very negative, depending on what corner of the internet you find yourself lurking.

That wide range in chatter is fascinating.

How can two people occupying the same physical space perceive it so differently?

There is a perception gap in Port Angeles right now. Tourists and residents view downtown differently. New and old residents also view downtown differently. Whose version of Port Angeles is right and whose is wrong?

The answer is that everyone’s perceived reality has merit.

The kids say it better: don’t yuck my yum.

For the good of social cohesion, we cannot invalidate our neighbor’s perceived realities.

That’s disrespectful. I can’t yum your yuck and expect you to like it, right?

Is there a community palette cleanser? How do we get on the same page? Who will mend this multiverse of madness?

Not some superhero or nerd from Silicon Valley. No one is coming to fix this perception gap. We are on our own.

Thankfully, other communities have successfully dealt with this issue and have published their solutions.

The Waterfront District is not above copying from our neighbors. In the ’90s, the Metro Toronto Action Committee on Public Violence against Women and Children (METRAC) developed the first safety audit. METRAC used the results of the safety audit to change the physical environment and usage of its downtown urban parks, bringing families and senior citizens back into the spaces as users.

Safety audits help people to evaluate how safe a physical environment feels and identifies tangible solutions that would make it feel safer.

During a safety audit, people from different demographics walk through a space, noticing what feels safe and what does not.

The safety audit checklist encourages them to consider things like lighting, lines of sight, potential hiding locations for bad actors and perceived availability of help, if needed.

The findings from this “walkabout” form the basis for an action plan to make the space safer.

The action plan has tangible items to address. Oh, the alley feels stabby and the streetlight is out? Let’s fix the streetlight and then see how stabby the alley feels.

Safety audits are often performed by the municipality or community organizations.

If we work hard at it, boring days can be here again, and what’s more boring than a safety audit?

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Sam Grello is the executive director for the Port Angeles Waterfront District.