SURVEY: May, 2001

California Alliance for Jobs Transportation Survey of Bay Area Voters

In April 2001, the Alliance commissioned Fairbank, Maslin, Maulin and Associates to conduct a survey of Bay Area voters to assess their views on the region's transportation system. The firm conducted a telephone survey of 800 registered voters in nine Bay Area counties who were likely to cast ballots in the 2002 general election.

A summary of the key findings:

• 75 percent of the respondents agreed that California's lifestyle and economy will continue be built around the automobile.
• 74 percent said we can best meet our region's future transportation needs by improving major roads and highways as well as light rail and bus service.
• Even among the small minority of voters who identified themselves as "strong environmentalists," 63 percent favored a transportation approach that improves roads and highways.
• 61 percent said that expanding roads and highways is an effective way to relieve congestion.
• A slim majority supported a half-cent sales tax for transportation, while voters are divided on increasing bridge tolls to three dollars.
• Respondents strongly supported the capital improvement projects selected by counties for inclusion in the Regional Transportation Plan being devised for the Bay Area at the time of the survey.

The survey also found that frustration with traffic has reached a critical level in the Bay Area. Respondents said traffic congestion, particularly on highways, was one of the most serious problems facing California. Only concern over the state's electricity supply rated higher.

By a three-to-one margin, voters also rejected the idea that a transit-only approach can meet the region's future transportation needs. By a substantial majority, they also opposed policies that make it more costly or less convenient for drivers to use their cars. In addition, they rejected by a two-to-one margin the notion that government should try to limit growth by shifting highway money to programs that encourage dense development.