City of Salem Transportation Department Public Opinion Survey Summary Report

City of Salem
Transportation Department
Public Opinion Survey
Presented By
Tim Hibbitts, Principal
Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, Inc.
203 SW Pine Street
Summary Report
August 2007
203 SW Pine Street, Portland OR 97204
Portland, OR 97204
www.dhmresearch.com
Phone (503) 220-0575
Research Goals
Quantify findings from focus
group research
Assess residents’ satisfaction
with transportation services
Determine support for
transportation system
improvements
August 2007
City of Salem Department of Transportation
2
Research Methodology
Focus groups and citywide
telephone survey conducted
in August 2007
400 randomly selected
residents of Salem surveyed
Survey margin of Error: +/2.94%
August 2007
City of Salem Department of Transportation
3
Direction
All in all, would you say that things in Salem are
headed in the right direction, or are things pretty much
off on the wrong track? (Q1)
Right
Direction
64%
Don't
know
13%
August 2007
Wrong
Track
23%
City of Salem Department of Transportation
4
Biggest Community Problem
Drugs
15%
Crime
12%
Roads/Sidewalks-General
6%
Traffic
5%
Illegal Immigrants
4%
Education/Schools
3%
Graffiti
3%
Over Development/Overcrowded
3%
Growth
3%
Transportation
3%
Bridges need improvement/New Bridges
3%
All other responses
Nothing/None/Don’t know
August 2007
2% or less
16%
City of Salem Department of Transportation
5
Satisfaction Levels
Satisfied
Items
(Strongly/
Somewhat)
Operation of traffic signals
Signage and striping of
streets
Street lighting in your
neighborhood
Safe and convenient walking
Well maintained bridges and
overpasses
Railroad noise
August 2007
79%
(7%/72%)
77%
(6%/71%)
73%
(10%/64%)
69%
(6%/63%)
69%
(5%/64%)
63%
(8%/55%)
Dissatisfied
Neither
7%
8%
6%
7%
15%
16%
(Somewhat/
Strongly)
13%
(11%/2%)
12%
(10%/2%)
20%
(15%/5%)
23%
(20%/4%)
12%
(10%/2%)
14%
(10%/4%)
City of Salem Department of Transportation
Mean
3.7
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.6
3.6
6
Satisfaction Levels (continued)
Satisfied
Items
(Strongly/
Somewhat)
Traffic speed in your
neighborhood
Condition of sidewalks
Smoothness of streets
Safe and convenient
bicycling
(5%/54%)
56%
(4%/52%)
53%
(3%/50%)
44%
(3%/41%)
29%
Traffic congestion
(1%/29%)
Bridge capacity over
Willamette River
August 2007
59%
25%
(1%/24%)
Dissatisfied
Neither
6%
12%
13%
13%
16%
10%
(Somewhat/
Strongly)
35%
(25%/10%)
31%
(24%/7%)
33%
(27%/7%)
36%
(29%/8%)
54%
(42%/12%)
61%
(39%/23%)
City of Salem Department of Transportation
Mean
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.0
2.6
2.4
7
Needed Improvements
Top Box
Service
(Rating of
7, 6, 5 )
Street repair such as paving
and pothole patching
60%
Widening streets for more
travel lanes
57%
(18%/17%/23%)
52%
City bridge repair
(23%/10%/20%)
Bicycle lanes and signs
49%
(15%/12%22%)
48%
Sidewalk repair
(15%/12%21%)
Pedestrian crossings
August 2007
(19%/21%/21%)
48%
(12%/12%/24%)
MidPoint
18%
11%
16%
12%
16%
15%
Bottom Box
(Rating of
3, 2, 1 )
22%
(12%/5%/6%)
31%
(14%/8%/10%)
28%
(14%/8%/7%)
38%
(15%/11%/12%)
35%
(16%/11%/8%)
36%
(17%/10%/10%)
City of Salem Department of Transportation
Mean
4.8
4.5
4.6
4.2
4.3
4.2
8
Needed Improvements (continued)
Top Box
Service
Bicycle and pedestrian trails
47%
(16%/14%/17%)
42%
Street lighting
(12%/9%/21%)
37%
Traffic signals
(8%/10%/20%)
Signage and striping of
streets
Adding new streets
August 2007
(Rating of
7, 6, 5 )
30%
(8%/9%/13%)
28%
(7%/8%/13%)
MidPoint
14%
15%
17%
18%
13%
Bottom Box
(Rating of
3, 2, 1 )
37%
(15%/11%/11%)
43%
(16%/15%/12%)
45%
(18%/13%/15%)
52%
(23%/17%/13%)
56%
(15%/16%/26%)
City of Salem Department of Transportation
Mean
4.2
3.9
3.8
3.6
3.2
9
Needed Improvements Importance
Combined
First
Important
Second
Important
Street repair such as paving and pothole
patching
43%
23%
21%
Widening streets for more travel lanes
33%
19%
14%
City bridge repair
27%
16%
11%
Bicycle and pedestrian trails
19%
11%
8%
Sidewalk repair
17%
8%
10%
Street lighting
15%
5%
10%
Bicycle lanes and signs
14%
5%
9%
Pedestrian crossings
13%
5%
7%
Traffic signals
9%
3%
6%
Adding new streets
7%
5%
3%
Signage and striping of streets
4%
2%
3%
Service
August 2007
City of Salem Department of Transportation
10
Observations & Conclusions—
Focus Groups & Survey
No single transportation service/issue is of the
biggest concern
Least satisfied with traffic congestion and
bridge capacity over the Willamette River
Priorities for improvements are
 Repairing roadways, bridges, and sidewalks
 Increasing bridge capacity
 Alleviating congestion with an emphasis on widening
streets rather than adding new ones
 Improving pedestrian safety through sidewalk repair,
dedicated bicycle lanes, etc.
Limited association with “transportation
services”
Sense of urgency low
August 2007
City of Salem Department of Transportation
11